Stories from 27 July 2011
Belarus: Overview of Political and Economic Situation
An overview of the political and economic situation in Belarus – by Natalia Leshchenko at OpenDemocracy.net.
Colombia: Dancing Police Welcome Soccer Players
In Medellin, Colombia, police officers welcomed England's U-20 soccer players at the airport with a dance, making a good impression on visitors but raising concerns on security for some locals.
Bhutan: Tour De Bhutan
Bhutan's latest passion is mountain biking and this year Tour Of Dragon, the successful cross country biking race event, is going international, informs Passu.
Mexico: 17 Dead After Jail Riot in Ciudad Juárez
“Seventeen people are dead following a Juárez jailhouse ‘riot’, which seems to have been more a pitched battle between the Mexicles and the Aztecas, two local gangs whose members populate the detention centers” reports Gancho, and adds: “The jail was built for 850 people, but houses some 2,700, which seems...
Sri Lanka: One Million Users On Facebook
Amitha Amarasinghe informs that Sri Lanka became the 76th country to reach one million users on Facebook. “This is a penetration of 4.66% into Sri Lanka’s entire population”, says Amitha.
Nepal: Bloggers Sign Code of Ethics
A historic moment in citizen journalism in Nepal happened today as Nepali bloggers signed their own code of conduct, reports Ujjwal Acharya. The Code of Ethics for bloggers is a joint initiative by BLOGAN, a network of Nepali bloggers, and Online Journalists Association of Nepal (OJA).
Colombia: Singer Joe Arroyo Dies
Colombian salsa singer Álvaro José Arroyo González, better known as Joe Arroyo, passed away on July 26 in Barranquilla. On Twitter, blogs and websites his fans reacted to the news remembering his life and his songs.
Jamaica: Public Outbursts from Diasporan Women
“How can we not say to ourselves – was any enterprise ever so doomed to failure? Was anything ever so sad?”: An eye-opening post from Under the Saltine Flag about the underlying issues that could possibly have sparked public tirades by two Jamaican women.
Cuba: Tired July 26 Celebrations?
Generation Y blogs about this year's celebration of Cuba’s revolutionary holiday.
Jamaica: An Anime Nation to be Reckoned With
Jamaipanese says that this year's Anime Nation was “bigger and better” than its inaugural event, calling it “an epic event for fans of anime, cosplay, video games and Japan as patrons came from all over Jamaica to enjoy the event many of them wearing costumes or “cosplaying” as their favourite...
Bermuda: Waiting in Vain for PATI
According to Vexed Bermoothes, “there is no sign of ‘freedom of information act’ preparation in any part of Government”, despite the fact that a year has passed since the Public Access to Information Act was passed in the Bermuda Legislature.
Jamaica: Unimpressed with Minaj
Active Voice publishes a guest post about singer Nicki Minaj's performance at Jamaica's recent Reggae Sumfest: “Minaj messed up when she displayed such flagrant disrespect to Jamaica by announcing that she was warned about profanity but went ahead merrily, regardless.”
Russia: Policeman that Promised to “Rob and Kill” Dismissed
A policeman that was caught on camera saying that if he would be dismissed he would “go to the streets to rip, rob, and kill” (video [ru]) was dismissed, lenta.ru reported [ru]. The dismissal (result of a bloggers’ activity in spreading the word about the case), however, didn't solve a...
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.
Angola: Bloggers Meet Rappers for a Socially Responsible Soccer Match
Dino Cross, from the blog Hip Hop Angola, announces [pt] a soccer match between Angolan bloggers and rappers that will take place on the 30th of July. All the attendees are invited to bring goods to the stadium which the organization will take care of donating to social institutions afterwards.
China: Double Frontage
On July 27, 2011, Qianjiang Daily's have two versions of its newspaper's frontpage. One is about Wenzhou train crash, the headline said: Today is the fifth day of the accident, 11 lives are still struggling. Add oil! Be strong. The second version is a commercial. Netizens believe [zh] that the...
China: Chengguan kill handicapped street vendor in daylight
Jing Gao from MInistry of Tofu collects information about a mass incident happened in Guizhou province on July 26, in which two men and one woman from the Chengguan squad, killed a handicapped street vendor in daylight and riot police used tear gas to drive speculators away.
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.
China: Ministry of Railways
Twitter user @JAYxiaomuzhu posts a number of T-shirt design using the logo of PRC's Ministry of Railways to protest against its handling of the recent train crash incident in Wenzhou.