Stories from 27 December 2011
‘Developing Latin America': Open Data Projects
The 'Desarrollando Latin América' (Developing Latin America) competition, a public hackathon for creating technological solutions to education, security and budgetary problems in six countries in the region, took place on the 3rd and 4th of December. Juan Arellano, who acted as a judge in Lima (Peru), summarises the results and the reactions from the participants.
A Radical Solution For Global Poverty: Open Borders
Various experts say that extreme poverty isn't inevitable. The most radical solution to drastically reducing global poverty would be, for many economic experts, opening the borders between countries and allowing workers to migrate where labor is most needed.
North Korean State Websites Started Praising the Heir after Kim's Death
North Korea’s state-run websites have begun to print the regime's young heir, Kim Jong-un's name in a style previously reserved for lately deceased dictator, Kim Jong Il, reported North Korea Tech blog.
Morocco: The Tale of the February 20 Movement in 20 Videos
A look back at how the Moroccan pro-democracy movement "February 20" has used videos, as very powerful and viral social media tool to get its message across. Hisham Almiraat shares a selection of the 20 most popular and viral videos that marked the course of the February 20 Movement over the past 10 months.
Egypt: Reaping Legal Victories as the Revolution Continues
Egyptians are reaping victories in the halls of courtrooms. First, blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released by a judge pending investigations, after spending 56 days behind bars yesterday. Then, a court ruled today that conducting virginity tests on women in the custody of the military is illegal.
Taiwan: Crowd-funded investigative journalism website kicks off
weReport, a Taiwan media project that tries to boost disappearing investigative journalism using crowd-funded and crowd-sourced mechanism, kicks off today with its first fully funded proposal proposed by China famous blogger Zola. His proposal to investigate the situation of registration fee for cross-strait marriage derives from his personal experience.
Latin America: Youth Unemployment
Bloggings by boz looks at youth unemployment in Latin America, concluding that “with growth projections decreased for 2011 and 2012, the current situation for youth unemployment is almost certainly getting worse. That could have major economic, political and social implications moving into 2012.”
Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music
Christmas, a Christian celebration that arrived in Perú with the Spaniards at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was adapted over the years by different Peruvian communities. The black community also managed to incorporate its own individuality in the festivities, expressing its particular experiences in the artistic creations made to honor the holiday.
Russia: The Opposition in St. Petersburg Fails to Reach Understanding
December 2011 post-election protest events consist of two elements: 'professional oppositioners' and concerned citizens. In Moscow those two elements managed to get together. In St. Petersburg, however, the meeting was let down by one of the parties. Citizens responded with confusion and disdain.
Singapore: Animal Lovers Rally to Save Stray Dogs
Animal-lovers in Singapore have been rallying to save the lives of stray dogs in Punggol, after authorities stepped up efforts to round up the strays, possibly for culling.
Pakistan: The Night Benazir Bhutto was Killed
Sami Saayer looks back the night of 27th December, 2007, and reminisces about the incidents he witnessed around him after the news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination spread.
Bhutan: A Father's Letter to His Son
Jurmi Chhowing writes a lovely, heart-warming letter to his son, on the occasion of his son's birthday
China: Rural Migrant Workers’ Protests
Archer Wang from Ministry of Tofu translated an online special feature report on Chinese migrant workers’ protests for collecting their due salary from employers.
China: Top 10 Problems in 2011
Paul from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese Academy of Social Science's survey on the top 10 problems in 2011 as perceived by Chinese people.
Bangladesh: The Dhaka Project Celebrates Students’ Success
The Dhaka Project reports that all the 49 underprivileged students who appeared in the Primary Education Completion Examination from their RSF Dhaka School & College have successfully passed the exam
China: Ticket for Noah’s Ark 2012 Sold Online
Jacky Huang from ChinaHush translated a local report on the selling of Noah's Ark 2012 ticket at Taobao, an online shopping platform. The price of an one-billion Euros ticket is sold at 3 RMB (less than $0.5).
India: A Photo Journey to Hatu Temple in Himachal Pradesh
Photo Journey captures the Hatu Temple, situated in Himachal Pradesh, India, in all its glory.
India:Call for ‘Back to Basics’ in Kashmir
AL-HAQU-MURUN visits Kashmir and senses a growing, socio-religious conflict within the Muslim community. He feels that, if left unattended, this could have serious repercussion in the coming days.
