29 August 2012

Stories from 29 August 2012

Bolivia: Radioactive Uranium Seized in La Paz?

  29 August 2012

'If the mineral found yesterday is #uranio (uranium), the first thing they should have done was verify if it was radioactive instead of calling the press!' Two tons of solid material, presumably uranium or radioactive minerals, were seized by authorities on August 28 in La Paz. The potential radioactivity of the material remains unclear.

Mexico: Egg Price Hike Causes Speculation

  29 August 2012

The increasing price of eggs, a staple in Mexico, has caused speculation and malpractices, as well as discontent and suspicion among consumers. The price of a kilo of eggs has almost reached the Mexican daily minimum wage ($ 4.6 USD or € 3.66).

Russia: Chainsaws to the Cross

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

On August 25, unknown parties sawed down three wooden crosses in the city of Chelyabinsk, in the Urals. The same night, another cross came down in Arkhangelsk, in the north. Was it a copycat political statement, or a dire plot by the Kremlin to sow discord?

South Korea: K-Pop Video ‘Gangnam Style’ Goes Viral Internationally

  29 August 2012

South Korean singer Psy's tune 'Gangnam Style' has gone viral internationally, with its YouTube video surpassing 70 million hits as of today. This has got many Koreans talking and the scope of such discussions vary from simple praise of Psy's success, reviews of his marketing and social media strategies, to a more detailed analysis of Koreans' deep-seated insecurity about their country.

Pakistan: Long Road to Peace and Security

  29 August 2012

As Pakistan enters its 66th year of Independence, it is a good time to take stock of the security situation within the country - in order to understand what role the nation will continue to play in the overall security and stability of the region.

Vietnam: Gay Marriage and Human Rights

  29 August 2012

The proposal should be cautiously welcomed as a progressive move which grants equality and official acceptance to members of society who have not felt the benefit of these statuses before Matthew Parsfield believes that the news that Vietnam could soon become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage should...

Myanmar: Reshuffling the Cabinet

  29 August 2012

In a bold move, Myanmar President Thein Sein reshuffled[my] his cabinet by appointing non-army officers and removing controversial ministers. Among those replaced included the Minister of the Ministry of Electric Power who was criticized for the electricity shortage last summer and the Minister of the Ministry of Information who is...

Thailand: Petition to Stop Mae Wong Dam

  29 August 2012

Please stop this crazy dam project and help maintain valuable tiger habitat in Mae Wong National Park. The statement is from a petition urging the Thailand government to stop the Mae Wong dam project in order to protect a critical tiger habitat

Russia: Censorship Law Threatens Children's Classics

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

After news that Russian television will soon be forced to curtail showings of a classic children’s cartoon “Nu, Pogodi!” [wiki] (the Soviet version of Tom & Jerry but with wolf and bunny instead of cat and mouse) because it is too violent for a new law protecting children from the...

Russia: Police Claim Top Blogger Was Hacked from Germany

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

The Moscow police department has determined [ru] that Aleksei Navalny's email and Twitter accounts were hacked in late June from a German IP address. Fellow liberal blogger Andrey Malgin criticized [ru] the announcement, accusing the authorities of disguising their own responsibility for supposedly stealing [ru] Navalny's passwords in a June 11 search [ru] of...

Assessing Quality of Life in African Cities

  29 August 2012

One study on the quality of life in cities across the world reports that, of the ten least liveable cities, six are situated in Africa. However, another finds that the populations of certain African cities are happier than those of several European counterparts. So what exactly is the reality of quality of life in Africa's cities?

Are Ethiopians the Most Secretive People on Earth?

  29 August 2012

After weeks of rumors about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopia’s Prime Minster Meles Zenawi, the government finally announced his death from an "undisclosed illness" on August 21, 2012. There are many previous examples of such secrecy from Ethiopia, such as when Emperor Haile Selassie I tried to hide the 1973 famine, while Emperor Menelik II's death in 1913 was hidden from the public for years. Are Ethiopians the most secretive people in the world?