Stories from 18 June 2013
Iran Qualifies for 2014 World Cup
Iran won against South Korea and booked a place in next year's FIFA World Cup. Iranians took to the streets across their country to celebrate.
PHOTOS: 26 Reasons to Love Bangladesh
Jenny Gustafsson, a Swedish political scientist and independent journalist based in Beirut, thinks that Bangladesh is a great & a special place. She lists reasons why and what to love about Bangladesh.
Nothing Can Stop Brazil's Vinegar Revolt, Not Even FIFA
As the international Confederation Cup football tournament played on in Brazil, massive protests against rising bus fares spread throughout the country.
Trinidad & Tobago: New Media & Tourism
We are destined to fail at our tourism efforts because the stakeholders, decision makers and governmental associations have no understanding of the new media landscape. Travel blogger Rishi Sankar takes the Trinidad and Tobago tourism body to task for its “lack of recognition of social media’s impact on tourism.”
Vladimir Putin: Lord of the (Super Bowl) Rings
Did Vladimir Putin steal New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ring when they met in 2005? Many Russian bloggers are asking that very question, after Kraft claimed in a June 14, 2013, New York Post interview that he had in fact not given the ring as a gift.
Defeat Has China's Soccer Fans Up in Arms
Chinese national football has long been mocked by fans in China for its poor performance and corruption allegations. Offbeat weighed in on a recent defeat from the national football team that has galvanized many avid soccer fans.
Caribbean: Is Somebody Watching?
The ongoing saga with U.S. Internet surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden has captured the attention of the world. In two blog posts, one from Trinidad and Tobago and the other from Cuba, there is an interesting juxtaposition between high-tech spying and old-fashioned intelligence, even though they both pit the citizens against the state.
Support Snowden Rally in Hong Kong
HongWrong has collected a large number of media reports on the rally to support Edward Snowden in Hong Kong on 15 of June, 2013. Hundreds rallied in the rain demanding the U.S government to stop its spying activities and Hong Kong government to protect Snowden.
Chinese Football Team Defeated Again
Barry van Wyk from DANWEI blogs about Chinese media and football fans’ reactions to the recent humiliating defeat of 5-1 at home for China’s football team against an under-strength team of youngsters from tiny Thailand.
China's “Leftover” Women
In China, if a young woman does not marry by age twenty-eight, she is widely considered “leftover”. If she is single by age thirty, she is made to feel she has truly expired. Melissa Schneider, a couples counselor living in Shenzhen, believes that the so-called “leftover women” problem has been...
Cuba: Another Brick in the Wall?
The whole process is managed and legitimated by a whole army of high-level psychologists and pedagogues in the name of the common Good. Erasmo Calzadilla blogs at Havana Times about the state of education in Cuba: “Till recently, school and repression were for me synonymous.”
Brazil: Repression at FIFA Confederations Cup in Rio de Janeiro
Following the wave of protests against adjustments to transportation and public spending before the 2014 World Cup, protesters outside the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro were reprimanded by the Military Police, who used tear gas against people who had taken refuge in Quinta da Boa Vista City Park, as...
Japan's WordPress Communities Celebrate 10 Years
WordPress communities in Japan celebrated the 10th anniversary of the open source blogging platform. Events were held in Sapporo, Kagawa, Tokyo, Chiba and Osaka. There are 40 local WordBench [ja] groups, Japan's WordPress local community directory is powered by BuddyPress. Naoko Takano blogs more about the events in Japan.
Julian Assange, Calle 13, and Twitter Users Write a Song Together
René Pérez, from the musical group Calle 13, and Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, gathered ideas and suggestions from Twitter users to write a song together that will go on Calle 13's next album.
