Stories from 26 August 2014
Iran's Grand Ayatollah: 3G Internet Is Immoral
Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, a prominent Shia scholar, has said 3G Internet is immoral and inhumane, Iranian sites reported on Tuesday. #Iran‘s grand Ayatollah Makarem: “high-speed internet & 3G is...
Two Months After Flooding, Digital Freedoms in Serbia Are Still in Trouble
In the wake of devastating floods that hit Serbia in May 2014, several local websites that published materials that criticized the government's relief efforts suffered technical attacks.
How To Find Happiness In Democracy
From Bhutan, the land of Gross National Happiness, blogger Passang Tshering shares how people can achieve happiness in democracy. He compares democracy to love marriage and says that there are...
Ferguson Evocative of Civil Rights Movement, Says Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger
What’s happened – and what is HAPPENING in Ferguson makes my heart hurt. The ache won’t go away. The anger won’t go away. We’re witnessing history in the making, and...
India’s LGBT Community Dares to Hope After Health Minister’s Comment on Gay Rights
Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that everybody has human rights and it is the job of the government to protect them.
Documenting Nationalistic Hate Speech in Macedonian Media
Human rights expert, activist, and blogger Žarko Trajanoski published a series of analyses about nationalistic, right-wing hate speech in Macedonian media, often veiled as “patriotic” speech. „Патриотскиот“ говор на омраза...
One Person Holds the Three Most Powerful Positions in Thailand Today
Prayuth Chan-ocha is Thailand’s new prime minister. He is also the army chief who staged a coup last May and appointed himself as head of the coup government.
Scholars and Experts Are Urging the German Government to Rethink Its Unconditional Support of Israel
Due to several anti-Semitic outbursts from some protesters, reporting on Gaza in Germany over the past few weeks has been overshadowed by a debate on anti-Semitism.
Serbia’s ‘Declaration of Internet Freedom’ Wins Big Support from Western Dignitaries
Serbian bloggers have drafted a Declaration of Internet Freedom, and representatives of the international community are showing their support.
Macedonian Police Harass Journalists Covering Protests
Police harassment of media seems to have become a regular occurrence in Macedonia, which has included the detainment and sentencing of some journalists in the country. On August 25, 2014,...
Experience the “Hanoi Soundwalk” Interactive Audio Tour
The Soundwalk is an “interactive, geo-locative audio tour” where a user with a headphone and smartphone app equipped with GPS can hear sounds as he or she walks around the...
Does Venezuela's Smiling Tourism Cartoon ‘Cheverito’ Ignore the Country's Grim Realities?
In less than one week, 'Cheverito', the cartoon character created by the Ministry of Tourism to boost tourism in Venezuela, was the center of criticism, attack and debates.