Stories from 26 January 2014
Skepticism and Expectation Ahead of Ruling on Maritime Boundary Between Chile and Peru
On January 27, 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will announce a decision on the dispute about maritime delimitation between Peru and Chile.
Outdoor Air pollution in Bhopal
Proloy Bagchi reports that outdoor air pollution in Bhopal, the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, has risen to an alarming proportion mainly from the emission of the transports. The blogger slams at the inaction of the state government and stresses the importance of reducing this pollution. According...
The Other Side of Social Media
That’s Twitter – it makes a joke out of serious issues and takes jokes seriously. - comments blogger Purba Ray while discussing Sunanda Pushkar’s sudden death who underwent a Twitter spat with a Pakistani journalist. The unusual death of the wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor has created a lot...
Cries of Discrimination as Israel Detains Undocumented African Immigrants
Many have fled their home countries for Israel and are seeking refugee status. The detentions have unleashed a wave of demonstrations in Tel-Aviv.
‘AFTER 25 Conference': Tokyo and Berlin Discuss Creative Culture
As Berlin and Tokyo mark 20 years of friendship as sister cities, representatives of two creative industries, including Chairman of the Club Commission of Berlin Marc Wohlrabe and Takahiro Saito, a lawyer and member of Let's Dance, a consortium that fights against Japan's dance regulations, will come together for the AFTER 25 conference on...
Bangladesh Gets Its First LGBT Magazine, ‘Roopbaan’
"Finally Bangladesh is prospering. I had to leave Bangladesh for being gay, now I feel like going back and do[ing] something there."
China Sentences Citizens’ Movement Icon Xu Zhiyong to Four Years in Prison
His imprisonment is part of a crackdown by new Chinese Communist Party leadership under President Xi Jinping against political liberals who have been trying to advocate for constitutional reform.
Four Biggest Misconceptions About #Euromaidan Protests in Ukraine
Ucrainica Marginalis published an overview of the four largest misconceptions about #Euromaidan, written by scholars Sofiya Grachova & Stephen A. Walsh. What this overview points out is the vast gap between how international media and outside spectators view what is happening and the message that Ukrainians involved in Euromaidan protests...
Online Mapping of Spreading Unrest After Killing of Protesters in Ukraine
During violent clashes between Euromaidan protesters in Kyiv and police, two protesters were killed. Mass anti-government protests erupted in several regions of Ukraine and spread quickly through the country.
Independent Ukrainian Filmmakers Create #Euromaidan Documentaries
In Ukraine, several filmmakers united to produce a video chronology of the events that came to be known as the Euromaidan protests. “BABYLON'13”, named after a bar in which the filmmakers came up with the idea for the project, is a collection of short documentaries reflecting the development of the...
Brazil's Evolving Relationship With Refugees
The number of refugees accepted into Brazil practically tripled from 2012 to 2013.
Pig Photos Censored in Malaysia
Photos of pigs were blackened out by a printing company in the Malaysian edition of the New York Times. The 'pig censorship' shocked many people in the Muslim-majority nation
Chinese-Style ‘Tiger’ Parenting Triggers Complaints Among Younger Generation
"[They] kill innocence during children's’ childhoods, kill our romance during adolescence and kill our will during our youth."
Indonesia Apology Urged Over Massacre of a Million Citizens in 1965
Human rights groups Tapol and East Timor and Indonesia Action Network have launched a campaign called ‘Say Sorry for '65’ addressed to the Indonesian government in relation to the reported killing of a million citizens during the anti-communist campaign of the government in the 1960s: In 1965/66, up to a...
East Timor's Rising Budget for ‘Public Transfers’
The La’o Hamutuk NGO is concerned that the East Timor government is alloting more funds for so-called ‘public transfers’ which lacks transparent mechanisms: In recent years, Timor-Leste has spent about 20% of its state budget on “Public Transfers” – payments of money to individuals or institutions which are not controlled...
