Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 June 14

14 June 2011

Daily archive · 8 posts

Stories from 14 June 2011

Lebanon: New All-Male Government Formed Amidst Continued Wrangling

Written by Antoun Issa · Middle East & North Africa

After almost five months of protracted negotiations and political bickering, Lebanon's Hezballah-led March 8 alliance finally announced a new exclusively male, 30-minister government to be headed by Sunni billionaire Najib Mikati.

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Peru: Reactions Following Ollanta Humala's Electoral Victory

Written by Isabel Guerra · Translated by Marianna Breytman · Latin America

More than a week following the close victory of nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala in the Peruvian presidential elections, reactions of all sorts continue to arise in the press, blogosphere, and Peruvian social networks.

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China: Lawyer Li Zhuang Released From Prison

Written by John Kennedy · East Asia

One of the defense lawyers in the case against Li Zhuang, the lawyer who has just been released after serving a prison sentence of 1.5 years for defending a mob boss in a politically-motivated crackdown on corruption, Chen Youxi, updates us on Li's situation, and more.

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Singapore: Anger Over Mistreatment of Elderly Patient

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

It’s called Nightingale Nursing Home but it seems some of the nurses there are far removed from the real Florence Nightingale. Singaporeans are shocked and upset after a spy video exposing the mistreatment of a 75-year-old lady in that nursing home was uploaded in the web. Bloggers also discuss the quality of healthcare in the country

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Macedonia: Reasons for Protesting

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Eastern & Central Europe

Bloggers from Macedonia consider the historical significance of the current protests against police brutality, in the context of democracy development.

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Russia: New Initiative to Enforce TV Morality

Written by Vadim Isakov · Eastern & Central Europe

An initiative to create a Public Oversight Board for media control in Russia may seem like a passage from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four but it is a reality in the country, which still struggles to accept the concept of democracy and free speech.

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Malawi: Citizens “Fuel” Facebook for Gas Updates

Written by Victor Kaonga · Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawians have been queuing up for hours for fuel since last year. The severe shortage of fuel has affected thousands of motorists, passengers and businesses. As one way of updating one another on latest fuel supplies at gas stations, Malawians are using a Facebook group called Malawi Fuel Watch.

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India Close Behind China in the African Continent

Written by Abdoulaye Bah · Translated by Claire Ulrich · Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia

In May, the second India and Africa Summit was held at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through the Cooperation Plan, India offers a different partnership model from the Chinese one, and inspired comments in the French-speaking African blogosphere.

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Updates from 14 June 2011

Pakistan

“The beasts in Pakistan have made it a habit to kill. Kill in the name of sect. Kill in the name of religion. Kill in the name of tribe. Kill in the name of Islam – They are not aware that in Islam killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity,” comments Mohammad Yusha while discussing about the recent twin blasts in Peshawar which killed 39 people.

• Rezwan

Pakistan

Farhan Janjua captures the photo of a banner situated in Garden Town, Lahore, Pakistan which reads: “Christian’s Graveyard in Muslim Population is Not Acceptable! Not Acceptable!.”

• Rezwan

Bhutan

“Legend has it that the Wind in Wangdue comes from a hole in the elephant hill,” - so describes Passu about the “man-blowing” wind at the southern end of the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong in Bhutan.

• Rezwan

India

Sans Serif reports that in India there have been 17 instances of attacks on journalist in the last six months and at least three journos died.

• Rezwan

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Netizens can follow the discussion on US President Barack Obama's flash visit today to Puerto Rico under the hashtags #obamapr and #obamaenpr.

• Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Guinea-Bissau

On June 6, the Parliament of Guinea Bissau passed a bill that forbids female genital mutilation [pt], known as “fanado”. For journalist and blogger Helena Gouveia [pt] “although the law alone is insufficient, this is an important step to combat a barbaric ritual that violates the basic rights of women.”

• Sara Moreira

Sao Tome and Principe

Abri os olhos São Tomé (Open your eyes Sao Tome) [pt] is an intervention mixed song with “controversial lyrics” by santomean rapper PekaGBoom. On the blog Nação hip Hop (Hip Hop Nation) [pt], PekaGBoom's message is described as an invitation “to meditate”.

• Sara Moreira

Argentina

June 14, 2011 marks 25 years since the death of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Blogger Juan Carlos Lynch pays homage [es] to the author recommending “The Gospel According to Mark“, a short story that helped Juan Carlos get rid of that common ‘fear' associated with reading Borges.

• Silvia Viñas

Honduras

“What is the appropriate mix of policies regarding agriculture in Honduras?” asks blogger Jose Falck Zepeda, who then argues that Honduras “need[s] to look for innovative approaches to improve smallholder productivity, to improve medium and large scale agriculture, promote exports and to develop the non-farm rural economy.”

• Silvia Viñas