Netizen Report: Iraq and Ecuador face network shutdowns amid public protests · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle, Netizen Report Team

27th installment from Banksy's “Better Out Than In,” October 2013, New York City. Photo by Scott Lynch. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Advox Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in technology and human rights around the world. This report covers news and events from October 5 – 11, 2019.
In Iraq and Ecuador, public protests have led to shutdowns of internet and social media services in recent days, all at the apparent behest of government officials.
After demonstrations against corruption, unemployment and poor public services cropped up across Iraq starting on October 2, multiple sources and technical experts reported widespread outages of major internet and social media services. On October 10, technical evidence gathered by NetBlocks and confirmed by local sources indicated that the internet is being shut down curfew-style, leaving residents unable to connect during nighttime hours.
Alongside street protests, Iraqis are also speaking out against the internet shutdowns. Activists at SMEX and the Iraqi Network for Social Media have launched a Change.org petition urging the government to “respect citizens’ and internet users’ rights by restoring the internet in Iraq and refraining from shutting the internet down in Kurdistan,” and noting that shutting down the internet “inhibits free expression and allows government forces to commit human rights violations without evidence or recordings against them.” A local lawyer is filing a case against the Ministry of Telecommunications, arguing that the internet shutdown violates Iraq’s constitution.
Meanwhile in Ecuador, street demonstrations against austerity measures have escalated to open, violent confrontations between protesters and police, prompting authorities to impose a “state of exception.” Since October 3, journalists and activists have reported various incidents of internet censorship and disruption that appear to be associated with the protests.
Services including WhatsApp and Tweetdeck have experienced dramatic slow downs, and technical researchers have shown evidence that backend image and content (CDN) servers for Facebook and WhatsApp were temporarily disrupted on Ecuador’s state-owned telecommunication network, Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, on October 7. Activists at Usuarios Digitales, a local advocacy group, also tweeted reports that an activist attempting to livestream protests on Facebook had their account suspended.
President Lenin Moreno, who was once aligned with former leftist president Rafael Correa but has rolled back many of Correa’s social policies since taking office, has accused demonstrators of attempting to orchestrate a coup at Correa’s behest.
Turkish military attacks on Kurdish forces near the Turkey-Syria border have caused tens of thousands to flee the area, following US president Trump’s controversial decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria, where they long have been allied with Kurdish forces.
The conflict has coincided with reports of social media and internet blocks in the region, that began circulating on Twitter on October 9. By October 11, technical tests by NetBlocks had confirmed that major social media services including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter were being blocked on Turk Telecom, the country’s leading service provider.
On October 7, Venezuelan users of Adobe products received an email alerting them that they will be barred from accessing Adobe services after October 28. The email and an associated notice on Adobe’s Spanish site explained that the cutoff is the result of an executive order issued by the Trump administration in August 2019. Since then, the web-based money transfer service Transferwise has followed suit, also citing the order.
Executive Order 13884 dictates that “all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the United States…[ must be] blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.” Given the focus on property and interests of the Venezuelan government, it is not clear whether or how this applies to technology companies offering their services to the general public.
As has occurred in the past for tech companies attempting to follow economic sanctions against countries such as Iran, companies may be over-complying with the order, in an effort to avoid legal challenges.
A student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology was beaten to death on October 7, after he wrote a widely shared Facebook post criticizing the recent signing of bilateral agreements between Bangladesh and India. Those responsible appear to be members of the student wing of the Awami League, Bangladesh’s ruling political party.
Abrar Fahad was reportedly called by university leaders to explain why he wrote a statement so critical of the government. On October 9, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission ordered the blocking of an online forum at the university, where more than 175 grievances and expressions of remorse had been posted anonymously by current and former students.
Ongoing mass protests in Hong Kong have had untold ripple effects on technology and free speech around the world in recent months. Here’s who got censored this week, because of what they said about Hong Kong:
Chinese companies and government voices decried a tweet by Daryl Morey, the manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, in which he voiced support for Hong Kong protesters. Morey later removed the tweet and US National Basketball Association (NBA) spokespeople offered an official apology, but China Central Television and Internet giant Tencent nevertheless announced plans to suspend NBA broadcasts.
Soon after the NBA debacle, the creators of the irreverent US cartoon South Park released a satirical apology video mocking the NBA for bringing “the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts” and criticizing China's “forced confession” practices by having one character confess (under duress) to the murder of Winnie the Pooh, who has become a part of a popular online meme mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping. The video was promptly censored in China.
A pro-level player of the popular video game Hearthstone was suspended and stripped of a winning tournament title after he declared his support for Hong Kong protesters in an interview. Blizzard, the maker of Hearthstone, told press that “engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD.” Blizzard is partially owned by Tencent, one of China’s largest and most powerful technology companies.
A mobile app expressly created to help Hong Kong protesters crowdsource information about street activity, including police presence, was removed from Apple's app store on October 9. The app was originally introduced in September and taken down at the time, but was re-instated after public disapproval. This time around, Apple’s Tim Cook defended the app's removal, saying it was intended to protect police from being targeted by protesters. Human Rights Watch China researcher Maya Wang called it “another shameful incident in which a multinational company bends to Chinese government pressure.” The app is still available in the Google Play store.
The Google Play store removed a role-playing mobile game with a plot line based on the Hong Kong protests, citing a violation of its policy against apps that lack reasonable sensitivity towards “sensitive events.” The mobile game, entitled “The Revolution of Our Times,” was launched on October 5 and taken down three days later. The game provides details on the political context leading up to the protests with a map on key protest sites in Hong Kong.
Afef Abrougui, Ellery Roberts Biddle, Marianne Diaz, Rezwan Islam, Oiwan Lam, Taisa Sganzerla and Nevin Thompson contributed to this report.


Russia: Elections in Dagestan · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog explains “the context that Duma elections will take place in Dagestan.”


5 things to know and do the weekend of May 19 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
May 19, 2023
It’s Friday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
The new MLK Library Branch, which will include apartment buildings, is set to open in late 2024. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new building starts at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 19 at 310 W. Locust Ave. More information here.
Families and young people living on the South Side are invited to this youth resource fair full of music, food, performances and information about summer programs, internships and paid opportunities from more than 20 organizations across Milwaukee. The fair takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 at South Division High School, located at 1515 W. Lapham Blvd. More information here.
Bring a journal or something to write in “and an open heart” to this writing workshop facilitated by Darlin Nikki Janzen, Lexi Trenee and Alisha Vales. Light refreshments are provided. The workshop takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 at 6040 W. Lisbon Ave. Pre-register here.
“Bloom and Groom” is an annual plant sale happening across the city, typically facilitated by neighborhood organizations, such as VIA CDC, Kinnickinnic River Neighbors in Action and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Many participating neighborhoods are holding their sales on Saturday, May 20 or sometime in the upcoming week, but there are other sales throughout May. Find more information by searching the phrase “bloom and groom” on social media or a search engine like Google.
Urban Ecology Center is hosting a sale for plants native to the region at its Washington Park location, 1859 N. 40th St. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 21. More information here.
Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services is looking for community input on how to reduce youth incarceration. The virtual session takes place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 19. More information and register here.


