January, 2011

Stories from January, 2011

Russia: Bloggers Protest Against Educational Reform

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

Blog-based address [RUS] to Russian leadership with demands to cancel educational reform has received more than 10 thousands voices of support [RUS] within two days. Bloggers protest against wide reform of the high school that would reduce number of compulsory subjects to 4 while leaving such disciplines like Russian language, mathematics,...

Russia: Blogger Released After 14 Months of Penal Colony

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

Irek Murtazin [RUS], blogger and former spokesperson of the Tatarstan's president, has been released today after spending more than 14 months in penal colony, “Novaya Gazeta” reported [RUS]. After published a gossip about the death of Mintimir Shaimiev, president of Tatarstan Republic, Murtazin had been accused of defamation and sentenced to 2 years...

Pakistan: Blackwater Again?

  31 January 2011

Adil Najam writes about the very strange case of Raymond Davis, a said staff member of the US Consulate in Lahore, who shot two Pakistani men dead in a crowded part of Lahore.

Bangladesh: Politics And Dr. Yunus

  31 January 2011

An Ordinary Citizen wonders whether there are any political reasons behind the indictments against Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus and asks: “does Dr. Yunus represent the 3rd force in Bangladesh?”

Guatemala: The Left Unites During Election Year

  31 January 2011

Central American Politics reports that leaders from Guatemalan left-leaning parties have met with “representatives from the country's social organizations, unions, and peasant and environmental groups” to try to form a Broad Front for this year's legislative and presidential elections.

Comparing Mexico to Egypt

  31 January 2011

Rich, in The Mex Files, compares the situation in Egypt with Mexico's past and present. He concludes asking, “what will happen if the Mexicans decide it is time for a giant leap in Mexican power, in which the people of the largest Spanish-speaking nation demand that they be allowed to...

Africa: Has African Union become a group of jokers?

  31 January 2011

Mac-Jordan wonders why Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is included in Cote d'Ivoire's mediation?: “Instantly, I become very angry and annoyed at the decision of the African Union in appointing a dictator to mediate in the on-goings in Ivory Coast. Has the African Union become that much of a group of...

Africa: This is Africa website

  31 January 2011

Kajsa discovers This is Africa website: It is a spanking fresh culture site that trumpets “Africa for a new generation!” and sports subheadlines like “city life”, “music” and “art&fashion”.

Trinidad & Tobago: Fine Flavour Cocoa

  31 January 2011

“Gran Couva is part of the Montserrat hills in the Central Range of Trinidad, where the combination of the trinitario cacao, the weather, the soil…converge to make some of the finest cocoa in the world”: Lifespan of a Chennette tells the delicious story.

Venezuela: Cholera Cases on the Rise

  31 January 2011

During a wedding held in the Dominican Republic, a group of Venezuelans were diagnosed with symptoms of cholera after eating contaminated food. What were initially 13 cases has increased rapidly within a few days; the most recent reports speak of 135 people treated for cholera.

Egypt Protests 2011 in Seoul, South Korea.

  31 January 2011

Korean and Egyptian activists held a protest together in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Seoul today. Several local media published articles on today's demonstration which titled ‘ A Protest for Mubarak's Withdrawl and Egyptian's Freedom’. The Financial News posted five photos of the protest(Click the black box below article).

Sudan: Tweeting #SudanJan30

  31 January 2011

Using the social networking site Facebook, Sudanese students called for a street demonstration on January 30 to protest against the government of Omar al-Bashir. The protests have claimed the life of Mohammed Abdulrahman, a student at the Ahaliya University. This is our latest roundup of #SudanJan30 tweets.

Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: Looking at Egypt

  31 January 2011

Cuban bloggers speculate that the Egypt protests may set an example for Cubans, issue advice to the Egyptian people and blog about similarities and differences between the two countries, while from Trinidad and Tobago, Globewriter calls social networking “the new human rights weapon”.

Jamaica: Leah & Dog Paw

  31 January 2011

“Will she herald a new kind of representational politics since she has personally breached not only the uptown/downtown divide but also the legit/illegit one by literally commingling with a Don?”: Active Voice thinks that Leah Tavares-Finson “is a fascinating character.”