22 May 2012

Stories from 22 May 2012

South Korea: Taking Evolution out of Textbooks

  22 May 2012

An atheist blogger who works as an English teacher in South Korea, Chris Hallquist wrote about some efforts made to strip evolution out of science textbooks. Based on his experience in South Korea which he defines as ‘a pretty secular country’, the blogger commented on the Christian organizations’ influence on...

Puerto Rico: Dancing Images

  22 May 2012

Photojournalist Heriberto Castro maintains a beautiful blog dedicated to one of his passions: dance. The blog En la Punta del Pie [es] includes his stunning images and information on dance events.

Mali: Protests Call for National Unity in Gao and Timbuktu

  22 May 2012

Following protests in Timbuktu in April 2012, citizens of the city of Gao have taken to the streets to protest about the demands and orders imposed by the Islamic groups currently occupying northern Mali. Malian bloggers and their readers react to the protests as well as to the current situation in Northern Mali.

Puerto Rico: 80 Grados Launches Campaign

  22 May 2012

The digital magazine 80 Grados -an important space for in-depth and alternative journalism and scholarly essays- has launched a funding campaign [es] to support its continued commitment and sustain its publication.

South Sudan: South Sudan Theatre Company Online

  22 May 2012

South Sudan Theatre Company online: “Advised and led by three of South Sudan’s most respected cultural leaders, a group of artists and dramatists have come together to form the South Sudan Theatre Company. Under the shadow of war, southern Sudanese artists experimented with theatrical form and created performances in streets,...

Mauritania: Al Qaeda Execution Stirs Debate

A YouTube video posted on the Al Akhbar website on May 12 has angered Mauritanians. The video shows a 40-year-old Mauritanian man being interrogated by members of Al Qaeda, who accuse him of espionage. He was later executed after confessing to working with Mauritanian intelligence.

Azerbaijan: Is Eurovision A Rare Opportunity For Change?

With increased media attention on the country during this week's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, former prisoner of conscience Emin Milli argues that the international music competition offers a rare opportunity to raise concerns with human rights abuses and the lack of democratic freedoms in the oil-rich former Soviet...

“The Most Misterious of Brazilian Writers” Receives Camões Award

  22 May 2012

Blog Semióticas [pt] celebrates this year's Camões Award – “the highest honor” for a Portuguese language writer – given to Dalton Trevisan from Curitiba, Brazil, for his “extraordinary contribute in the art of short stories”. Trevisan, “the most misterious of Brazilian writers”, is well known for his mystical reclusiveness, and refuses...

Brazil: “The Dilemma of the Brazilian Revolutionaries”

  22 May 2012

The author of Lost Sambista Blog shares a photo of Che Guevara being awarded the Gra-cruz of honor by Janio Quadros, the Brazilian President for only seven months in 1961, and writes about foreign affairs and revolutionary political figures from the 1960's in Brazil, who are nowadays still present in...

Bulgaria: The Strongest Earthquake Since 1917

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the strongest since 1917, shook Bulgaria's capital Sofia and the perimeter zone of around 100 km last night, followed by a number of strong aftershocks. No victims have been reported so far. The website Earthquake Reports has published live updates and social networks such as Twitter...

Russia: The RuNet's Top 10 Political Slang Words

Understanding political discussions in the Russian blogosphere requires a certain fluency in RuNet slang. For anyone interested in grasping the nuances of online satire and blogger arguments (or for those who seek to "troll" their own virtual opponents), the following list of ten popular slang terms should be particularly useful.

Myanmar: Protest Against Power Shortage

  22 May 2012

CJMyanmar uploaded photos of the protest against the electricity shortage in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar. Hundreds who joined the activity lighted candles and peacefully protested in front of the government office of Electricity Supply and Chinese Embassy.