Stories from 7 March 2011
Yemen: Protesters Vulnerable to Violent Attacks
Protests demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh continue for a successive fourth week in Yemen. Saleh has invited all political forces to talk. The invitation was refused by the opposition. At the same time, attacks carried out by security forces and loyalists to Saleh on peaceful demonstrators continued.
Jordan: #HashtagDebates and Reforms
The second #HashtagDebates organized by 7iber took place at Makan House in Amman this evening (March 7). 7iber, the Jordanian youth-orientated independent media outlet has been contributing to growing public dialog both online and offline through several programs and activities.
Senegal: Self-immolation on the Rise
In a post published in the collective blog Bondy blog , Amara Soumah writes [fr]: “In February, two Senegalese self-immolated in the vicinity of the presidential palace. Senegalese people would say that those actions are not really inspired by Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi, because others have committed that act in Senegal before,...
Bahrain: Hit and Run at Protest
During Monday afternoon's protest at the Bahrain Financial Harbour, a hit and run incident occurred in which three protesters were injured. On Twitter, the discussion continued well into the night on what happened, with different people suggesting various scenarios. Later at night, videos were circulated showing how the accident happened.
Jordan: I Love Jordan because …
Love was in the air in the Jordanian Twittersphere as tweeps took turns to list why they love their country under a new hashtag #ILoveJordan making the rounds lately. Betsy Fisher rounds up some of the reactions.
El Salvador: Transparency Law is Approved
Voices from El Salvador Weblog reports on the approval of the Transparency and Public Access to Information Law: “The law now requires government institutions, and private entities funded by the state, to make information available to the public by establishing an accessible database of information, in addition to supplying inquirers...
Panama: Thoughts on Improving Education
Panamanian students returned to school on March 1st. Hanna at Contrapunto [es] writes about education in Panama and how to improve it. She argues that Panamanian educators need to realize the need to change and improve; furthermore, she says Panama needs to find a way to encourage more young people...
Azerbaijan: Another youth activist identified by social media?
A new blog, whatwaswritten, says that another youth activist has been reportedly visited by police after trying to publicize pro-democracy protests planned for 11 March in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. The blog notes that police deny the claims although Tangled Web says that the alleged visit occured on the same...
Russia: Mobile Users Prefer Traffic Maps
The most popular Russian online map service Yandex Maps conducted a survey among its mobile users. The survey showed that the most Russian use online maps for traffic updates. Searching for addresses and places comes only second in the list of mobile users’ activities.
Brazil: Critical Mass Bicycle Event – Accident or Homicide?
In late February, the monthly event that brings together dozens of cyclists to ride through the streets of Porto Alegre, Brazil, aiming to encourage bicycle use - Critical Mass - ended in tragedy when a car driver hit 12 cyclists and left many injured. Bloggers ask: was it an accident or murder?
Russia: First Guide on Twitter Released
Russian readers can finally enjoy the first guide on Twitter that was released in the country in March, 2011, Veri.ru reported. All sentences in the guide are no longer than 140 characters.
Russia: Bloggers Celebrate Gorbachov's Birthday
Russian bloggers celebrate Mikhail Gorbachov's 80's birthday by debating his role in history. Notable posts in English on the subject are here and here.
Senegal: Relocation of polluting industries
Papa Mamadou Diéry Diallo [Fr] wrote in pressafrik.com: “On February 22nd 2011, Abdoulaye Baldé, the Minister of Mines, Industry and agro-Industry, visited factories in the suburbs of Dakar and announced the relocation of some polluting industries in some districts of Dakar for the neighboring populations to breathe better.”
Bahrain: The One Dinar Protest
Protesters in Bahrain are gathering outside the Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), waving one Bahraini dinar (US$ 2.6) notes and chanting for the overthrow of the government. The protest comes days after a purchase agreement which shows that Bahrain's Prime Minister bought the land the BFH was built on for one dinar was shown at a rally held in Pearl (Lulu) Roundabout, the epicentre of anti-government protests since February 14, 2011.
Hong Kong: A Governance Crisis Money Can't Solve
On 23 February, 2011, Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang made a U-turn in a controversial government policy to delay a 6,000 Hong Kong dollar poverty-alleviating cash handout. However, plenty of the territory's residents are still dissatisfied with both the policy and issues of governance it has raised.
Azerbaijan: Facebook inaccessible via Bakcell
Mobile subscribers in Baku, Azerbaijan, report on Twitter that Facebook is inaccessible from Bakcell, one of three cellular operators in the country, for the coming week ahead of protests planned for 11-12 March. Government supporters deny this, although Bakcell's Customer Service confirmed the news via telephone to Global Voices as...
Iran: Winter through the eyes of a blogger
Kosoof, a leading Iranian photo-blogger has published several photos showing Tehran in winter.More here.
Iran: Free opposition leaders
Iranian Green Movement asked people pour into streets on Tuesday to ask Islamist regime to free Iranian opposition leardes,Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Their wives were jailed too. Here is an invitation for demonstration in Rasht, an important northern city.
Iran: Women take to streets
Several news sites and blogs inform us that Iranian women will demonstrate on Tuesday against discrimination and to support Green Movement. They will ask for freedom of political prisoners.
Zimbabwe: Share your solidarity with the 45
Share your solidarity with Munyaradzi Gwisai of the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) and the 44 others in Zimbabwe who have been charged with treason for discussing recent events in Tunisia and Egypt.
Mauritania: Mauritanian youth protesters’ 7 points
Kal reproduces and translates Mauritanian youth protesters’ 7 points: The list was published on the Facebook page of the website “For Mauritania.” Each item on the list includes detailed explanations of the organizers’ rationale for making them and their urgency. The list is titled “Seven cardinal points for building a...
