Stories from 4 October 2013
Protesters March Hundreds of Kilometers to Save Sundarbans from Coal Plant
The proposed coal plant would be only 14 kilometers away from the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
GV Face: Saudi Women Will Drive
In this week's edition of GV Face, we meet Tamador Alyami, a Saudi blogger supporting the #Women2Drivecampaign.
Pro and Anti-Military Rallies Planned for Egypt's Tahrir Square
On Twitter, Nancy asks if the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party had really used the same poster for the movie, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, in calling for protests on October 6: Did the #FjP seriously just use the World War Z poster to...
One-Third of the World's Babies Don't Have Birth Certificates
No birth certificate can mean children cannot enroll in school or receive medical care. An interview with Evelina Martelli, project manager for BRAVO!, a programme pushing for birth registration.
The Gambia Quits British Commonwealth, Calling It ‘Extension of Colonialism’
"The Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution," the West African country announced in a statement released this week.
Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada: “The Killing of a Revolution”
I was transfixed; in turns horrified, unbelieving, angry, and sad. Worse still, frustrated. Because the verdict of the film as to who was really responsible was inconclusive. Norman Girvan reviews Bruce's Paddington's film “Forward Ever”, about the executions of former Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and members of his cabinet.
Pakistan's Sindh Province Proposes Block on Skype, Viber and WhatsApp
The Sindh government's proposed three-month ban on messaging apps Viber, WhatsApp, Tango, Skype and other Voice Over Internet Protocol-based calling and messaging applications is meant to disrupt terrorist activities.
Deadly Storms, Delayed Aid Devastate Mexico's La Montaña Indigenous
According to several reports, aid took days to arrive and has been insufficient. More than 200 communities remain isolated.
Open Screenplay Competition at the Barranquilla Creative Commons Film Festival
Organizers invite both new and experienced producers from around the world to make a production based on screenplays written and distributed under a Creative Commons license.
‘Enough Forced Evictions!': Amnesty International Takes On Brazil World Cup Construction
As a result of infrastructure improvements ahead of the World Cup and Olympics, thousands of families are being forcefully evicted in Rio de Janeiro.
Toppled Mayor Leaves Serbia's Capital Without a City Government
The mayor of Serbia's capital city, Dragan Djilas, was fired from his post on 24 September 2013, after a 5-hour debate at which he was present and a secret vote of city councilors that followed. The initiative was backed by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), its coalition partner the...
New Romanian Law Takes Aim at Bucharest's 65,000 Stray Dogs
A deadly dog attack on a four-year-old boy last month spurred Romanian legislators to pass a law legalizing euthanasia after stray animals spend 14 days in public shelter.
The Trouble with Being Elected Mayor in Russia
After a hard-fought campaign in Yekaterinburg, Evgeny Roizman has encountered a new challenge: pesky procedural complications in his confirmation by the local State Duma.
