China: Ningbo Protests Point to Middle Class Discontent

Over the weekend, residents took to the streets in Ningbo, Zhejiang, to protest against the expansion of a paraxylene (PX) plant in their city. Sophie Beach from China Digital Times highlights the middle class discontent reflected in the protest.

Puerto Rico: Prejudice Between the Lines

Félix Jiménez denounces in a short note in the digital magazine 80grados the prejudice that is revealed between the lines in the sports sections of the country's main newspapers when covering Orlando Cruz, the Puerto Rican boxer that recently came out as openly gay. Jiménez says: To review articles supposedly supporting Cruz is...

Panama: Statements After the Chaos Unleashed by Law 72

The impressions of Panamanians and foreigners living in the country were immediate after the chaos unleashed by the approval of Law 72. This law, without consultation, promoted the sale of land in the Colón Free Trade Zone, a source of income for the country and this province that practically lies in ruins after having gone unnoticed by the government. The protests against the law have left four dead and dozens injured and detained.

Pakistan: Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy fired from LUMS

MIT alumni and preeminent physicist Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy has been fired from Lahore University of Management Sciences presumably because of ideological differences with the management. Dr. Hoodbhoy's contract was a buzzing news on the Pakistani twitter community.

Military Parade in Turkmenistan

Talking With Rebecca MacKinnon About ‘Consent Of The Networked’

Global Voices In Spanish talked to Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices, about her book Consent Of The Networked, which deals with the governance of the Internet and the right of netizens to take ownership and responsibility for the digital future.

Brazil: Wikileaks Reveals Officials’ Disdain Towards the Guarani Kaiowá

Brazilian investigative journalism website Pública reports [pt] on documents leaked by WikiLeaks on the plight of the request for land of the indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá. A cable from 2009 reveals disdain by local authorities from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul towards Guarani-Kaiowá's demands for the demarcation of the lands...

What Exactly is a Hackathon? And What is Open Data?

We previously announced the next hackathon for Latin America: Developing Latin America 2012. But it's likely that some readers are not sure what a hackathon is or above all, what it's for. Here we try to answer those questions with definitions, examples, and two video interviews with Argentinian hacker Mariano Crowe.

Iran: Four Facebook Users Arrested

According to several Iranian news sites,four people were arrested and charged with “propaganda activities against the regime and insulting officials in Facebook” in the southern city of Sirjan.

Tajikistan: Students Forced to Love President

As the president of Tajikistan tours the country's northern province of Sughd, blogger Teocrat reports [ru] that thousands of students were mobilized to greet the president wherever he goes. This has become a standard practice in Sughd. In June, thousands of students were sent to the streets to greet the president's...

Retio: A Free Application to Fight Drug Trafficking in Mexico

Paula Gonzalo from Periodismo Ciudadano (Citizen Journalism) tells us about Retio, a free application used to map the war against drug trafficking in Mexico through citizen reports sent via Twitter.

El Salvador's Tough Abortion Laws

Voices from El Salvador highlights several stories of Salvadoran women affected by the country's abortion ban, ” which includes cases of rape, incest, and when the health of the woman is at risk.” The issue is compounded by other women’s rights issue, including femicide (El Salvador has the highest rate in...

Greece: Public TV Journalists Fired After Criticizing Minister

On October 29, two journalists, Kostas Arvanitis and Marilena Katsimi, were fired by the Greek Public Television (ERT) after analyzing claims by British newspaper The Guardian of police torture of Greek anti-fascist protesters in Athens, and criticizing the Greek Minister of Public Order. Explore this and other recent censorship examples.

Kenya: The Influence of Technology in Governance

Will Mutua writes about a report investigating the use of Twitter by various presidential candidates ahead of the 2013 national elections: This first report (a mini-report really) investigates Martha Karua’s engagement on Twitter: mentions, hashtags, sentiment analysis, key words used in tweets by her or about her and other such...

Africa: The Challenges of Building African Platforms

John Karanja discusses the challenges of building African platforms: What is an African platform? What does it look like? and perhaps more importantly what does it do? Will it address a Need or a Want? What exactly will make it African? Will it work elsewhere in the World?

Thailand: Gun Crimes on the Rise

Thailand's homicide rate has declined since 2006 but criminal cases involving guns are on the rise. Bangkok Pundit analyzes some statistics on gun crimes, homicide cases, and gun ownership in Thailand

Thailand: Hotline to Help Children

Childline Thailand Foundation is an NGO that runs a nationwide 24-hour telephone hotline to help children in Thailand. The “SaiDek 1387” hotline is also maximized to urge government compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.

China, South Korea: Gangnam Style in Chinese Universities

South Korea PSY pop, Gangnam style has landed in China. Around 3,700 people danced the Gangnam Style together at Nanjing Hehai University and a few dozen students danced on the stage of the Peking University International Cultural Festival… But Ooops, the stage collapsed. (Via Beijing Cream)

China: Medicinal Alcohol

A netizen (Derek) has introduced the Chinese tradition of medicinal alcohol online, in particular the three-penis alcohol that apparently enhances a man's power.

Tajikistan's ‘Million Dollar Baby’ Hangs Up Her Gloves

Mavzuna Chorieva, Tajikistan's female boxer who brought the country its only medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, has married and hung up her gloves, at least for a year. While many people in the country are happy for Chorieva, some have been disappointed over her decision.

Thailand: Bangkok Launches Bike Rentals

To decongest traffic and encourage people to use public mass transport system, Bangkok has recently launched a bicycle rental program. Richard Barrow attended the launch and provided ideas on how to make the program successful in Thailand.