What makes a good classroom? | EduCeleb
Silvia Montoya
29th April 2019
Among the many factors fuelling the global learning crisis that stunts the educational path of six out of ten children and adolescents, we must consider the conditions in which children try to learn and teachers try to teach.
To put it simply: are pupils and teachers working in schools and classrooms that are fit for purpose? Do they have all the basic facilities they need – electricity, clean drinking water and single-sex toilets – as well as those 21st century essentials: Internet access and computers? Or are children and teachers struggling in crumbling, overcrowded and poorly-equipped classrooms?
This issue is high on the agenda as countries ramp up their efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4): providing a quality education for all. For children who struggle to just enrol in school, for example due to poverty or discrimination on the grounds of gender or disability, poor school conditions that undermine their chances of a quality education can be the last straw. That is why the latest data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) highlight the school conditions that can make or break a child’s education.
The UIS has just updated its global education database with more data covering more countries. While the global numbers and regional averages on key indicators such as out-of-school rates remain the same as those published in September 2018, we have added country-level information to provide a more complete and timely picture of the education situation facing children, youth and adults the world over. The data refresh spans all of our indicators – from pre-primary to tertiary education – and of course, the global and thematic indicators used to monitor progress towards SDG 4.
In particular, we have just released more country-level data for SDG Indicator 4.a.1: the proportion of schools with access to:
The new data reveal serious disparities in primary school conditions that, in turn, shed more light on the global learning crisis. What we see is a gulf between school conditions in the world’s richest and poorest nations, as well as significant data gaps in key areas. Looking at primary education, the data (all from 2017, unless otherwise stated) also flag disparities among and within regions.
Take one of the most basic essentials for any school: electricity. Worldwide, an average of 69% of primary schools have power, falling to an average of around 34% for least developed countries (LDCs). At the regional level, we find the most limited access in sub-Saharan Africa, at around 35%. And within the region, we find the lowest percentages of all:  about 5% of schools in Niger and 4% in Sierra Leone have electricity.
Internet access in primary schools stands at just over 46% (2016) worldwide, tumbling to around 16% for LDCs, in stark contrast to the average for Northern America of more than 99%. A closer look reveals rock-bottom percentages for Myanmar (0.2%) and Sierra Leone (0.3%). But we also see disparities between neighbouring countries, with access in Kyrgyzstan at around 42%, compared to more than 90% in Uzbekistan.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the lack of electricity and Internet access, the figures for access to computers for pedagogical purposes in primary schools are also low. A global average of around 48% falls to just over 23% for LDCs, compared to averages for Northern America and Europe of well over 98%. Again, schools in Myanmar have little or no access to computers (about 1%) and Niger also faces serious challenges (just over 2%). Taken together, the data for access to the Internet and to computers signal an ever-widening and global digital divide, with entire populations of children missing out on tools that are not only vital but also seen as commonplace elsewhere.
Data on primary schools with adaptations for children with disabilities are limited. The rates vary considerably among some 40 countries with available data. Less than 5% of schools are equipped with adapted facilities for children with disabilities in some countries, including Burkina Faso, Cook Islands, Dominica, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zambia. The rates range from about 17% to 30% in El Salvador, Latvia, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Peru and Rwanda, while countries with strong policies in place, such as Finland, have rates of 100%.
When we look at primary schools with access to clean drinking water, we find a relative wealth of data. While many of the countries that provide data report rates of 100%, the global average stands at 79%, constrained by the far lower averages for LDCs (59%) and countries in sub-Saharan Africa (44% in 2016).
As educationalists know, single-sex basic sanitation facilities have a vital role to play in the creation of a safe and supportive school environment, particularly for girls. And here, the global average of primary schools with single-sex toilets stands at around 82%, falling to 57% for LDCs. A closer look at the national figures reveals a number of champions in developing regions, such as Azerbaijan, Cabo Verde, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Samoa and Sri Lanka – all with 80% or more of schools equipped with single-sex toilets. But there are concerns elsewhere, such as in Eritrea (27%) and Senegal (just 9%).
Finally, we turn to handwashing facilities, which are essential for the health of students and teachers alike. We see an enormous disparities: globally, 66% of primary schools have handwashing facilities, but the average in LDCs is 43% and rates are very low in some countries, such as Afghanistan (4%) and Eritrea (3%).
It is important to remember that these data offer just a glimpse of the conditions facing teachers and principals struggling to provide an effective and creative pedagogic approach. Access to electricity for example or drinking water are the mere basics in providing the enabling environment needed to promote 21 century skills. We will be delving deeper into the data on teachers in an upcoming blog.
By highlighting these data, the UIS aims to ensure that countries, donors, UN agencies, civil society groups and citizens have the latest facts to better direct policies and resources to reach every child. At the same time, we continue to work with countries and other partners to fill data gaps, while developing standards and methodologies to produce new internationally-comparable indicators. This is particularly timely in a year when progress towards SDG 4 will be under close scrutiny at the next High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2019.
Greater investment is needed to ensure that there is more and better data available to policy-makers to improve school conditions and education systems as a whole. This is why the UIS is calling on all partners to step up and #FundData in 2019 and beyond.
Please join us in this call for action. Tell us about the ways in which you use international education data alone or in combination with secondary sources of information. Through this blog and social media, we want to promote your findings and show that #BetterData=BetterSchools and learning.
This blog was also published by the UIS.


Egypt: Interview with Elhamalawy  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Mohammed Maree posts a video interview with blogger and activist Hossam Elhamalawy about his work at the Center for Social Studies, including workers’ strikes, industrial action and their connection to developments in Palestine.


Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian Starts Closed Door Trial in Iran · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

A photo drawn by Molly Crabapple, and shared by Ali Rezaian on Twitter.
This morning was the first day of trial for Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, after spending 10 months in jail over accusations of espionage in Iran.
In anticipation of the trial, the Washington Post's Executive Editor Martin Baron published the following statement on May 25 condemning the murky and unjust nature of Jason's arrest:
The shameful acts of injustice continue without end in the treatment of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian. Now we learn his trial will be closed to the world. And so it will be closed to the scrutiny it fully deserves.
It’s worth recalling what kind of system we’re dealing with. Jason was arrested without charges. He was imprisoned in Iran’s worst prison. He was placed in isolation for many months and denied medical care he needed. His case was assigned to a judge internationally notorious for human rights violations. He could not select the lawyer of his choosing. He was given only an hour and a half to meet with a lawyer approved by the court. No evidence has ever been produced by prosecutors or the court to support these absurd charges. The trial date was only disclosed to Jason’s lawyer last week. And now, unsurprisingly but unforgivably, it turns out the trial will be closed.
Thomas Erdbrink, one of the few correspondents working for American media in Tehran along with Rezaian, explained in an article today the following about the case:
The judge in the case, Abolghassem Salavati, has a reputation for tough sentences, to the point that the European Union placed him on a blacklist in 2011 for human rights abuses. He has ignored foreign requests for court access, and it had been expected that only Mr. Rezaian and his lawyer would be present in the courtroom.
The trial is expected to last two to three days, Ali Rezaian said in a telephone interview from California, where he and his brother were born and grew up, adding that the lawyer had told the family of the judge’s decision on court access only on Monday. He denounced the decision, calling it “unconscionable.”
Pleas to free Jason have been strong on social media, especially within the human rights and journalism communities.
If Iran had a case against Jason Rezaian, it would try him in public. It doesn't and won't. http://t.co/0Ru5y0nr8y pic.twitter.com/F3Wux1SD88
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 26, 2015
No real evidence has been used to backup claims that @jrezaian was gathering classified info in #Iran for the US gov't #FreeJason
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) May 26, 2015
Mood: thinking of Jason Rezaian, whose trial in Tehran on “espionage” charges started today #FreeJason pic.twitter.com/OAxgFrOQ7b
— Gissou Nia (@GissouNia) May 26, 2015
Petition: We request the immediate, unconditional release of Jason Rezaian from Iranian custody @jrezaian #freejason https://t.co/DGkQRKqP6X
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 25, 2015
Thanks to our friend @mollycrabapple for this new #freejason sketch to help get @jrezaian out of prison in Iran. pic.twitter.com/XnOgZi1DQn
— ali rezaian (@arezaian) May 23, 2015
#Iran must respect transparency in @jrezaian trial @FreeJasonYegi #FreeJason https://t.co/TUnDPzyQc3 pic.twitter.com/a4Vw2tAjBH
— CPJ (@pressfreedom) May 23, 2015


2013 video of a woman protestor being slapped by Delhi police is being shared with a misleading narrative - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2019
A post with a video is being widely shared on Facebook with the claim that it shows a woman protestor being slapped by Delhi police during the protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Let’s analyze the authenticity of the claim in the post.
Video of a woman protestor being slapped by Delhi police during the protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Fact: The video shows a woman protestor being slapped by Delhi police during the protests against the rape of a five-year-old ‘Gudiya’ in 2013. So, the claim is MISLEADING.
The video in the post has the watermark of ‘NDTV’. So, when searched on YouTube with the keywords ‘Delhi police slapped woman protestor ndtv’, the same video was found. The video had the timestamp ‘April 19, 2013’ and it had the following description- ‘Amid large protests at the Delhi hospital where a five-year-old rape survivor is fighting for her life, a police officer has been filmed slapping a woman demonstrator’.
From the April 20, 2013 article of ‘India Today’, it was found that demonstrations were held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi) against the rape of a five-year-old girl ‘Gudiya’ in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar.
To summarize, 2013 video of a woman protestor slapped by Delhi police is being shared with a misleading narrative.
Did you watch our new Episode of the DECODE series?


Russia-Middle East: Comparing the Fall of the Wall and the Arab Spring · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Dr. Sean's Diary compares the difficulties of area studies in handling the fall of the commnist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s with that of the current Arab spring, against the backdrop of a recent Foreign Policy article.


Japan: Japanese Language Proficiency Test Day · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Takeshi at Saigon kara kita tsuma [サイゴンから来た妻] writes about his Vietnamese wife who took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test [en] [日本語能力試験, nihongo nōryoku shiken] today, as do thousands of other people every year who want to test their Japanese level. Seeing his wife to the test site, Takeshi-san was moved by the number of foreign people — coming from all over the world and speaking every language imaginable — who decide to live in Japan and dedicate themselves to the study of the Japanese language.


