Stories from 20 October 2011
Armenia: Newfound Support for Domestic Violence Victims
Domestic violence has long been a taboo subject in Armenian circles. But when 20-year-old mother Zaruhi Petrosyan was brutally beaten to death by her husband and mother-in-law last October, the case mobilized individuals and organizations in confronting this issue which affects over a quarter of women in Armenia.
Armenia: Extreme Metal in the Caucasus
Shreddernet examines the Extreme Metal scene in Armenia and asks whether its dark melodies and themes have a place in the Caucasus. For a small number of the region's inhabitants the blog says the answer appears to be yes, and the post includes an interview with Daeron, a local metal...
Cuba: More Tributes to Pollan
More tributes to the late Laura Pollan, here, here, here and here.
Cuba: Pollan's Death & the State Health Care System
Cuban bloggers report that some Cuban dissidents do not trust state hospitals after the death of Laura Pollan; babalu translates a blog post claiming that Pollan's hair and skin samples were collected before her cremation with the intention of sending them to an independent lab “in the hopes of determining...
Iran: Be Scared, Dictator – Gaddafi is Dead
Several Iranian bloggers joined Libyans in celebration on Thursday, after longtime Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi was killed. Some bloggers longed for the end of dictatorship in Iran, as they shared in Libyan joy for a liberated country.
Trinidad & Tobago: Urban Development's Bill
Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch expresses his disgust at “the corruption that is rampant in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Haiti: Cholera, One Year Later
Dying in Haiti marks the one year anniversary of Haiti's cholera outbreak, saying: “Conservative numbers say that cholera has infected 500,000 Haitians and killed 6,500 of them. This is more than any place in the world.”
Cuba: Upcoming Census
Cuba will soon be having a new population census, but Generation Y wonders whether those who will be asking the questions are “census takers — or censors”, saying: “Tearing down the wall of distrust is not so easy, especially in a society where privacy in the home has been greatly...
Bolivia: TIPNIS Indigenous Marchers Arrive in La Paz
The indigenous marchers of the TIPNIS reached their final destination of La Paz, Bolivia, where they were greeted as heroes by the city's residents. They still have hopes of meeting with the President and to get his commitment to halt the highway construction through their territory.
Chile: Transsexuals Demand a Place in Postponed Anti-Discrimination Law
An anti-discrimination law is up for vote in Chile. It would ban any prejudice based on race, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and more. Although it offers new protection to often-marginalized groups, transsexuals didn’t make the cut. Now, they're demanding inclusion.
Central America: Bloggers Attempt to Raise Awareness as Heavy Rains Continue
Mike from Central American Politics links to English language blogs covering the damage caused by the heavy rains that have been falling on Central America for over one week.
Chile: Photos of October 19 Student Protest
Chilean students marched for education reform on October 18 and 19. Kena Lorenzini posts numerous pictures of the second day on her personal blog.
Nicaragua: Night life in Nueva Guinea
Ronald Hill blogs about Nicaragua's Caribbean coast in Sueños del Caribe (“Dreams from the Caribbean”). In his latest post [es] he describes night life in Nueva Guinea.
Libya: The Truth About Gaddafi's Death
Libya has broken out in celebration after Gaddafi's stronghold Sirte fell and the man himself was either captured and killed or killed and captured. On Twitter, journalists and pundits have tried to reconstruct his death circumstances.
Russia: 7 Temporarily Detained During the President's Meeting with Journalism Students
7 journalism students (among others @kichanova, @rise_rebel and @ave_katerina) were detained during the meeting of the president Medvedev at the Journalism department of the Moscow State University,Vitaliy Shushkevich tweets [ru] (also see photo [ru]). They were temporarily detained for contemplating a political action and were released only after Medvedev had left the...
Tanzania: Priorities for Open Government in Tanzania
Daraja discusses the decision by the Tanzanian government to joining the Open Government Partnership: “So, an open-data platform for Tanzanian government data is option 1. But with only around 2% of Tanzanians online, this option could be described as elitist. It would help researchers, academics, journalists, students and activists, but...
Cameroon: An Open Letter to the President
An open letter to the President of Cameroon from opposition presidential candidate Ayah Paul Abine: “Mr. President, You would have known by now that of the seven candidates who signed the Yaounde Declaration demanding the cancellation of the recent presidential election, four are Anglophones and three are from the West...
Uganda: LRA Survivor Bears Witness
Lord's Resistance Army survivor in Uganda bears witness: “Evelyn Apoko survived the Lords Resistance Army [LRA]. Here she responds to those who are stupidly misinformed and who have criticised President Obama’s decision to deploy 100 US troops to try to end the LRA’s war and capture Joseph Kony.”
Ghana: Blogger Assaulted
A female blogger was assaulted in Accra this morning: “This morning, at about 7.38 am, I was physically assaulted in my car, on the Mallam-Weija Highway by a man of about mid-thirties, about 5'11 tall, toughly built … dressed in balck office shirt and tucked into black denim trousers, black...
Cameroon: Election Irregularities Noted by US Ambassador in Yaoundé
Robert Jackson, the United States (US) Ambassador in Cameroon, stated in a declaration made public by AFP [fr] that US observers of the October 9, 2011, presidential election noted “irregularities at every level” of the electoral process, and “technical difficulties by Elecam [Cameroonian Electoral Commission] in its management of the...
Libya: Celebrations as Gaddafi Confirmed Dead
Libyan dictator Muammar Al Gaddafi is finally dead. After hundreds of thousands of tweets and guess work between news of him being captured, wounded, killed, or all three together, we finally have a confirmation from the Libyan ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) that he really is dead.
