24 June 2013

Stories from 24 June 2013

Haze Chokes Singapore and Malaysia

Air quality in Singapore and West Malaysia hit hazardous levels after forest fires swept neighboring Indonesia. It's the worst haze in recent years in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has suspended school in affected states while Singapore advised its citizens to prepare for a prolonged haze. Indonesia has already formally apologized for the haze.

24 June 2013

Indonesia Fuel Price Hike Ignites Protests

Indonesia's decision to raise fuel prices has ignited a lot of debates and protests as well. Thousands of students and workers trooped to the streets to condemn the new fuel price scheme. However, the government insists the price hike is necessary to save the economy.

24 June 2013

Saudi Human Rights Activist Sentenced To 8 Years in Prison

Abdulkareem al-Khadar, founding member of the Kingdom's defiant leading human rights organisation, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was sentenced to eight years in prison for inciting public opinion and establishing an unlicensed human rights organization, among other charges.

24 June 2013

Environmental Issues Drive Russians to Demand More of Their Leaders?

RuNet Echo

Over the last year, “Save Khoper” has held a series of protests to bring attention to a cause against a mining project outside Voronezh. On June 22, the latest demonstration turned violent, after a splinter group of protestors set fire to two drill rigs and other geological survey equipment.

24 June 2013

Palestinian Assaf Wins Arab Idol Singing Contest

Palestinian Mohammed Assaf won the title of this year's Arab Idol, the Arabic version of American Idol. Because there are contestants from different Arab countries, the citizens of each country consider the win a national trophy. Assaf's win sent thousands to the streets celebrating, chanting and dancing.

24 June 2013

China: Keywords Unblocked in Weibo

Jason Ng from Tea Leaf Nation reviewed the recent unblocking of several politically sensitive words in Weibo, Chinese biggest social media platform and pointed out that the unblocking is not...

24 June 2013

Hundreds Banned from Hong Kong Website

HKGolden, a forum of great cultural and political influence in Hong Kong recently has banned more than 300 user accounts. While the website administrator explained that the move was in...

24 June 2013