South Africa: Bigotry of women’s groups · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

J.S reacts to the statement by the spokesperson for the Commission on Gender Equity in South Africa about men being out of control: “The thing that got me was this blatant attack on men in general. I am sick of these bigoted men-hating women’s groups that feel that every single little thing that goes wrong is due to men.”


Is This What UN Special Adviser on Yemen Has to Say on Current War: “? tmnoppbbnpbkpb” · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Assistant UN Secretary-General, Special Adviser to Secretary-General on Yemen Jamal Benomar's Twitter account has sent out the following message earlier today:
? tmnoppbbnpbkpb
— Jamal Benomar (@Jamal_Benomar) March 29, 2015
Adam Baron, a journalist covering Yemen, remarks 13 hours after the tweet was first published:
Cant believe Jamal Benomar's media team still hasnt deleted this tweet. Could it be because it truly says it all?https://t.co/F2GB5oQ1iX
— Adam Baron (@adammbaron) March 29, 2015
Screen Shot of BenOmar's Tweet still up on his account 13 hours after it was tweeted
This is BenOmar's second reaction on Twitter since Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against Yemen on March 26, which continue today.  His first was linking to this statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.


Azerbaijan: Novruz comes to an end · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Novruz, the Persian New Year which is also celebrated in Azerbaijan, has come to an end and, using the example of the oil-rich country, Eastbook says that during the holiday it can often be difficult to conduct business or arrange meetings. Nevertheless, it notes that Azerbaijan's Embassy in Georgia was an exception.


An NYPD lie about journalist arrests shows why it must not control press credentials
Parker Higgins
November 2, 2020
A photojournalist who spent this summer documenting New York’s civil unrest and a documentary filmmaker were among 10 people violently arrested by NYPD officers in full body armor at a protest in Manhattan on Sunday. Video shows police roughly arresting Chae Kihn and Ashley Dorelus even as multiple protestors identified them as members of the press.
NYPD, through a statement on its Twitter account, bluntly denied the allegations, despite the clear video evidence. But its denial is both careful and misleading: although the department first claims that no “members of the press were arrested,” it then narrows the assertion to say the “arrested individuals” specifically did not include “NYPD credentialed members of the press.”
That sleight of hand — conflating “members of the press” with those bearing NYPD-issued credentials — reveals a longstanding problem with the process of obtaining press passes in New York and elsewhere. For historical and logistical reasons, in New York and many other cities it is police departments who issue those passes. But the police are not the arbiter of who may act as a journalist, and are not the source of press freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment. And the NYPD in particular has repeatedly and systematically abused those credentialing powers.
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New York City reporters have long complained about the NYPD's byzantine credentialing process. Local news outlet Gothamist faced an expensive eight-year saga before it was finally granted press passes. Reporter Noah Hurowitz this summer called the credential application process “a classic catch-22,” because journalists are required to submit clips that show a history of writing stories that require a press pass in order to be given one. Wired once referred to the process as “kafka-esque” and succinctly summarized the ordeal in a 2011 headline: “Media can avoid NYPD arrest by getting a press pass they can’t get.”
Numerous journalists can also point to episodes where the NYPD used its control over credentials and the power to revoke them to control coverage. This summer, the New York Times editorial board joined the chorus in formally calling for a transfer of credentialing oversight away from the police.
Giving police control over the official press credentialing process has always had drawbacks, but it has proven totally unworkable in a moment where the NYPD has actively antagonized the press and other forms of accountability. This year alone, the NYPD have arrested or assaulted more than a dozen journalists, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Beyond that, a recent Human Rights Watch report concluded that the NYPD's actions at one widely covered June 4 protest in the Bronx, including the detention of medics and legal observers, were “intentional, planned, and unjustified.”
The photojournalist arrested Sunday, Chae Kihn, echoed concerns about police escalation, especially as it pertains to working journalists. “They didn't need to use such excessive force arresting me. I had four big policemen tackle me to the ground. I am not a threat to anyone. I'm a photographer documenting this movement.”
Two New York City Council Members, with the support of Comptroller Scott Stringer, introduced a bill last month to transfer the oversight of press credentials away from NYPD to the city's department of administrative services. Freedom of the Press Foundation applauds this effort, and we hope to see more reforms that would strip some of the sprawling powers away from a police department that has repeatedly shown a fundamental disregard for basic law, order, and accountability.
It is outrageous that the NYPD is in charge of deciding who is a “journalist” in the eyes of New York City. The sooner that role is removed in the eyes of the law, the better.
Updated to add a response from Chae Kihn, the arrested photojournalist.


Zimbabwe: Effects of inflation · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Sokwanele analyses the effects of inflation in Zimbabwe, using the example of a schoolteacher with children and a modest salary.


5 things to know and do the week of Jan. 29 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Chesnie Wardell
January 29, 2024
It’s Monday in Milwaukee, and here are some things we think you should know about. If you would like your event to be considered for this column, please submit your news by clicking here at least two weeks in advance.
From 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29, the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County will be at the Milwaukee Public Library Zablocki Branch, 3501 W. Oklahoma Ave., to help you register to vote and learn more about how the voting process works. More information here.
The 30th Street Corridor has restored 24 homes in the Garden Homes neighborhood, 11 of which are historic homes. You’re invited to welcome the new residents from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 29 at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2433 W. Roosevelt Drive. Dinner will be served. To RSVP, call<PHONE_NUMBER> or email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>More information here.
Latino Arts is showcasing an exhibit with art from Mexico and First Nation Tribes from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. through Friday, Feb. 23 at 1028 S. Ninth St. The exhibit is free and open to the public. A $1 donation is encouraged. More information here.
Join VIPMKE and Pepperpot on MLK for its weekly karaoke night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 2215 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. It will be a night filled with music and Jamaican food available for purchase. Entry is free. More information here.
Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, VIA Community Development Corp. will be celebrating its 11th annual “Phobruary.” Milwaukee residents are encouraged  to support restaurants in the Silver City neighborhood by purchasing a Vietnamese dish called Pho. Each location will have a QR code to scan for a giveaway. Up to six winners can win a $25 gift card. Click here to view participating businesses and menu specials.  From the archives: PHOTOS: What ‘Phobruary’ looks like in 2021


Media’s Too Simple View of Japan LGBT  · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Blogger and activist Masaki C. has something to say about English media coverage of LGBT politics in Japan, arguing that they simplify the issue down to marriage equality:
They are, in constructing LGBT politics in Japan as such, erasing local history and ignoring dialogues taking place among queers in Japan.


Venezuela: Mister Papito Bloguero 2006 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Wari announces the winners of this year's Mister Papito Bloguero Venezuela 2006 contest (ES). Venethinker, who won the Mister Papito Bloggero Pícaro category, is looking forward to (ES) the Miss Mamita Bloggera (ES) contest, which he will be following closely “because there are spectacular women adorning the blogosphere and it is a privilege, and furthermore an incredibly difficult task, having to choose among so much beauty, not just physical but also of essence, something which could be seen in the last contest and by the things they relate in their blogs.


Afghanistan: Children · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Afghan reality says according to a Unicef report, Afghanistan  remains a country where 600 children under the age of five die every day, mostly from preventable causes.


Ukraine: Politics Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine has a roundup of all things that are wrong with the Ukrainian politics.


Polish Sunday - Annual Pilgrimage - New Canadian Media
Fred Mercnik
June 26, 2017
In 1918, 26 Polish soldiers were buried in the Polish Military Cemetery behind St.Vincent de Paul Church. The small plot of graves is immediately distinguishable from the others in St. Vincent de Paul cemetery. Surrounded by a small iron fence, the 25 graves bear the emblem of a white eagle, the symbol of a free Poland. The soldiers were newly emigrated Polish-Americans when they traveled from the U.S to Niagara-on-the-Lake to train for an independent Polish army during the First World War.  About 20.000 trainees filed through Niagara from 1917 to 1919, sleeping in barns, outnumbering the town’s residents. The men in the graves died in the Spanish influenza pandemic. Each year, local Poles march from downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake to the cemetery plots, commemorating not only the spirit of the volunteers but the liberation of the motherland.
Republished with permission from Fred Photo.


Bangladesh: Beggars Can Be Choosers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Corporate Blog analyzes the decision of Bangladesh government to establish separate begging zones in the capital Dhaka.


Russia: Will Prosecutor’s Office Use Crowdsourced Data To Fight Illegal Gambling? · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

While discussing the issue of illegal gambling with the Prosecutor General, President Medvedev has stated that the Prosecutor's office can use crowdsourced data of gdecasino.ru, a mapping portal offering users the ability to map illegal gambling sites, interfax.ru reported [RUS]. Right after the news broke, the site went down, though. Previously, the Prosecutor's office have never used online projects to empower its functions. Will it now?


