Rayna St.
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PhD // Geek // Editor for Global Voices Bulgarian // writing in English, French, Bulgarian // author for GV Advocacy, GV French, FutureChallenges // interested in Middle East politics & internet freedom // working to empower women in science & tech // human rights activist // human being
Based in Bulgaria & France
Latest posts by Rayna St.
22 May 2012
Bulgaria
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 and Facebook were the first ones to spread the news. The hashtag #земетресение (”earthquake”) is used to communicate on the event through Twitter.
6 May 2012
Serbia: Monitoring the Elections Via Citizen Media
Rayna Stamboliyska reports on the May 6 elections in Serbia and the online monitoring initiatives that have been set up recently to ensure the transparency of the election process.
26 April 2012
Bulgaria
The blog “Работнически глас” (”Worker's voice”) tells [bg] about a trial scheduled for May 26: a former female employee is suing a company for a discriminatory clause in the work contract, which stated that any female employee who gets pregnant after being hired will have to pay a fine (700 lv, around 350 euros: nearly double the average salary in Bulgaria). In her lawsuit, the employee argues that this clause constitutes a discrimination based on sex. It is still unclear how such a contract could have been approved by the official labor administration.
Bulgaria
Various blogs [bg] and mainstream media [bg] were telling [bg] about a student initiative held in the capital city of Sofia on April 24. Many students and members of diverse youth organizations planted trees in the badly-maintained Studentski Grad (”Students City”), a welcome citizen initiative where the leitmotiv was “Big change begins with small steps.” The trees were planted near an abandonned building that has been refurbished by student volunteers who'd like to transform it into a Student center.
19 April 2012
Bulgaria: Living With Hepatitis C
Rayna Stamboliyska interviews the author of "Hepatitis-Minded: Thoughts of a Contaminated," a blog that does a fabulous job informing people about Hepatitis C.
4 April 2012
Bulgaria
The collaborative media outlet svobodnoslovo.com writes [bg] about a new book by Lyubomir Levchev [bg], who mentions Lyudmila Jivkova's death 30 years ago. It has always been reported that Jivkova, the daughter of Bulgaria's last communist dictator, died in a car accident. Levchev explains, however, that she might have been poisoned: he writes about a ring with a turquoise stone Jivkova used to wear that had started whitening a few months before she died. This property has been known [fr] since the Antiquity as a sign of poison in the body.
1 April 2012
Bulgaria: Sofia Students Plan to Protest if Officials Impose Curfew
The accidental killing of a student in the student district of Sofia sparkled a debate in Bulgaria. The government ended up with a quick and controversial solution: to impose a curfew on the district. This is mostly seen as a wrong solution to the wrong problem. Rayna Stamboliyska reports.
31 March 2012
Bulgaria
Bulgarian blogger Boyan Pishtikov publishes [bg] images from a students' demonstration in the north-western city of Vratza [en]. The protest was organized by high school students who disagree with the recent dismissal of one of their teachers. According to the principal [bg], the layoff was caused by alleged libel by a teacher who claimed corruption was rampant at the school. On a dedicated Facebook page [bg], the students express their support to all fired teachers. The Ministry of Education has opened an investigation [bg] into the claims.
Bulgaria: Construction of the Nuclear Power Plant “Belene” Cancelled
The Bulgarian government announced the cancellation of the construction of the nuclear power plant "Belene" on March 28. This controversial project and the consequences of its halt drew quite some attention. Rayna Stamboliyska reports.
30 March 2012
Bulgaria
After the announcement that the famous Bulgarian football player Stiliyan Petrov (Aston Villa F.C., England, and current captain of the Bulgarian national team) was diagnosed with acute leukaemia, netizens created a Facebook group [bg] to show their moral support: “You will win, Captain, the whole country is with you!” reads the banner. The group has gathered more than 14,000 “like”'s in a few hours as well as numerous messages of encouragement.
==> As Africans we need to let go of our victimhood, inferiority complex & acceptance...