Stories from 16 April 2013
Indian Anti-Corruption Activist May Make Time's Most Influential List
Should India's anti-corruption activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal be on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world? 91.51% of online voters said yes.
Venezuela's Post-election Tension Escalates
As Nicolás Maduro was being declared the new President of Venezuela, the social networks were calling for public protests and an election recount. Incitement to action on both sides of the political landscape is expected to increase.
Guyana: Smelly City
A canal in the capital smells so rancid “it can kill a nation”. Guyana-Gyal smelled it and lived to tell the tale.
Beer & Twitter Prove Toxic Mix for Russian Journalist
Trains are a cheap and reliable way to get around Russia, particularly compared to the country's famously poor roads. Russia is a big country and journeys between cities can take hours (or even days). Given these difficulties, it is not uncommon for some passengers to have a drink or two to pass the time. Sometimes people—even journalists—can overdo it.
Chinese Social Web Foils Censors to Honor Reformer Hu Yaobang
Chinese Web users skirted the country's tough Internet censors to pay homage to former communist party leader and popular reformer Hu Yaobang, whose death 24 years ago sparked the violent Tiananmen Square protests.
Malaysian Students Can Learn Math Online
Edunation is a volunteer driven non-profit educational initiative whose mission is to provide a complete educational online resource for every Malaysian primary and secondary school student. It has already created and uploaded learning videos on math, science, economics, language and other subjects in the Malaysian school curriculum.
“Wanted Dead or Alive”: Slovak PM Dodges Court Summons
Former Slovak PM Iveta Radičová is suing the current PM Robert Fico, demanding an apology for his offensive statement. Fico, however, has been ignoring the trial for a whole year now, and even the police cannot find the PM's address to serve him court summons. Tibor Blazko reports.
Addressing Malaysia's Debt Load
Economist Nurhisham Hussein analyzes Malaysia's debt burden. With respect to public debt, he proposes to rationalize government subsidies in order to reduce deficit. The author warns against rising low income household debt which he notes are increasingly provided through the non-bank sector.
Apply for World Summit Youth Award
Apply now for the World Summit Youth Award if you produce digital content related to the UN Millennium Development Goals and are under 30 years old.
Residents Displaced by Brazilian Power Plant Struggle to Earn Living
While moving in to New Mutum Parana – a town built by the company Energia Sustentável to house Jirau’s engineers and officers – the river dwellers who were removed from their community in order to allow Madeira River’s power plant flooding found a “phantom city” where making a living seems impossibe.
Chinese React to Boston Marathon Explosions
US's quick reaction to the Boston Marathon explosions have Chinese netizens imagining how the Chinese government would react to such a situation in China. Offbeat China has translated some comments from Sina Weibo.