3 October 2012

Stories from 3 October 2012

Bangladesh: ‘One Billion Rising’ Campaign Starts

  3 October 2012

Bangladesh has joined the global initiative to end the violence against women and children by launching the 'One Billion Rising' campaign. The word “billion” in the campaign refers to the one billion women on the planet who are survivors of abuse.

Hungary: Cycle Chic Summit in Budapest

  3 October 2012

Representatives of Amsterdam Cycle Chic, Berlin Cycle Chic, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, Vienna Cycle Chic and Vitória Cycle Chic gathered for a mini-summit in Budapest. This cycle chic event, organized by Hungarian Cycle Chic bloggers, was tied to a street fashion show. More photos are available here [hu].

Turkmenistan: An Introduction to Dutar

  3 October 2012

One can’t think of Turkmen art and culture without thinking about the dutar. Khan on the NewEurasia.net blog offers an ‘introduction’ to the traditional musical instrument that is also widely used in other Central Asian countries, Iran, and South Asia.

Kyrgyzstan: ‘I Am Gay and Muslim’ Banned

  3 October 2012

How is this possible that a movie title angered so many people? Kyrgyz blogger reacts [ru] to a recent court ban on the screening of “I Am Gay and Muslim,” a Dutch documentary about homosexual Muslims, at an international human rights film festival in Kyrgyzstan.

Venezuela: ‘Hangouts’ for the Election's Final Stretch

  3 October 2012

Blogger and journalist Luis Carlos Díaz organizes conversations and debates over the Presidential elections that will take place on October 7, 2012. First via Twitcam and now via Google Hangouts, a space has opened to discuss the campaigns, evaluate government management, risks and opportunities; and to review what people think days before the most contested elections in the last 14 years.

Mauritania: Destructive Gold Mining

From Mauritania, Ahmed Jedou writes [ar] about the the abuse of multinationals of gold mining in his country. Despite having the world's second largest gold mine, he says government corruption means Mauritanians benefit very little from the operation. Jedou also highlights the environmental impact of mining.

Russia: Apple Logo Branded As Unchristian by Orthodox Activists

RuNet Echo  3 October 2012

Interfax new agency reported [ru] today that a fringe group of Russian Orthodox activists (including some priests) has “on a number of occasions” staged public protests against the maker of the iPhone and iPad, Apple Inc., on the grounds that the company's logo (a monochrome “bitten” apple) constitutes an anti-Christian symbol.

Egypt: Two Children Detained for Blasphemy

Two Coptic children, aged nine and 10 years, are being detained in Egypt, for allegedly tearing up pages from the Holy Quran and urinating on them. The incident happened in a village in Beni Suef, in Upper Egypt, and the complaint against the children was filed by a Salafi clergyman. According to the Egyptian Penal Code, insulting Islam is considered as a crime in Egypt and the children are being held on blasphemy charges. On Twitter, netizens react to the development today.

The United States: Structural Violence on the Global Frontier

  3 October 2012

La Asociación de Estudiantes Latinos y Latinoamericanos (AELLA) del Graduate Center, City University of New York los invita a participar en la conferencia gratuita "Violencia estructural en la frontera global: Centroamerica, México y Estados Unidos", la cual se celebrará el próximo 4, 5 y 6 de octubre del 2012 en John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The Graduate Center, CUNY y St. Mary's Church, respectivamente. Las repercusiones de las políticas agresivas anti-migratorias, las deportaciones, los desaparecidos, las amenazas y la inseguridad que atenta contra las vidas de los miles de migrantes son algunos de los temas que se discutirán durante los tres días repletos de actividades. La conferencia será transmitida en vivo en el portal de Asuntos del Sur: www.asuntosdelsur.org. Para más información escriban a aella.gradcenter@gmail.com.

Venezuela: A Final Look at the Polls

  3 October 2012

In the blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, Iñaki Sagarzazu analyzes the final polls before the October 7 presidential elections in Venezuela. As it stands the race is extremely close. A six point difference is not only very close to the margin of error of most polling firms but is...