Global Voices · Citizen media stories from January 2011

January, 2011

Monthly archive · 230 posts

Stories from January, 2011

28 January 2011

Ukraine: Police Treatment of Foreigners Raises Concerns Ahead of Euro 2012

Written by Tetyana Bohdanova · Eastern & Central Europe

Tetyana Bohdanova reviews the netizens' reactions to a recent episode of ill-treatment of foreigners by the Ukrainian police, a trend that is especially alarming since Ukraine is currently preparing to co-host the 2012 European Football Championship together with Poland.

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27 January 2011

Israel: Bloggers Eye Gaza as Egypt Unrest Spreads through Sinai

Written by Gilad Lotan · Egypt, Israel

This is a summary of Israeli perspectives, blog posts, and media shared online over the last two days, in reaction to the unrest in Egypt. Referenced by Israeli sources as the 'Egypt Intifada', bloggers are looking closely at the spread of the violence into Sinai and the possibility of igniting violence in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.

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Ecuador: Netizens Discuss Referendum on Constitution

Written by Milton Ramirez · Latin America

President Rafael Correa has presented 10 questions in a "popular consultation," a referendum which amends several parts of the most recent Constitution drafted in 2008. Ecuadorians are using blogs and Twitter to discuss the proposed changes.

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Syria: Internet Users Race to Support Egyptian Protesters

Written by Anas Qtiesh · Middle East & North Africa

As protests to take down the Mubarak regime in Egypt rage on, Syrians are rushing to aid the protesters in every way they can.

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Uganda: Gay Rights Activist Found Murdered

Written by Rebekah Heacock · Sub-Saharan Africa

Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was found murdered yesterday, just weeks after winning a court case against a local newspaper that had called for Ugandans to “hang” homosexuals. Kato...

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Egypt: Friday is the Day of Anger

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa

The Egyptian Twittersphere is full of predictions of renewed demonstrations over the weekend. Dubbed the Million Egyptian March, Friday is expected to witness unprecedented protests across the country, despite government warnings that it would not tolerate any more unrest.

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Updates from January, 2011

28 January 2011

Japan

Carrying on the mission of abolishing the monopoly in information in Japan [en], a group of freelance and online journalists founded the Free Press Association of Japan (日本報道協会, Nihon Hohdoh Kyohkai). The name of the non-profit association is still tentative but the first speaker has already been announced: Ichiro Ozawa, a former leader of the ruling party and one of the first politicians who proposed to open news conferences to all.

• Scilla Alecci

South Africa

Parliamentary hearings on South Africa's Protection of Information Bill resumed last week with heated debate over provisions threatening to restrict press freedom and access to information.

• Ndesanjo Macha

Liberia

Aaron Leaf blogs about the Liberian saga: angry court, jailed editor, president's speech.

• Ndesanjo Macha

Taiwan (ROC)

President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan(Republic of China) opens his official facebook fan page today. At the “About” session it says that the goal of the fan page “…is not to be trendy, but to exchange ideas with all of you, share experiences through wall posts, think together, click ‘like' for Taiwan…”. Twitter user @irrenhaeusler soon tweeted his comment:”Ma's joining Facebook immediately shows a severe defect in the site's design: there's no ‘fuck' to click”.

• Portnoy Zheng