Stories from 10 June 2013
Bangladesh Unblocks YouTube After Eight-Month Ban
Bangladesh's telecommunication authorities have unblocked YouTube in Bangladesh after 260 days of restricting access within the country to the video sharing website.
Caribbean Flu Scare was Accidentally Made in China
A 'suspected' case of bird flu in Trinidad and Tobago that happened to coincide with an official visit by the Chinese President, opens a Pandora's box of misreporting from China all the way to Haiti, which caused officials in Trinidad and Tobago to accuse swine flu-hit Venezuela of spreading bird flu and Haiti to impose a poultry import ban on swine flu-hit Dominican Republic.
Barbados: Bush Bath
In Barbados, where religion is high on people's list of priorities, Notes From A Small Rock is considering taking a bush bath.
Delays, Political Turmoil Plague Madagascar As Elections Near
Political stalemate, financing issues, and logistical hurdles threaten to derail Madagascar's overdue upcoming presidential elections, the country's first since a coup in 2009 plunged the island into political crisis. The government has postponed elections again, moving the date a month later than scheduled to 23 August, 2013.
Fuss in China Over Entrance Exam Masks Trouble in Higher Education
High school students in China just sat the annual national college entrance examination, hoping to secure a place in a leading university by acing the test. But the hype surrounding China's annual university entrance exams masks the troubled higher education system that awaits the hopefuls.
Solutions Journalism Without Borders
“Worldcrunch Impact, solutions without borders” is a collaborative funding campaign for “the first truly global effort at Solutions Journalism”. With the project, Paris-based Worldcrunch hopes to report on one urgent issue monthly, offering “not just the problems, but real solutions”. The project will be funded if at least $15,000 is pledged...
Billions of Japan's Post-Quake Relief Funds Didn't Help Victims
Japan's major newspaper reported that billions of budgets that had meant to employ the local people in disaster-stricken area were largely out-flowed to unrelated projects that victims of disaster-stricken area do not benefit. The news of misappropriation draw criticism among social media users.
TV Commercial Sparks Debate Over Violence in Trinidad & Tobago
A KFC commercial in Trinidad & Tobago has drawn criticism for what some consider to be the portrayal of violence, particularly on the heels of the recent killing of a teenaged boy over a common love interest.
Situation of Cartoonists in the Philippines
Art professor Neil Doloricon laments the exodus of cartoonists in the Philippines: Cartoonists in the Philippines are rare breed, they are on the brink of extinction so to speak. Most of our par excellent cartoonists already migrated to other countries…They went abroad not only to earn more but because they...
Singapore’s ‘Largest Blogger-led Protest’ Bats for Media Freedom
An estimated crowd of 2,000 people joined a protest assembly in Singapore’s Hong Lim Park last June 8, 2013 to oppose the government’s new licensing scheme for news websites. Organized by the ‘Free My Internet’ movement, it was reported to be the ‘largest blogger-led protest’ in Singapore.
Australia: Security Storm Surrounds Convicted Egyptian Asylum Seeker
Accusations of 'jihadist terrorism' against an Egyptian asylum seeker has stirred the political brawling in the lead up to Australia’s election on 14 September 2013. The Opposition parties’ election promises include turning back refugee boats and increasing funding to the intelligence and security agencies. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has responded by setting up an internal inquiry into the apparent security failure.
“Give-a-Tree.rf”—Russia's Collective Reforestation Project
In a recent interview with Evgeny Voropai of Social Technologies Greenhouse, Sergey Skorobogadov, head of "Podari-Derevo.rf" (Give-a-Tree.rf) explained how a socially-conscious project can bring a profit and how quantitative indicators can stimulate activity in people.
