15 February 2012

Stories from 15 February 2012

Singapore: Politician's Expulsion Triggers By-Election

  15 February 2012

A by-election has been triggered in Singapore's Hougang Single Member Constituency after the Worker's Party expelled Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong amidst allegations of extramarital affairs. Netizens used the #hougangbyelection hashtag to express their comments about the issue

Honduras: Prison Fire Kills Hundreds

  15 February 2012

A blaze broke out on Tuesday night, February 14, in a prison in Comayagua. The blog Honduras News has published several posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ) on the fire, while Adrienne Pine recommends watching “Oscar Estrada's film El Porvenir for background.”

Introducing Bloggers and Twitter Users from Ecuador

  15 February 2012

During the Campus Party Quito, held in October 2011, Juan Arellano interviewed outstanding bloggers and Twitter users from Ecuador with the aim to describe the wealth and variety of ways in which Ecuadorians use the Internet and social media. In the following videos you will get to know some of those who inspire the Ecuadorian Internet.

France: Racial Profiling by Police Officers

  15 February 2012

The Local blog posts a Human Rights Watch report that states : “French police use broad powers to conduct abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys despite the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.”

France : Dozens of Anti-ACTA Protests

  15 February 2012

Despite freezing temperatures, a few thousand netizens joined the Saturday Feb. 11 worldwide protests against ACTA, in Paris and some 40 other cities in France. One can find pictures on clubic.com, a video of the protests [fr] on Madmax's blog, an  Anti – Acta France Facebook page and the  details [fr] of a petition on the Gizmodo blog.

Rwanda: Sharp Poverty Reduction

  15 February 2012

Edward Ojulu wrote on The Rwanda Focus blog: “…. over the last five years, more than one million more Rwandans gained access to adequate food, safe drinking wa­ter, good health and education services among others.”

Cuba: Cleaning Up for Papal Visit?

  15 February 2012

El Cafe Cubano reports that residents who live close to the Basilica of the Patron Saint of Cuba, a destination that is on Pope Benedict XVI's itinerary when he visits Cuba next month, are being evicted in en effort to “[cover] up the prevailing misery that the Cuban people are...

China: Bum Rushing The Bus

  15 February 2012

Some buses in Beijing are so swamped with throngs of people that some have begun climbing over one another just to get a seat or a place to stand.

Martinique: All together around Creole

  15 February 2012

The Creole language in the Caribbean and the cooperation between islands were recently discussed during the Creole-speaking Regions Days, as explained in this post on Tous Créoles [Fr Cr/Fr]. One of the most debated issues was a visa waiving program between the French Caribbean islands and the rest of the...

Greece: 13th International Guitar Festival in Volos

  15 February 2012

On 18-19 February, 2012, the 13th International Guitar Winter Festival will take place [el] in Volos, Thessalia, with participants both in classical and electrical guitar competitions. The event's aim is to bring together guitarists of all ages from Greece and abroad to develop their musical skills and be united under...