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12 November 2012

Daily archive · 11 posts

Stories from 12 November 2012

Iranian Blogger Sattar Beheshti Tortured to Death

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Iranian netizens have launched a major online storm after the shocking news of a blogger's death in custody was first posted by opposition websites. Sattar Beheshti was arrested on October 28, 2012 and announced dead some ten days after his arrest.

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Catalan TV Show Flares Debate Over Independence from Spain

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Catalan public television, TV3, recently broadcast a special news program called "Independence, step by step". It has caused massive debate at a heated moment in Catalan politics, not long before an election that is considered a plebiscite over the Catalonia's independence from Spain.

The Trouble With Russian Nationalism

Read this post. RuNet Echo

This year, Unity Day lived up to its name, though in a rather unexpected way. In 46 towns and cities across Russia, including Moscow, roughly 30 thousand people took part in far-right extremist rallies. While this is an infinitesimally small fraction of the country's total population, Unity Day's far-right groups have managed to attract supporters all over Russia.

Street Children of Bangladesh Vulnerable to Abuse

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The total number of street children in Bangladesh is estimated at 400,000. Almost half of these children live in Dhaka city alone. A very large percentage of these children are young girls. These female street children are living in a dangerous situation vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

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Brazil: Rio de Janeiro Demands Better Sanitation

Read this post. Technology for Transparency Network

The initiative Sanitation is Basic, launched by the nonprofit organisation Meu Rio, has served as a slogan for the increase in online campaigns owing to popular online pressure created by citizens and social movements in Rio. According to the organisation, "half the population in Rio de Janeiro is still without mains water and sewerage."

French Government Eases Strict Immigration Policy

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French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, during a speech in Toulouse in southwestern France, expressed his desire to change his country's immigration policy, amending the naturalization requirements and, in particular, doing away with the multiple choice tests and the need to have signed a permanent employment contract. Here is a summary of the reactions to these new measures.

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Laid-off Workers Turn from Victims to Debtors in Taiwan

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Taiwan's Council of Labour Affairs (CLA), a government body in charge of protecting labour rights, wants to sue workers who were laid-off by private factories sixteen years ago. The council seeks money from the Legislative Yuan to bring legal action against more than 2,000 workers, who they say never returned the 'loan' the government offered as compensation for being laid off.

Thousands Celebrate Malala Day & Sign Nobel Peace Prize Petition

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15 year-old education activist Malala Yousufzai, who was shot on 9 October 2012 by members of the Taliban, is recovering slowly. On November 10, 2012 people around the world celebrated Malala as a beacon for 32 million girls who can not go to school.

An Online Project for Monitoring the State of Russia's Roads

Read this post. RuNet Echo

The RosYama project is a method of monitoring the state of the roads and their compliance with latest government standards. Anyone who notices a roadway that fails to meet these standards can use RosYama's service.

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New Governor Elected in Puerto Rico

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After a hard-fought election in which there was never a clear trend from the beginning, Alejandro García Padilla was declared elected Governor. In the status plebiscite held along with the general elections, the option of annexation to the United States won for the first time. However, given the massive abstention along with a poorly conceived referendum, the results are not easy to interpret.

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