2017 molestation video of a girl from Andhra Pradesh is shared as the molestation video of Hindu girl in Kerala - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 8, 2020
A video of a  boy sexually assaulting a girl is being shared on social media with a claim that the minority community Hindu girls get harassed frequently in Kerala. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Video shows a Hindu girl molested in Kerala.
Fact: Video in the post shows a girl being sexually assaulted and filmed by a group of three men in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, in 2017. It is an old video and has nothing to do with Hindu girls in Kerala. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of screenshots in the video, similar visuals were found in a video posted by ‘The Times of India’ news website on their YouTube channel on ’26 September 2017’. In the description of the video, it is mentioned that a minor girl was molested and filmed by her molesters in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. Describing the incident in detail, ‘Times Now’ published an article on ‘27 September 2017’. In the article, it is mentioned that three boys had sexually assaulted a girl and filmed her. This incident took place in Kanigiri town of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. It is mentioned in the article that a boy among the three, asked his friend to molest his girlfriend while they took her for a picnic. He filmed the incident while his friend molested his girlfriend and later circulated the video on social media. After the girl’s parents lodged the complaint, the Kanigiri police arrested the three youth involved in this incident.
Similar visuals with the same description were found in the videos posted by ‘NewsX’ and ‘Tv9’ news channels. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a 2017 molestation video of a girl from Andhra Pradesh is falsely shared as the molestation video of Hindu girl in Kerala.


Guatemala: Two Documentaries · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Need a break from the sea of words online? Patrick at Guatemala Solidarity Network highlights an excerpt from the documentary, ‘Guatemala No Nos Tientes’ as well as a series of links to ‘Entremosle a Guate,’ a “fresh and interesting documentary series on the issues facing Guatemalans today.”


Morocco: A different perspective on Samir Kuntar · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Peaceful Vanguard has a different perspective on the return of Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar.


While EMMC reports thousands of violations by TV Channels, Government takes action in a handful
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 4, 2016
EMMC setup under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting reported thousands of violations of various media laws by TV channels. As per the latest information provided by the government, action was taken in just 88 such cases.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has reportedly ordered NDTV India to go off air for a day in breach of program code. But it is one of the rare instances where action has been taken by the MIB. Factly had earlier reported that thousands of violations of Media laws by Television Channels were reported by the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre. It is now revealed that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has taken action in only a handful of cases since 2013 (88 to be precise).
The EMMC reported hundreds of violations in various categories including violation of the Cineatograph act, the advertisement code and the program code for private TV channels.
Violation of Cinematograph Act
EMMC reported hundreds of violations for each month in 2014-15 with respect to screening of films, for example, non-display of Censor certificate before screening of films, non-indication of Censor rating as part of film promos which are otherwise cognizable and non-bailable offences under section 7(1) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
A total of 8467 violations were reported in this category for the year 2014-15. Highest number of violations was in June 2014 and the lowest in December 2014.
Violation of Advertisement Code
As far as violations regarding advertisements are concerned, during the financial year 2014-15 alone,
Rule 7(10) of the said rules read thus:
“All advertisement should be clearly distinguishable from the programme and should not in any manner interfere with the programme viz., use of lower part of screen to carry captions, static or moving alongside the programme.“
What is EMMC?
Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) was established in 2008 as a sub-ordinate office under Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with the exclusive task of monitoring content of private satellite TV channels for violations of Programme Code and Advertising Code.  At present, EMMC records and monitors around 600 TV channels. EMMC monitors and carries out a scrutiny of violations by electronic media in accordance with Codes framed under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995. EMMC puts out reports on violations along with the recorded clips to the Scrutiny Committee, which examines and goes into the purported violations and forwards its findings to the Inter-Ministerial Committee and other bodies for further action.
Government takes action only in a handful of cases
Out of the thousands of violations reported by the EMMC, the government has taken action only in a handful (88 to be precise) since 2013. This information was shared by the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting in the Rajya Sabha. The action against NDTV India was taken in the light of an advisory issued by the MIB in July 2015 that talks about coverage of anti-terrorist operations by security forces.
The  details  of  action  taken  against  the  content  telecast  on  private  satellite  TV  channels in violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes since 2013 is given below.
Names of TV Channels:
YEAR 2013:
YEAR 2014:
YEAR 2015:
YEAR 2016:
Featured Image: TV Channels


Congo: Highest Record Of 27 New Ebola Cases In One Day - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 2
April 30, 2019
Democratic Republic of Congo registered a one-day record of27 new confirmed Ebola cases, raising last week’s number of cases to 126, thebiggest since the current outbreak was declared last August.
The health ministry said that the previous record was 110confirmed cases a couple of weeks ago.
The outbreak in the country’s eastern regions is nowspreading at its fastest rate, due largely to a spate of attacks by militiamenand others distrustful of the international response.
In the past two months, five Ebola centers have beenattacked and a senior World Health Organization official was killed bymilitiamen 10 days ago.The assailants have mostly been unidentified butare believed to comprise both local militiamen and community members who opposethe response efforts.


Armenia: Domestic Violence · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia is concerned by the latest figures from UNICEF which indicate that 22 percent of women in Armenia believe a husband has the right to beat his wife. However, the blog says that the figures are better than in Georgia and Uzbekistan where 30 and 70 percent respectively believe that it is acceptable under certain circumstances.


Brazil: Right of reply on Twitter · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Gabriela Zago, from the ius communicatio blog tells us [pt] about the first time Brazil's TSE (Superior Electoral Court) granted the right of reply on Twitter. Rui Falcão, one of president-elect Dilma Rousseff's campaign coordinators, was condemnd by the TSE for allegedly posting offensive tweets regarding opposition candidate, José Serra.


Philippines: Two Disasters · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Torn and frayed in Manila reflects on two disasters that have recently hit the Philippines: a stampede at a game show that killed over 70 people and a mudslide that smothered possibly thousands.


Indonesia: Olympic torch relay · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Reacting to the detention of a Dutch citizen after joining a pro-Tibet Olympics rally in Jakarta, Unspun wonders “about the rightness of foreigners taking up causes in other people’s countries.”


OPINION: ‘We need your help to keep our caregivers safe’: A letter to our community about COVID-19 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee area health care providers
April 17, 2020
Artist Mauricio Ramirez created this mural honoring frontline workers and medical professionals on the corner of South Sixth Street and Lincoln Avenue. (Photo by Adam Carr)
Editor’s note: Have something on your mind? “Community Voices” is the place to let Milwaukee hear what you have to say. To be considered, we need your name, email address and phone number for verification. Please email your submissions to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Leaders of Milwaukee’s health care providers write a letter to the community with suggestions on how everyone can help in their response to COVID-19.
We are here for you.  We are together.  We need your help.
We are the health care providers in your community who are working together every day, every hour, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping our nation.  We want you to know that along with emergency responders, public health agencies and government leaders, we are part of the community-wide effort to slow the spread of the virus. Our teams are on the front lines of caring for those afflicted.
Right now, we need your help to keep our caregivers safe.
They — along with food service workers, cleaning staff, transporters and other front-line staff  — selflessly show up each day to care for and serve our patients. You can keep them safe by continuing to stay home, keep social distances and wash your hands. Simple to say, sometimes not so easy to do, and absolutely lifesaving.
Our region’s hospitals and community health centers stand united against this pandemic to provide the best possible care under extraordinary circumstances.  Despite limited access to testing and prevention supplies, we are confident in our preparedness, planning and protocols, as well as the guidance from federal and state public health agencies. Moreover, our clinical leaders collaborate daily to respond to, and plan for the ever-changing needs of our patients, staff and community.
The days ahead will test our community’s strength, our resources and our spirit. But, with your help, we will prevail.  As health care providers, we will continue to work together to care for those who need us most, and we will honor the trust you place in us for your health, and the health of our community.
Jim Skogsbergh, CEO
Advocate Aurora Health
Bernie Sherry, Ministry Market Executive
Ascension Wisconsin
Peggy Troy, CEO
Children’s Wisconsin
Cathy Jacobson, CEO
Froedtert Health
Lyle Ignace MD, CEO
Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center
Mary Ouimet, CEO
Kenosha Community Health Center
John Raymond MD, President
Medical College of Wisconsin
Joy Tapper, Executive Director
Milwaukee Health Care Partnership
Tito Izard MD, CEO
Milwaukee Health Services, Inc.
Connie Palmer, CEO
Outreach Community Health Centers
Jenni Sevenich, CEO
Progressive Community Health Centers
Susan Edwards, CEO
ProHealth Care
Julie Schuller MD, CEO
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers


Israel: Food Porn  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Israel, Lisa Goldman shares with us some food porn here.


