Stories from 4 March 2012
Bhutan: Malnutrition In Boarding Schools
Tshering Tobgay points to the recent deaths of two students of a boarding school in Bhutan due to chronic vitamin deficiency. Depriving children of essential micro-nutrients is an atrocious crime, the blogger says.
India: Rs. 300 Million Of Praise
Sneha finds out that Indian Rs. 300 Million were spent between 2009 to 2011 on advertisements on the birth and death anniversaries of Rajiv and Indira Gandhi, two assassinated leaders of the ruling congress party. Her concern is that these expenses were paid from the taxpayers’ money — without his...
India: Why Women Do Not Deserve To Be Raped
The Delhi Fashion Blogger lists some arguments for the rape apologists stating that women do not deserve to be raped by any logic.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Crying Putin
At pro-Putin rally, Vladimir Putin cried (photo, video) when heard that he apparently won in the first round of elections. This fact immediately became a hot topic among commenters. “He began to stream myrrh,” and “Moscow does not believe in tears,” a reference to the popular Soviet movie, are among the...
Friendly atmosphere in Abidjan as Senegal nationals in Côte d'Ivoire went to vote
Suy Kahofi wrote on mondoblog [fr] regarding the atmosphere in Senegalese polling stations in the capital of Côte d’Ivoire: “This voting process has been, above all, a time of reunion for Senegal nationals living in Côte d'Ivoire, and the good-natured atmosphere seen outside the polling stations has also been felt within.”
Republic of Congo: Ammunition Depot Blasts Stir Panic in Brazzaville
On Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 8 am local time, an ammunition storage caught fire in the Mpida area of Brazzaville, near the Presidential Palace, causing at least four explosions. Houses in the neighborhood collapsed, creating an atmosphere of panic in the city.
Singapore: Netizens Criticize ‘Offensive’ Government Ad
Singapore netizens are criticizing an advertising recruitment campaign by a government ministry for using posters that label ex-offenders, victims of abuse, and people with disabilities as destroyed, ruined, abandoned, and hopeless. Critics say the posters perpetuate prejudice and discrimination.
Russia: Election Violations Recorded in the North Caucasus
YouTube-user iFegor had recorded a video transmission from North Ossetia republic where two women are putting numerous ballots into the ballot boxes. In Dagestan, another user had recorded an unidentified man also stuffing ballots. Both republics are known for their unusually high (more than 90 percent) support of candidates and...
Russia: Police and Military Trucks Spotted in Moscow
Bloggers share pictures of numerous police and military trucks that flooded central streets of Moscow. Video summarizing [ru] buses and military vehicles. Photo of trucks standing next to the Red Square. Ridus.ru had compiled a big collection [ru] of pictures of special police forces.
Mauritania: Last Hope March to Nouakchott Begins
Mauritanian activists have embarked on a 470km journey on foot, from the city of Nouadhibou to the capital Nouakchott, carrying a number of economic and political demands to the authorities. It is called The March of the Last Hope and aims to draw attention to the woes of Mauritanians and their demands for reform.
Jordan: Amman's Welcome Snow Day
Amid a rough winter in Jordan with little optimism in the air, Ammanis found solace in getting snowed in on Thursday, making it a long white weekend; joyfully hyper tweeting and photo sharing snow covered neighborhoods and some whacky snow creations.
Iran: MediaFire is blocked
MediaFire, a famous free file and image hosting website located in U.S., is blocked in Iran ‘for second time’. Several reports and tweets from Iranian users including Tehran-based Ali say this website has been blocked in recent couple of days. Iranian users have already reported about some other hosting websites...
Russia: Government Election Webcams
“Although not much can be seen, Muscovites have finally seen Russia,” write bloggers describing election webcams [ru] installed by Rostelecom company following the Dec. 2011 election. Although video capturing had not been possible initially, users developed an application [ru] to record broadcasts. Users of imageboard 2ch.so self-organized to hunt for funny videos, but instead...
Russia: Absentee Voters and Election Carousels Alarm Twitterers
Russian Twitterers report numerous ‘election carousels’ (form of vote rigging when people vote several times at different voting stations). Bolshoy Gorod shares a picture [ru] of buses that allegedly are transporting ‘carousel voters.’ Echo Moskvy reports [ru] 6000 voters illegally added to Strogino voting station. Users share their carousel observations...
China: Challenging the 50 Cent Party
With a new spoofed flag, China's army of paid pro-government online commentators have recently gotten the sharp end of a number of new jokes. Oiwan Lam reports.
Cambodia: Documenting the Work of a Microfinance Loan Officer
World Vision posts photos of Nhek Chanthy, a loan officer in Cambodia which give us a glimpse of how microfinance programs are being implemented in rural Cambodia.
IDEA Asia Youth Forum 2012
Migration is the chosen theme for the very first Asia Youth Forum organized by the International Debate Education Association, which will be held in Thailand this coming May
Myanmar to Build Subway for Yangon?
Fifty Viss compiles news reports and some online reactions to the proposal to build a subway system in the capital of Myanmar.
Russia: Ballot Stuffing or Machine Testing?
Glenn Kates (@gkates) shares a link to an election webcam video from a polling station in the North Ossetian village of Chikola, which “appears to show ballot stuffing.” “They could just be testing the machine though,” @gkates adds. Of the 91 comments on the video's YouTube page, the most popular...
