Stories from 10 October 2011
India: Candle-light Newscast In A News Channel In Karnataka
Recently in Karnataka, newscasters of the Kannada language channel Suvarna News read out the news with a candle on top of their desks to convey the impact of the power cuts in the state, reports Sans Serif. “Hopefully, the channel’s viewers had electricity back home to see the candle-light bulletins”,...
Bhutan: Preparing For The Royal Wedding
Penstar shares how Bhutan is preparing for the upcoming wedding of the King.
Sri Lanka: Local Election Results
Indi.ca provides updates of results of the recently concluded Municipal Council elections in Sri Lanka.
India: Waterlogging In Delhi
Anjora Sarangi at Youth Ki Awaaz writes about the growing problem of waterlogging in several parts of Delhi.
Bangladesh: The Oldest Coin In The World?
Bangladesh Unlocked writes about a tiny silver coin recovered from Wari Bateshwar in Bangladesh, the site of Bronze Age settlements, which may be the oldest coin in the world.
Cuba: Outpouring of Support for Las Damas’ Leader
Over the weekend, the leader of Cuba's Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), Laura Pollan, fell ill. Bloggers, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, reached out online to offer their support and wishes for Pollan's recovery.
Cuba: Fonseca & Husband Released
Uncommon Sense reports that “almost two weeks after they were arrested, Cuban activists Sara Martha Fonseca and her husband Julio Ignacio Leon were released from jail on Friday.”
Cuba: The Cuban “Facebook”
Translating Cuba introduces the island's very own Facebook: La Cubanada.
Bahamas: Women's Right to Safety
“Crime in the Bahamas denies women and their children the right to safety, which is a human right,” says Womanish Words, adding: “The new Nobel laureates I hope will remind Bahamian women of this human right to safety , and inspire us to courage enough to speak out when this...
Trinidad & Tobago: Striving to be Better
“It’s when you know your weaknesses and work on them that you become truly remarkable. And that’s what I want for T&T”: Outlish blogs about the things Trinbagonians won't (but probably should) do.
Jamaica: Hiding “Behind Blackness”
Under the Saltire Flag shares an interesting perspective on the recent riots in London: “I have no problem accepting that in many areas Britain is blindly racist and must be called out on it. It can be frustraiting to realize that in many instances Jamaica is just as blindly racist...
Paraguay: Referendum Backs Right to Vote Abroad
For the first time in history, Paraguay held a referendum to decide whether Paraguayans living abroad can vote in the general election. Campaigns for the "yes" were persistent but several people voiced their opposition to the referendum on Twitter.
Liberia: Liberian Elections 2011
Liberians voted today for the presidency as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate. The African Elections Project has set up a platform to monitor incidents of violence and irregularities.
China: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped?”
A new crowd-funded documentary, Living with Dead Hearts, tells the story of the thousands of children in China who are victims of kidnapping. Through interviews with both parents and formerly kidnapped children, the filmmakers hope to give a human face to this serious problem.
Russia: Putin Gets Twitter Hashtag for His Birthday
#CпасибоПутинуЗаЭто (“Thanks to Putin for This”) hashtag that resembles the Soviet “Thanks to the party for this” became a “Twitter sensation” according to the Wall Street Journal and a “Twitter storm,” according to The Moscow News. The campaign that was started [ru] by a pro-Kremlin blogger Vladimir Burmatov as a way...
Angola: Youth Protest Movement Consolidates Against Odds
After the imprisonment and sentencing of some of the organizers of the September 3 Angolan protest against the 32-year rule of President José Eduardo dos Santos, the youth movement behind the protest movement has carried on in spite of intimidation.
South Korea: Movie Prompts Outrage Over Disabled Child Sex Crimes
In South Korea, the movie 'Crucible' has brought a long-forgotten rape case of disabled kids by school officials to life. The movie has been a major hit for several consecutive weeks and has sparked calls for a reinvestigation of the case.
Cape Verde: Ibrahim Governance prize goes to ex-President
Twitter users react to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's attribution of this year's Governance Prize to ex-President of Cape Verde Pedro Pires. The $5 million prize dates from 2007 but went unattributed the past two years. Pires is the second “lusophone” politician to win the Prize, after ex-President of Mozambique Joaquim...
Uzbekistan: Uzbeks extradited from Kazakhstan get long prison terms
Avicenna reports that three of the 28 ethnic Uzbeks who were extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan in June, were sentenced to different prison terms, with the longest being 15 years.
Kazakhstan: Online TV website shut down
Tomyris writes that Kazakhstan’s opposition news website Stan-TV was shut down by the court decision; it was ordered to close the production studio and dismantle its broadcasting equipment. The formal reason for closure is supposedly a failure to comply with the standards of Kazakhstan’s public health inspection agency.
Turkmenistan: Journalist sentenced, goes to jail
Tomyris reports that Turkmen journalist Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev, who worked for the RFE/RL’s Turkmen language service, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after only a 2 day hearing, allegedly for influencing his relative to attempt to commit suicide.