New Petrol Price: Association Agrees On N150 Per Litre - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
August 6, 2020
The Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, IPMAN has directed its members to sell a litre of petrol at 150 naira.
The order is coming following Federal Government’s approval of 138 naira, 62 kobo as the former-depot price for a litre. It was however, gathered that despite the agreement, Private Depot Owners, PDO sell the product to dealers for 139 naira per litre.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA had on Tuesday announced the new price modulation.
IPMAN’s Vice President Abubakar Maigandi said the Federal Government is yet to come up with a new pump price for this month, noting that since the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC depots sell the product for N138.62 per litre, private depots decided to increase the price marginally to N139 per litre.
Maigandi noted that the market interplay has compelled some of the marketers to peg their pump prices between 148 and 150 naira per litre.


Terror War: Troops Uncover ISWAP Underground Armory In Sambisa Forest. - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Publisher (A.M)
May 15, 2023
They discovered the armoury with arms and ammunition when they invaded Ukuba camp in the fringes of Bama local government area, as part of ongoing counter terrorists ‘Operation Desert Sanity II’.
The recovery is coming after the troops raided the same camp and recovered six anti-aircraft guns, four AK-47 rifles, several quantities of IEDs making materials, a cache of magazines, and a Hilux vehicle mounted with an Anti-Aircraft Gun.
A Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region Zagazola Makama noted that the weapons were discovered in hidden dug pits concealed by the terrorists group.


Fact-check: Panchayat secretary abused and beaten by BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh? - Alt News
Abhishek Kumar
5th August 2022 / 12:04 pm / Last updated: 5th August 2022
A video is viral on social media where a person can be seen beating another man with a baton. He also abuses the man, forces him to kneel and then continues to beat him mercilessly. A pistol is seen laying on the sofa nearby and BJP’s symbol ‘lotus’ is showcased on the table. The victim is repeatedly pleading and saying that he has made a mistake.
It is claimed that this is an incident from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh where a BJP leader has mercilessly beaten the Panchayat Secretary.
Sharing this video, the official Twitter handle of the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress wrote that in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh when the Panchayat Secretary did not send his ‘share’, the BJP leader called him over to his office and abused him. The Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress has also shared this video on Facebook with the same claim.
#भाजपा_का_गुंडाराज
मध्यप्रदेश के #रीवा में #पंचायत_सचिव ने हिस्सा नहीं पहुंचाया तो #भाजपा के जोशीले नेता जी ने पंचायत_सचिव को बेरहमी से पीटा उठक बैठक लगवाई और मुर्गा बनाकर रखा।
“शर्मनाक कृत्य” pic.twitter.com/x8Yo2XZzP4
— MP Youth Congress (@IYCMadhya) August 1, 2022
Dainik Bhaskar Journalist, Ashish Urmaliya also shared the clip and made a similar claim. (Archive link)
मध्यप्रदेश रीवा जिले का भाजपा नेता बताया जा रहा है। पंचायत सचिव को बेरहमी से मार रहा है क्योंकि हिस्सा नहीं मिला। वाह! @ChouhanShivraj @RewaCollector @narottam1272
What the hell? pic.twitter.com/uoW1AW0f4z
— Ashish Urmaliya (@TheJournalistIN) July 30, 2022
Narendra Saluja, the media coordinator for the former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath also tweeted the video and wrote that it should be investigated. “Somebody says this is from Rewa, while others claim that the man being abused is a Panchayat Secretary. The truth of this matter should be brought to light,” tweeted Saluja. (Archive Link)
सोशल मीडिया पर वाइरल इस विडीओ की जाँच होना चाहिये…
कोई इसे रीवा का बता रहा है कोई कही और जगह का…?
कोई मार खाने वाले को पंचायत सचिव बता रहा है…
सच क्या है , सामने आना चाहिये..
पीटने वाला और मार खाने वाला कौन है , यह सच्चाई सामने आना चाहिये… pic.twitter.com/Apgmjxco97
— Narendra Saluja (@NarendraSaluja) July 22, 2022
A user named Prakash Raj (Parody) also made a similar claim while tweeting this video. (Archive link)
This video is massively viral on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim.
We performed a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video, which led us to a report by Dainik Bhaskar related to this incident. The report was published on April 14, 2022. According to this article, this viral video is from the Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to the media at that time, SP Anand told that the police were not aware of the incident and action will be taken once a case is registered.
While tweeting the video on April 15, Journalist Ranvijay Singh mentioned that this video is from Shahjahanpur. Furthermore, replying to this tweet on April 16, the Shahjahanpur Police shared the statement of Sanjay Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police.
https://t.co/O1YM4QEwfA
— SHAHJAHANPUR POLICE (@shahjahanpurpol) April 16, 2022
In his video statement, SP Sanjay Kumar said that the name of the accused is Prateek Tiwari and the name of the victim is Rajiv Bhardwaj, a resident of Chowk. The victim told the police that he had failed to disclose the information of a boy working for Prateek Tiwari, due to which the accused had abused him. Based on this information the police registered a case against Prateek Tiwari, Samittar and four other unknown people. Moreover, two accused had been arrested in the case and necessary action was ensured against them, while efforts were being made to arrest the rest.
Alt News got access to a copy of the FIR registered at Sadar Bazar police station in Shahjahanpur on April 16, 2022. In FIR number 354, a case was registered against two named accused Prateek Tiwari, Samittar and four other unknown people under sections 147, 323, and 506 of the IPC.
To sum it up, a four-month-old video of a man being beaten up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh was shared with the false claim that a Panchayat Secretary in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, was beaten by a BJP leader.
Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
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Mining disaster in Brazil shows that Bolsonaro’s pledge to loosen up sector regulation is totally insane · Global Voices
Global Voices Brazil

View of the region after the dam burst in Brumadinho. Photo by Minas Gerais’ Firesquad, public domain
Three years, two months and 20 days since a mine tailings dam collapsed in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais, and the deadly tragedy repeated itself only 120 km away: on January 25, 2019, three dams burst in the city of Brumadinho, in the same state. After the first one erupted, the mud overloaded the other two causing them to collapse.
As in 2015, the Brumadinho dams belonged by mining giant Vale. The accident happened around noon, while the company's employees were on their lunch break. According to Vale's CEO Fábio Schvartsman, 427 people were inside the cafeteria when it flooded. G1, a local news outlet, informs that 60 people are confirmed dead, but only 19 bodies have been identified so far; 192 people have been rescued alive, and 292 are still missing. The majority of the victims are Vale’s employees.
The accident happened only three days after President Jair Bolsonaro spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that Brazil is “the country that most preserves the environment in the world”. He added that the country needs to “advance in the balance between preserving the environment and biodiversity and the necessary economic development”.
One of his campaign's promises was to facilitate mining activities in the Amazon region. On his inauguration, he criticized the mining regulators and vowed to loosen up the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
After the Brumadinho tragedy, Bolsonaro spoke defensively at a local radio station, saying that Vale, which is a private company, “has nothing to do with the federal government”. He added that the government's responsibilities lie with Brazil's Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the country's main environmental regulator.
The following day, Bolsonaro announced the creation of a council and a committee to follow the developments in Brumadinho.
Meanwhile, relatives from those missing are still waiting for updates. On Friday, Estado de Minas, a local newspaper, interviewed 75-year-old Mauro Fonseca, whose two nephews, who are Vale employees, were at work at the time of the accident:
O Ronaldo conseguiu escapar com um caminhão. A gente conseguiu falar com ele. Só que o Rogério não. A irmã dele está desesperada. A gente liga, mas só dá caixa-postal. Ele estava no refeitório.
Ronaldo managed to escape with a truck. We talked to him. But Rogerio didn’t [escape]. His sister is desperate. We keep calling, but the call goes to voicemail. He was at the cafeteria.
The area was left covered in mud. Photo: Minas Gerais’ Firesquad, public domain
Speaking on national TV, Schvartsman has claimed that the collapsed dam has been out of use for the past three years and that it was last monitored 15 days before the disaster. In September, a German company inspected the place and reported that the dam was “stable”, he said. Schvartsman added that while the scale of the environmental damage might be lower than in 2015, the “human tragedy is greater” this time.
A note released by the National Mining Agency says that the Brumadinho dams were classified in a category of “low risk and high potential damage” (regarding the loss of human lives and the social, economic, and environmental impact associated with them).
The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais concentrates 63 per cent of the country's high-risk mining dams, according to Agência Lupa, a Brazilian fact-checking agency. “High risk” here means that it contains “problems in its technical characteristics or a poor state of conservation”. The distance between the city of Brumadinho and Minas Gerais’ capital Belo Horizonte, which is Brazil's sixth largest city, is of 60 km.
Brumadinho is the home of Inhotim, the largest open-air museum in the world, whose collection includes works on how humans exploit the soil. The museum had to be evacuated after the bursting.
Reporter Lucas Ferraz, who was born in the region, reminded the public of the museum's spurious connections with Minas Gerais’ mines:
Barragem da Vale se rompe em Brumadinho, onde fica Inhotim. O dono de Inhotim fez fortuna com uma mineradora cuja barragem, em Itabirito (66 km de Brumadinho), também se rompeu (anos 80, com mortos). Itabirito, por sua vez, está a 63 km de Mariana. Descaso continuado e circular.
— Lucas Ferraz (@lucasfferraz) January 25, 2019
Vale’s dam bursts in Brumadinho, where Inhotim is located. The owner of Inhotim made his fortune with a mining company, whose dam, located in Itabirito (66 km from Brumadinho), also collapsed (in the 1980s, with deaths). Itabirito is 63 km away from Mariana [the site of 2015's tragedy]. Constant and circular neglect.
Minas Gerais’ governor Romeu Zema and president Jair Bolsonaro, reuniting a day after the tragedy. Photo: Isac Nóbrega, Presidency, public domain
Three years after the first disaster, the effects in the River Doce and the ecosystem around Mariana are still evident. Experts at the University of São Paulo estimate that the environment will take centuries to recover itself. To this day, no one has been arrested and people from the affected communities are still waiting for compensation.
Less than 24 hours since the bursting in Brumadinho, inhabitants of cities located along the river Paraopeba, which was engulfed by the mud, reported sights of dead fishes. The population of the 48 affected cities surpasses 1,3 million people. The state government has suspended all of Vale’s activities in the region.


