Stories from 5 May 2012
Greece: Public Speech Controversies
Before the May 6, 2012, General Election in Greece, Friday 4 was the last day political parties could organize public speeches and rallies. Heavy criticism was levelled at PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos's choice to give a public speech at Syntagma Square in Athens, center of anti-government and anti-austerity mass citizen protests so...
Greece: General Elections on Twitter
Under hashtags like #grelections, #electionsgr and #ekloges12, Greek netizens share their opinions, feelings and related media about the forthcoming general elections in Greece on Sunday, May 6, 2012.
Greece: Possible Hacking Attack on Election Day?
A video by user BrutalTruthOps on Dailymotion shows reportedly a message by Anonymous #OpGreece, who warn about an online attack on Sunday evening May 6, 2012, implying that their target will be the country's election results system.
Brazil Approves Racial Quotas in Higher Education
The Supreme Court of Brazil has unanimously approved the adoption of racial quota policies in higher education institutions across the country. The approval of the policy brings up again the controversial debate on racial discrimination and racial inequality in the country.
Armenia: Chaos as Balloons Explode at Election Campaign Rally
Disaster struck a parliamentary election campaign rally in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on Friday 4 May, when a cigarette apparently caused gas-filled balloons to ignite. Reports indicate that over 140 people were injured in the blast.
Best of the Blogs 2012: Winners Announced
After a month of voting and jury discussions, the awards for this year's Best of the Blogs - the BOBs - have been decided. In addition to winners decided by user vote, a jury of bloggers, media experts and activists have curated the best blogs, campaigns and media projects in six multilingual categories.
India: Google Search's Change in Algorithm and Its Impact
Google’s recent algorithm change in their search engine affected low quality Search engine optimization/link building services, much of which was being outsourced by the US to countries like India. While some are predicting an impact on outsourcing jobs in India, experts say that this will clean webspam and improve the field of online advertising.
Spain: Madrid Preparing for “Indignado” Anniversary
The anniversary of 15M - which will be celebrated throughout Spain - promises a month full of initiatives led mainly by neighbors and town assemblies. The common objective is to achieve the political permanence on the streets of Madrid claiming the right to assembly and free speech.
Cuba: National Meeting of Bloggers Ends in Controversy
The Meeting of Cuban Bloggers was held on 27th and 28th April 2012. More than 60 bloggers from all the provinces in the country spent two days sharing their experiences at the University of Matanzas, east of the Cuban capital. The event's final statement sparked controversy amongst different members of the national blogging community.
