Stories from 21 April 2015
Bulgaria's First Crowdfunding Journalism Project
Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, has a big problem with freedom of the media. The Balkan country is ranked 106 out of 180 countries in the 2015 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Against this unpleasant background, a new media project was established with the ambitious task...
Saudi Arabia Announces End of Airstrikes on Yemen
Saudi Arabia announced today that it is ending its airstrikes on Yemen after “achieving its military goals.” Netizens have started a countdown and bombs continue to fall
Egypt Sentences Former President Morsi to 20 Years in Prison for “Intimidation and Violence” towards Protestors
Egypt sentenced its first democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison today, found “guilty of intimidation and violence” towards protestors in 2012.
The Controversial Tweet That Led a Costa Rican Official to Resign
Julia Ardón, a social media aide for Costa Rica's president, attracted a firestorm of criticism for tweeting from her personal account against the Catholic Church's stance on in vitro fertilization.
Lebanon Celebrates its Armenian Heritage in Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
Lebanon was among the nations that welcomed Armenian refugees fleeing the genocide of 1915 and is now celebrating their rich contributions to Lebanese culture.
Singaporean Teenager Arrested for Making Videos Deemed ‘Offensive’
"Apart from the problems of using handcuffs on minors, is this really a proportional response to a YouTube video?"
Electricity, Food and Fuel Shortages Increase Suffering of Yemenis as Saudi-Coalition Bombs Continue to Fall
Even before this war, Yemen was facing a large-scale humanitarian crisis: 15.9 million people – or 61 per cent of its people required humanitarian aid at the end of 2014.
Vietnamese Netizens Are Getting Bolder Online, Despite Tough Laws
"Thanks to social media it has become possible and even trendsetting to publicly question the Communist Party’s legitimacy."
Protecting Personal Data in Argentina Is a Work in Progress
In an article for online magazine Digital Rights: Latin America & The Caribbean, No.21, Argentinean lawyer Valeria Milanés explains that even though the United States is a world leader in data processing, it does not have legislation for the protection of personal data. The US is also considered to have “an inadequate level of protection...
Syrian Blogger Stabbed in His Istanbul Home After Receiving Threats Online
Threatened online by different Syrian factions, Global Voices author Asaad Hanna was last night stabbed four times in his home in Istanbul, Turkey. He is now recovering.
Until You Change: ‘Dehomosexualization’ the Ecuadorian Way
Ecuador's government is trying to close or regulate an army of private rehabilitation centers that claim to be able to change individuals' sexual orientations and gender identifications.
The 7th Summit of the Americas in 35 Tweets
Global Voices collects 35 tweets by representatives of the 35 countries that participated in the 7th Summit of the Americas, held in Panama.