Nigeria: anti-corruption internet database · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa Unchained writes about the Anti-Corruption Internet Database in Nigeria, “This website is part of a multi-media outreach campaign which aims to educate Nigerians on the systems and processes that exist for the budgeting and accounting of public funds, Inform the public on government’s efforts and shortfalls in managing these vast funds and Empower all citizens to demand their basic rights to see these funds spent on their needs…”


Honduras: Number of Cases of Dengue Increases · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

La Gringa's Blogocito writes about the increase in the cases of dengue in Honduras in 2007.


India: Media turning people neurotic · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif quotes Prof U.R. Anantha Murthy, a writer and thinker from Kannada, India and questions: “the Indian media’s role in whipping up ‘mass hysteria’ through its breathless coverage of the recent terror attacks and the arrest of the suspects behind them.”


Sudarshan News shares old video morphed with slogans calling to kill RSS workers - Alt News
Mohammed Zubair
7th July 2019 / 8:09 pm / Last updated: 9th July 2019
“पूरे भारत मे मज़हबी उन्मादियों का खौफनाक रूप सड़को पर. नंगी तलवारों के साथ लग रहे नारे- चड्ढा चड्ढी वालों को, गोली मारो सालों को. मौत का इशारा @RSSorg व अन्य हिन्दू संगठनों के कार्यकर्ताओं की तरफ. @HMOIndia @AmitShahOffice @AmitShah @narendramodi @PMOIndia @naqvimukhtar (Horrible scenes of religious fanatics can be seen on the streets of India. People are shouting slogans with naked swords raised – Shoot those who wear shorts. The incitement to kill is aimed at workers of RSS and other Hindu organisations)”
A video shared by Sudarshan News with above claim shows a group of people allegedly shouting slogans that roughly translate to “Allahu Akbar, kill the murderers of Tabrez, RSS murdabad, shoot the half-pant guys, the blood of Tabrez will bring a revolution”. The video (archive) was retweeted 2,700 times at the time of writing this article.
The video, now deleted, can be watched below:
The same video was shared by Twitter user, Dr. Jitendra Nagar (@NagarJitendra) with the claim that the sloganeering took place in Bhopal, Madhya Padesh., “भोपाल मे सडको पर डरे हुए शांतिदूत @RSSorg के खिलाफ हाथो मे गंडासे और तलवारें ले के निकले है… इसमे एक अंतराष्ट्रीय षडयंत्र नजर आता है कि किसी भी तरह देश मे भय का वातावरण बने और विश्वमंच पर मोदीजी और भारत को बदनाम किया जा सके। MP मे कोंग्रेस की सरकार है तो साजिश ही हो सकती है (Fearful ‘Shantidoots’ are out on the streets of Bhopal with swords in their hands while opposing RSS…There seems to be an international conspiracy in this according to which they want to create an atmosphere of fear around the country so that Modiji and India get ridiculed internationally. Since MP has a Congress Government, this can only be a conspiracy)”
The video was also shared by several facebook pages on June 30.
Alt News broke the video into multiple key frames using InVid. On reverse searching one of the key frames on Google, we found it matched a video claimed to be of a Muharram procession in Dehri, Bihar. It was uploaded on YouTube on Nov 17, 2017. Unlike the video posted by Sudarshan News, this video has no incendiary slogans with reference to the lynching of Tabrez Ansari. The only audio that can be heard is a loudspeaker announcement saying “dheere dheere badte rahe… Aapse guzarish hai ke dheere dheere badte rahe (Keep moving, you are requested to keep moving slowly)“. The traditional Moharram chants of “Hassan Hussain” can be heard in the background.
To illustrate that an old video was shown by Sudarshan News as recent, we did a side-by-side comparison of frames taken from the Sudarshan News broadcast and the 2017 video that Alt News found, an example of which can be seen below. In the juxtaposition below, a hand holding a blue coloured mobile can be seen in both the videos. However, the original video has none of the incendiary slogans shown by Sudharshan News. Moreover, this is a 2017 video thus, cannot be representative of any protest against the mob-attack on Tabrez Ansari in Jharkhand in June 2019.
Alt News found the same audio morphed into the video broadcast by Sudarshan News in a clip of a recent SDPI protest rally against Tabrez Ansari’s mob lynching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQFeaYvyzRY
We also found other videos of the rally where similar sloganeering can be heard.
An old video of a Moharram procession, where people can be seen carrying swords, was doctored to include slogans calling for the killing of RSS workers. Sudarshan News shared the video in its broadcast thereby misinformation its viewers. The channel and its host Suresh Chavhanke have often been found circulating communally sensitive misinformation in the past as well (1,2,3 and 4).
[UPDATE: A video of a recent SDPI protest rally against Tabrez Ansari’s mob lynching, where the same anti-RSS sloganeering can be heard, has been added to this article. After this fact-check was published, Sudarshan News took down the morphed video. The broadcast was downloaded by Alt News and a link has been included in the article.]
Co-founder, Alt News
Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via Twitter at https://twitter.com/zoo_bear
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Iran: Ayatollah & the Poor · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Hojreh, a cleric blogger, talks about two titles in the same day and in the same newspaper, conservative Kayhan. According to blogger, newspaper reports that many people participated in the death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini, Islamic Republic founder who had promised justice. Hojreh reports that in the same page, we read 14 million people, in Iran, have an income below poverty line (Persian).


Minimum Wage: Federal Government Asks Mdas, States, Others To Pay N30,000 - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Abubakar Abubakar
April 29, 2019
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has said that there is no other requirement on the part of the government for the commencement of the payment of the new wage.
He noted that with the assent of President Buhari to the new minimum wage of thirty thousand naira there is no other hurdle barring or delaying state governments, ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs from implementing the new pay structure.
The Minister’s explanation came amid a report that his office was yet to release a certain instrument authorizing payment, the absence of which would unduly delay the takeoff date of the new pay.
Malami observed that the signing into law by the President completed the process of implementing the new wage, which takes effect from April.


Banditry: FG Distributes Relief Materials To Sokoto Victims - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Abubakar Abubakar
April 14, 2019
The Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA distributed relief assistance to victims of bandits’ attacks in four communities in Sokoto State.
The Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs are taking refuge in a primary school in Gandi, Rabah Local Government Area.
Head of Account Unit, NEMA Operations Office in Sokoto, Abubakar Yusuf, who represented the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja at the distribution exercise, listed the items to include food stuff, household utensils, drugs and other consumables.
Other materials included bags of rice, beans, maize and millet.
Also delivered were pieces of mattresses, blankets, treated mosquito nets, nylon mats, pieces of clothing material for men and women.
Responding, the Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mustapha Umar, in Sokoto commended NEMA for the prompt efforts toward cushioning the hardship of the victims.


Jamaica: Art show in Beijing · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Simone Champagnie links to an article about an exhibition of Jamaican art and sculpture which opened last week at the Jamaican Embassy in Beijing, China.


