Stories from 6 April 2011
Macedonia: Construction Over A Probable Archeological Site
After examining historical documents and Google maps, Volan concluded – here and here [MKD] – that the new administrative building for the Public Enterprise of Skopje Waterworks is probably being built over the remains of Skopje's ancient Lower Town – an issue ignored by the traditional media. “How could the...
Uruguay: Police Clash with Artisans at Independence Square
Blogger “Fonzi” from With a camera in my pocket [es] posts pictures of policemen removing artisans who were selling their work at Independence Square in Montevideo. The blogger accuses the policemen of using excessive force and criticizes the Municipality of Montevideo for requesting that the artisans be kicked out of...
Bangladesh: A Video On Eve Teasing
Shawn at Uncultured.com posts a video on eve-teasing, a euphemism to describe forms of verbal and physical abuse by men against women.
Trinidad & Tobago: On Race
“We need to work hard at bringing all of our people back fully into the national family if we ever hope to advance as a nation…”: Plain Talk tackles the issue of racism.
Russia-Romania: Interview with Rogozin
Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics World publishes an interview with Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, on Russia, Romania, and European relations.
Haiti: “Sweet Micky”‘s Mandate
Dying in Haiti puts forward the new president's mathematical mandate, saying: “His opportunity to do good for Haiti is huge. It would be great if he would deliver on just one of his big promises above. It would be great to be pleasantly surprised.”
Cuba: Blame it on the Culture?
Octavo Cerco is reticent to blame Cuba's problems on its culture.
Hungary: Catholic church scandal
Pestiside.hu addresses a current scandal rocking the Catholic church in Hungary, including allegations of pedophilia and financial misconduct.
Trinidad & Tobago: Equal Representation
“Mohammed made an ill-advised move earlier in his appointment in a confrontation with two police officers and lost a lot of credibility thereafter, and there was subsequently a national petition to have him removed from office–but surely the bigger picture is that he is right about the imbalance in the...
Bermuda: Confronting Crime
Respice Finem says of the growing crime problem: “When we act decisively to confront the social malaise coming out of the impoverished neighbourhoods that all too often provided the breeding ground for violence we will have made progress.”
Rwanda: 17 Years Ago Today in Rwanda
17 years ago today in Rwanda: “There will be a number of ceremonies in Rwanda this year to mark the 1994 Genocide. I understand there is a candle light walk tonight, April 6, starting at 6pm from Amahoro Stadium in the Remera district of Kigali, heading to Kicukiro district. On...
Nigeria: Exhibition of Images From Presidential Campaign
George Esiri followed the PDP Presidential campaign trail around Nigeria. An exhibition of the images he captured was launched at the Yar'Adua Centre yesterday.
Africa: Use of Web 2.0 in the Schools of the PanAf project
Dramane posts a link to a document which highlights the PanAf network’s research specifically regarding ‘Web 2.0’ in the sampled schools in Africa: “The PanAf network is centred on an open data set made available by researchers at the partner institutions. Open access, and ‘wiki’-style updating of the indicators is...
Syria: Bread and Propaganda
As protests in Syria continue into their third week, the Assad government is making concessions in hopes of appeasing protesters. The government is asserting power via propaganda, some of which is finding its way to the most unlikely of places...
China: Reactions to Global Times’ Lashing Out at Ai Weiwei
China's official newspaper Global Times has issued a harsh editorial condemning missing artist Ai Weiwei as a maverick of Chinese society, sparking reactions from Chinese netizens.
Egypt: Basboussa for President!
Former Egyptian television anchor and activist Bothaina Kamel announced on Twitter that she would be running for the Egyptian presidential elections. Here are reactions for and against her plans.
Russia: Majority of Russians Are Unaware of the Blogosphere
Levada-center has published [ru] a survey poll results on how Russians use the Internet. 39 percent of users use it for entertainment, 27 percent use it to search information, 18 percent – to communicate. Answering the question which bloggers they trust most, respondents have pointed out president Medvedev… and prime-minister...
Russia: Anti-Government Slogans Published On a Hacked Soccer Club Website
Blogger pilgrim67 publishes [ru] a screenshot of the “Zenit” soccer club website that has been hacked this morning (now restored). A hacker had defaced the website and posted pictures of Valentina Matvienko (mayor of Saint-Petersburg) and Vadim Tyulpanov (speaker of the city assembly), both members of “United Russia” party, and...
Russia: DDoS Attack On LiveJournal Has Russians Debating Internet Politics
On March 30, 2011, the blogging platform LiveJournal experienced serious functionality problems for over 12 hours due to a powerful Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack. It has triggered a debate on the origins of the attack and the future of the stability of the Russian political blogosphere.
China: No More Time Travel Drama
The Chinese censor machine is not happy about time-travel drama, saying that it disrespects history. ChinaHush has translated the local news about the banning of the TV genre by the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television.
China: Love the Future
China Digital Times has translated a number of netizens’ support messages for Ai Weiwei. Many Chinese netizens build their messages by including a phrase, “Love the Future,” which looks and sounds very similar to Ai Weiwei’s name in their microblogs.
