Stories from 30 April 2013
Police Besiege Barcelona District in the Run Up to May 1st
The day before May Day, a hundred protesters peacefully went through the streets of a Barcelona district, followed throughout the entire route by hundreds of riot police heavily armed with anti-gas masks and shotguns. Social networks were abuzz with reactions.
Campesino Resistance in Honduras
Chavelo’s voice was quiet but unwavering as [he] expressed his gratitude that we traveled all the way from the U.S. and Canada with the human rights and solidarity organization Rights...
Yemeni General Apologizes for 1994 Civil War on Facebook
Waving flags of a country that once existed, thousands assembled in former cities that used to make up South Yemen on 27 April 2013, to commemorate the day the north declared war on their people and occupied their land, nineteen years ago. The same day, the President's chief military advisor issued an apology on Facebook for all "unjust wars" declared by former President Saleh's regime.
Cartoon: Girls Prevented from Leaving Kyrgyzstan
A father had a bad dream which now troubles him. So, he decides that his daughter will not travel anywhere. He takes away her passport and air tickets while she is sleeping, but the daughter takes the documents back. Finally, the father decides to lock his daughter at home to prevent her from leaving.
Potty-Mouthed Russian Blogger Faces Prison for Ethnic Slurs
A blogger from the Republic of Bashkortostan (a small autonomous republic neighboring Tatarstan in southern Russia) was recently charged with hate speech for a post she published on her Facebook account late last year.
Pakistan: Sorry Mobile Users, No Service!
Pakistan-based Internet access advocacy group Bolobhi releases a timeline with details of the 12 times mobile services were suspended in the country since April 2012.
EU Seal Ban Maims Indigenous Way of Life in the Arctic
A European Union court in Luxembourg has upheld its ban on the commercial trade of seal products despite a challenge from Canada's Inuit and several Canadian lawmakers that it cripples the indigenous people's ability to make a living.
Brazil: Police Condemned for the Carandiru Massacre
Over 20 years after the rebellion in São Paulo’s Carandiru Penitentiary, ending with the deaths of 111 inmates, 23 military police have been condemned to 156 years in jail for a total of 13 fatalities.
Pavel Durov, Russia's Zuckerberg, Fights for Control of His Creation
Something strange is happening with Vkontakte, Russia’s homegrown version of Facebook. In the last couple of months, the company’s founder and current head, Pavel Durov, has suffered three very public “kicks in the teeth,” one of which might even lead to criminal charges.