Bhutan: Wake up world! · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bridge to Bhutan quotes Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley, who reminded the world of a wake up call while speaking at the United Nations General Assembly recently: “Economic well being is not human well being,” and “the main cause of the financial crisis nations faced today was the result of ‘living beyond our means‘.”


Review: SC says Early Conclusion of Trial is Necessary to Enhance People’s Faith in Justice Delivery System
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 19, 2022
In this week’s review of Court Judgments, we look at Supreme Court’s split verdict in the Hijab issue, about Part-payment made after cheque is drawn to be endorsed on cheque, that Courts must scrupulously examine the facts and circumstances of case before convicting an accused for abetment of suicide, that early conclusion of trial is necessary to enhance people’s faith in justice delivery system among others.
SC: Split verdict on appeals against Karnataka HC’s ruling that uniform is to be worn in schools and hijab isn’t a part of essential religious practices in Islam
Earlier this year, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the order passed by the Karnataka High Court in March 2022 which held that wearing of hijab or head scarf by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practices in Islamic faith and is not protected under the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. This ruling upheld the state government’s order in February 2022 which prescribed wearing of uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges under provisions of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983. In Aishat Shifa vs State of Karnataka and others, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia delivered a split verdict on the matter.
Justice Hemant Gupta framed 11 issues. Some of them are what the ambit and scope of right to freedom of ‘conscience’ and ‘religion’ is, ambit and scope of essential religious practices under Article 25, whether the state government’s order contradicts the promotion of literacy, etc. Dismissing the pleas, Justice Gupta upheld the High Court’s order stating that wearing hijab is the belief or faith of an individual and that the religious belief cannot be carried to a secular school maintained out of State funds. Students may carry their faith in schools which permits wearing of hijab or other religious symbols. However, the State is within its jurisdiction to direct that the apparent symbols of religious beliefs cannot be carried to school maintained by the State from the State funds, thereby allowing the State to restrict wearing of hijab.
Meanwhile, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed the appeals holding that a balance was to be maintained when deciding between school discipline and the cultural and religious rights of minorities. He quashed the government order asking the state and school whether education of a girl child or enforcement of a dress code was more important. Considering the difficulties already being faced by girl students in accessing education in the country, he asked if the life of girls is being made any easier by denying access to education on grounds of wearing a hijab. Justice Dhulia also asked how a girl child wearing hijab in a classroom could be a public order or a law-and-order problem and added that living and adjusting with the differences is the sign of a mature society.
Considering the divergence of opinion, the matter is placed before the Chief Justice of India for referring it to a larger bench.
SC: Part-payment made after cheque is drawn should be endorsed on cheque
In Dashratbhai Trikambhai Patel vs. Hitesh Mahendrabhai Patel and others, the appellant had lent a loan of Rs. 40 Lakhs to the first respondent. Two cheques were given to the appellant for security which would be returned when the respondent would finish paying the loan. Though the borrower paid Rs. 4,09,315 in total, the appellant presented the cheque for Rs 20 lakhs, without endorsing the part-payment.
The Trial Court had observed that the appellant failed to prove that he was owed a legally enforceable debt of Rs. 20 lakhs. An appeal was filed against this judgement in the Gujarat High Court which found that the first respondent had deposited Rs. 4,09,315 in his account. It also found that part -payment made by the first respondent should have been reflected in the statutory notice issued by the appellant and added that an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act was not made. The appellant filed an appeal against the HC’s judgement.
While hearing the case, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli dismissing the appeal and held that if a part- payment of debt is made after the cheque is drawn but before the cheque is encashed, the payment must be endorsed on the cheque under Section 56 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Further, the cheque cannot be presented for encashment without recording the part payment. If the unendorsed cheque is dishonoured on presentation, the offence under Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act would not be attracted since the cheque would not represent a legally enforceable debt at the time of encashment.
SC: Courts must scrupulously examine the facts and circumstances of case before convicting an accused for abetment of suicide.
In Mariano Anto Bruno vs. Inspector of Police, the appellant’s wife’s death was recorded as unnatural under Section 174 of CrPC. The deceased’s mother filed a complaint against the appellant and his parents for offences under 498A (cruelty by husband and his relatives) and 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide). The trial court convicted the appellant and his mother. The decision was challenged by the appellants in the High Court which dismissed the appeal.
While hearing the case, the Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari held that both Trial Court and High Court had failed to properly analyse the facts of the case. With respect to charges under 498A of IPC, the bench noted that there was no evidence to establish the allegation ill treatment or dowry demand during her marriage. With regards to abetment to suicide, the Court reiterated that action forcing the person to commit suicide proximate to the time of suicide should be established to frame charges under Section 306 of IPC. Also, there must be a proof of direct or indirect acts of incitement to the commission of suicide. Emphasizing that before convicting an accused under Section 306 IPC, the Court must carefully examine the facts and circumstances of the case, the SC Bench acquitted the accused.
SC: Early conclusion of trial is necessary to enhance people’s faith in justice delivery system
In Gali Janardhan Reddy vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, the applicant is an accused in an illegal mining case. His bail application was rejected by the High Court in 2013 on grounds that he was influential and could influence the investigation. However, by an order in 2015, he was granted bail on certain conditions, among which was a restriction to visit the districts of Bellary in Karnataka and District of Ananthapuram and Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh. In his latest bail application, he requested for entry and stay in these districts as his daughtered had delivered a baby and he wanted to stay with her.
The SC bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari modified the condition and asked the Trial and Special Courts to conduct the trial on day-to-day basis and conclude the trial within six months following the applicant’s allowed duration of stay ends on 06 November 2022. The Bench also expressed its displeasure on the fact that the trial on the case had not begun even after 11 years of filing FIR despite the Court’s directions to do so. The faith of people in the justice delivery system will enhance through early conclusion of trial and it directed the courts to conclude the trial at the earliest since delay would otherwise impede fair and uninfluenced investigation.
SC: Entire suit with multiple plaintiffs cannot be abated in case of death of one plaintiff
In Siravarapu Appa Rao vs. Dokala Appa Rao, the Trial Court decided a suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession filed by the plaintiffs. The First Appellate Court allowed the appeal since one of the plaintiffs had died and her legal representatives were not brought on record which meant that the suit got abated not only against the deceased plaintiff but also against the other plaintiff-appellants as it was a joint claim. The High Court also dismissed the second appeal on the same ground.
While hearing the case, the issue before the Supreme Court was if the non-substitution of legal representatives of some of the plaintiff and/or on demise of the some of the respondents during the pendency of the first appeal, whether the entire appeal would stand abated, or it will be so only in respect of the particular deceased respondent. Referring to a recent judgement, the Bench allowed the appeal and held that where there is more than one plaintiff, the entire suit cannot be held to be abated on the death of one of the plaintiffs as per Order 22 Rule 2 of CPC.
SC: One is entitled to seek remedy if more than four months is taken for deciding on sanction
In Vijay Rajmohan vs. State, the appellant is an official of the Central Secretarial Service, Government of India. During his posting in Delhi from 2005 to 2012, he is alleged to have made assets disproportionate to his income. In 2015, CBI registered an FIR against him and his parents. After investigation, CBI sought sanction from the appointing authority, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for prosecuting the Appellant. DoPT sought clarifications from the CBI and felt that there were many errors in CBI’s investigation and sought the Central Vigilance Commission’s opinion (CVC). After clarifying with CBI, CVC was of the view that it was a strong case for granting sanction subject to the CBI conducting a re-investigation on certain aspects of the case. Following CBI’s report, the CVC asked DoPT to grant sanction for prosecution. The sanction was granted after 1 year 10 months.
The appellant filed a discharge application on the ground that the sanction order was passed without application of mind. The Madras High Court had allowed a criminal revision petition filed by the State against the order of the Trial Court, discharging the accused citing that the sanction order under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is void due to non-application of mind by sanctioning authority.
In his appeal, the following issues were raised before the Supreme Court.
The SC bench of Justices BR Gavai and PS Narasimha held that there was no illegality in the sanction of DoPT. It also held that the period of three months which is extendable by one more month for legal consultation under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act for the Appointing Authority to decide upon a request for sanction is mandatory. Once this period is over, the aggrieved party is entitled to approach the concerned writ court and seek appropriate remedies, including directions for action on the request for sanction to hold the sanctioning authority accountable. The Bench allowed the appellant to raise and seek such remedies and dismissed the HC’s judgement.


