Stories about Breaking News from July, 2011
Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested
Mozambicans are reacting to what appears to have been the arrest yesterday of controversial and talented MC Azagaia. While there is no official news, some of his 4,600+ fans showed their support on Facebook and have created a “Free Azagaia” event. The rapper was questioned in 2008 by police, who...
Colombia: FIFA's U-20 World Cup
Colombia is hosting the U-20 FIFA World Cup. The opening ceremony [es] took place in Barranquilla on July 29. The country is in a happy mood and on Twitter netizens talk about the tournament with the hashtag #Colombiaesmundial.
South Korea: 35 Million Users’ Information Leaked in Cyber Attack
Thirty-five million Koreans’ information stored in the South Korean portal site Nate and Cyworld, was hacked in cyber attack from China. One net user from Daum Agora website blamed [ko] Nate's default setting in checking emails- reading the emails without preview function- for involuntarily opening doors to mass hacker attacks.
South Korea: 41 Dead in Torrential Flooding and Landslides
Torrential rain has battered South Korea for several consecutive days, causing landslides, flooding and power cuts. At least 41 people have been killed and 12 people are still missing. Throughout the disaster, South Koreans have shared updated stories, photos and useful tips for those affected via Twitter.
Lebanon: Maritime Dispute with Israel Escalates
Hezballah leader Hassan Nasrallah has exclaimed that God had given Lebanon an opportunity to rid itself of a crippling debt, and become a "rich country" by providing it lucrative offshore oil and gas reserves. However, the reserves potentially lie in a disputed maritime border zone with Israel.
Estonia: Tower of Babel
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa discusses how Estonia – contrary to preconceptions – is very much of a multilingual country, not least because of tourism but also in daily practicalities.
Russia: While LiveJournal Experiences DDoS Attack (Again), Users to Twitter and Facebook
LJ-user igrick (head of LiveJournal development team) publishes [ru] (the link might be temporary unavailable) evidence of another serious DDoS attack against the platform. Roem.ru, on the other hand, brings up graphs [ru] that say that bloggers deprived of their publishing platform move to Twitter and Facebook.
South Korea: Tweet Photos of Downpour
Heavy downpour battered South Korea yesterday, causing flooding and property damage even in one of the wealthiest parts of Seoul. Wiki Tree consolidated photos of downpour Twitterers have sent.
Saudi Arabia Blocks Amnesty International's Website
Saudi Arabia has blocked access to the website of the human rights organisation Amnesty International following their leak of a draft for a new Saudi anti-terrorism law that would introduce harsher penalties for political dissent or critique of the royal family.
Norway: Courtroom Doors Will be Closed
More than 70,000 people joined a Facebook event over the weekend advocating for the first court hearing of mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik on Monday, July 25, 2011 to be held behind closed doors. Today it was confirmed [no] that no press or members of the public will attend. Breivik does...
Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist
Thoma Roche of Techyum blog posted an analysis entitled ‘Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist’. The fact that the terrorist pinpointed Japan and South Korea as clear examples of countries that consistently and directly dismissed multiculturalism has drawn various responses in South Korea.
Turkey: Ethnic Tension Rises Further as Street Clashes Erupt in Istanbul
In the aftermath clashes between army and separatist Kurdish PKK militants earlier this month, ethnic tension in Turkey continues to grow. Marches in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul broke out into larger scale street fighting on the night of July 21.
Norway: A Firsthand Account of the Massacre in Utøya
Prableen Kaur, a 23-year old local politician and youth leader from Oslo, has blogged a firsthand account of what she did to survive when a fanatic killer opened fire on a Labour Party youth camp in Utøya, Norway.
Norway: The Online Traces of a Mass Murderer
Bloggers and journalists in Norway and abroad continue to look for any online traces of murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik in hopes that it could help explain his actions on Friday, 22 July 2011.
China: Outrage at High-Speed Train Crash
A collision between two high-speed trains in China in the evening of July 23 killed at least 35 people and injured over 200. C. Custer at ChinaGeeks has written about the government's cover-ups of the tragedy and railway safety issues, and the outrages that are pouring in China's online community.
Russia: Online Effort to Discredit Environmentalists Exposed
Suren Gazaryan, Russian environmentalist, publishes [ru] the scan of the document that describes the strategy of discrediting local environmentalist organizations protesting against the development of the Tuapse oil terminal. The “plan” includes prices for the paid posts in the blogs, forums, media outlets, as well as a list of possible...
Peru: Transportation Strike in Lima: A Campaign Against the Mayor?
The mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán, has experienced an outpour of all kinds criticism at the six month mark of her term. A strike by transportation carriers on July 13 is the Mayor's most recent challenge. Bloggers and Twitter users shared reactions, reports, images and analysis throughout the day of the strike.
Belarus: Vkontakte Social Network Blocked by the Providers
Update: Access to the Vkontake site is now restored. Vkontakte, Russian social network, is unavailable for Belarus Internet Users. The network hosts “Revolution Through the Social Network” [ru] group used to organize non-violent protests, telegraf.by reported [ru]. Individual Belarus-based users told GV that the page loads only header but the...
Russia: Anti-Cop Blogger Is Granted Political Asylum in Estonia
Savva Terentyev, blogger from Syktyvkar who was accused of inciting hatred towards policemen in 2008, was granted a political asylum in Estonia, BBC's Russian Service reports [ru]. Terentyev decided to emigrate because he couldn't find job in Syktyvkar after the trial. “All the doors were shut for me due to...
North Korea Wants to Share 2018 Olympics with South Korea
North Korea expressed that it would like to share some Olympic events with South Korea. Local news reports predicted that co-hosting with North is unlikely for political and logistical reasons. Kushibo from Monster Island blog explored the prospect of co-hosting 2018 Winter Olympic Games South Korean city of Pyeongchang won...
Australia Unveils Carbon Pricing Package
Australians remain divided after Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement of a Clean Energy package with a carbon price of $A 23 per tonne and an emissions trading scheme from 2015. Bloggers note that Australia is the only country in the world with an economy-wide carbon tax.