Invisible Screens And New Horizons in Palm Springs - New Canadian Media
Hadani Ditmars
January 13, 2016
As the Palm Springs International Film Festival wraps up and Thursday’s Oscar nominations loom, I remember the words of my old friend Paolo Consigilio.
The expert Italian mask maker fused his commedia del arte style craft with a Pasolini like cinematic sensibility and spent time in both Canada and his homeland.
When I asked him once to define the difference between the two places he said, “In Italy, everyone wants to be the protagonist in the movie.”
In Canada, he said, we are content to be on the sidelines.
I contemplate this from Vancouver’s Hollywood North where every other person seems to be connected to the film industry and after a week spent at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, where Canadian cinema is a star attraction.
While Palm Springs is more known for its population of aging Republicans and its modernist architecture, the festival, now in its 27 year, has quietly become a hub for world cinema. This year all nine of the films shortlisted for the Foreign Language Oscar and their directors were present at the festival.
99 and a half miles from Los Angeles’ Paramount Studios, Palm Springs has always lived in Hollywood’s shadow. Once a getaway for Hollywood stars (who under contract could not go farther than 100 miles from the studios) 10% of its population is now Canadian.
Key film festival administrators are Canadian, and Telefilm is a big film festival partner. With its incongruous mix of Hollywood glamour and earnest world cinema – ranging from a first weekend gala celebrating stars in the mainstream firmament to the opening night Finnish film The Fencer about the Cold War in Estonia– the festival also provides an interesting lens on Canadian culture. Indeed, the eight films from the true north strong and free this year provided much food for thought.
Maxime Giroux’s Felix and Meira – Canada’s Foreign Language Film Oscar submission for 2016 (which sadly didn’t make the shortlist) tells the story of the romance between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a bohemian French Canadian artist in Montreal.
Ryan McKenna’s Sabali is about a French Canadian woman who receives a heart transplant from a Malian immigrant woman and then befriends her son.
Phillippe Falardeau’s My Internship in Canada is a satirical look at the relationship between a Quebecois politician and his Haitian intern, while Adam Garnet Jones’ Fire Song concerns a “two-spirited” First Nations man living on an Anishnabe reservation in Northern Ontario who must navigate between his cultural and sexual identities.
Program in hand, I contemplated the differences between Canadian and American versions of multiculturalism as I settled into my room at the Palm Mountain Resort. My immediate neighbours, an inter-racial lesbian couple from nearby San Bernardino, where the recent shootings unfolded like a bad Hollywood movie, chatted excitedly about the Lily Tomlin film Grandma. But when the subject changed to current events, the blonde half of the couple mentioned that her son attended the same shooting range as one of the shooters, Tashfeen Malik. She blamed U.S. President Barack Obama and his “open-door visa policy” for “letting those people in.”
My old friend Paolo’s words rang in my head at the opening weekend gala, where a red carpet full of paparazzi greeted stars like Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett, who were honoured by the festival.
I tried hanging out with fellow journalists waiting for 10-second sound bites and rapid-fire photos of Hollywood’s finest, but it felt weird. Later, inside the gala dinner, I wondered if it were my Canadian sensibility that stopped me from lining up for photographs with Johnny Depp. As enthusiastic fans stepped up, I watched from the sidelines.
I chatted with some young Czech filmmakers who didn’t have tickets to get in, from the vantage point of the cosier hotel lobby and fireplace. I was briefly reminded of the Hollywood comedy A Night at the Roxbury and the “inside-outside” nightclub, where the real party happens on the edges of the club.
Later, in an interview with young Anglo-Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar, whose first feature – the Oscar shortlisted Theeb– was about the Arab Revolt of 1916 seen through Bedouin eyes, I thought more about invisible dividing screens.
Theeb is the first Arab film shot in the Bedouin dialect, and one that steers clear of stereotypes common in mainstream Arab cinema (not unlike, said the director, “old Hollywood cowboy and Indian films”) as well as Western colonial narratives like Lawrence of Arabia.
The cast were all first time Bedouin actors – some of whom were unfamiliar with the whole concept of cinema. At a local screening in the desert, one of the young nieces of a lead actor who meets an untimely death on screen proved inconsolable, until her very much alive uncle was brought forward. She had to be shown the edges of the screen before she was entirely convinced.
In a world where the most interesting stories unfold at the edges, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of what’s real and what is celluloid.
And in a world where mainstream narratives – often more fantasy than reality – still dominate, I think I may be content to remain on the sidelines. At least until a fresh set of protagonists emerge to pierce the screen and show us new horizons.
Hadani Ditmars is the author of Dancing in the No Fly Zone and is working on a new book about ancient sites in Iraq. She has been reporting from the Middle East for two decades and is also a singer and musician.


Azerbaijan: The Week in Politics · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

azerbaijan.neweurasia.net reports on this week's parliamentary election news.


Serbia and Macedonia at War? The Headlines Say So, But Citizens Disagree · Global Voices
Marko Angelov

Front pages of Serbian newspapers on August 22, 2017: Serbian Telegraph (main: “Backstabbers: Zaev declared war on Serbia”, top right: “NATO trembles with fear: Putin's secret weapon stops 21 US ships”), Politika (“Skopje announces support for Kosovo in UNESCO: New blow to Serbia by Macedonian government”), Blic (“Macedonian secret services followed and intimidated Serbian diplomats”), Alo! (“Diplomatic war: Brother Zaev stabs us at the back!”)
On August 21, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that staff from the Serbian embassy had been withdrawn from their posts in Macedonia for consultations in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. This decision was taken after Serbian intelligence agencies allegedly “received sufficient evidence of many offensive intelligence activities against Serbian authorities and institutions.”
In response, pro-government media in Serbia started a new wave of warmongering front page announcements aimed at Macedonia and the Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev, including titles such as, “Macedonians Are Stabbing Us in the Back!” and “Zaev Declared a War on Serbia.”
Analysts from the region consider two main factors which may be behind this unprecedented move by the Serbian government. The first might be due to Serbian interest in Macedonia as indicated by a nearly decade-long effort by Russian and Serbian secret services to support anti-western and pro-Russian nationalists in Macedonia. Leaked documents, obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and partners NOVA TV and the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK), included reports by Macedonian counterintelligence about “strong subversive propaganda and intelligence activity” aimed to disrupt the country's entry into NATO.
This, added to reports that a Serbian intelligence officer was present during the April 27 coup attempt in the Macedonian Parliament, also known as ‘Bloody Thursday’, has created tension in the region. The incident occurred when a mob organized by the former ruling party, VMRO-DPMNE, a right-wing populist party with reported ties to Russia and to Serbian intelligence services, attempted to lynch the soon-to-be Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, other MPs and journalists.
Another reason may involve the ongoing efforts by the Serbian government to prevent Kosovo's bid for membership to UNESCO. Kosovo is a former Serbian province which declared its independence in 2008. Since then, international recognition of Kosovo has been mixed. Vučić's administration had been lobbying other countries to vote against Kosovo's membership within the relevant UN bodies. Some journalists have been speculating that this is a form of pressure intended to intimidate Macedonia into stopping support for Kosovo's bid.
The Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs was quick to respond to an inquiry from a citizen about this issue:
Macedonia cannot possibly be in the driving seat on an issue that is both very important and divisive for our neighbors.
— Nikola Dimitrov (@Dimitrov_Nikola) August 21, 2017
Other commenters have noted that this development is a part of the proxy war between Russia and the USA, which also initiated hostile moves at diplomatic level lately. In this respect, Serbia is seen as attempting to destabilize the new Macedonian government which came to power at the end of May with clear a pro-western platform.
Former Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremić, who currently works as an analyst, criticised the events via a much-quoted tweet:
Šta god se desilo u Skopju, povlačenje celokupnog osoblja ambasade je diplomatski dilentatizam i šarlatanstvo, svojstveno banana državama.
— Vuk Jeremić (@jeremic_vuk) August 21, 2017
Regardless of what had actually happened in Skopje, withdrawal of the entire embassy staff is a diplomatic dilettantism and charlatanry, which only occurs in banana republics.
The Macedonian government, in turn, issued statements aimed at de-escalation, stating it will not jump to hasty conclusions and will wait for an explanation from Serbia.
Social network users have been sharing the warmongering headlines from pro-government media in Serbia, as a way to criticize the state for their control of the media.
Kao što sam vam sinoć najavio, plaćeni urednici – bruka za profesiju, afirmišu diplomatsko glupiranje AVučića. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/PzBMM8y81m
— Зоран Живковић (@ZoranDirektno) August 22, 2017
As I noted yesterday, the mercenary editors who shame their profession promote the diplomatic stupidities of Aleksandar Vučić.
Common citizens on both sides of the border refused to take this rhetoric at face value, and initiated a dialogue affirming their abhorrence to political manipulations.
Braćo Makedonci, nema veze sa mnom i normalnom Srbijom, ali evo ja se izvinjavam u ime te sakrivene normalne Srbije zbog ludaka na vlasti.
— QQLELE #ZaDuleta (@ajmeiQQ) August 21, 2017
Brother Macedonians, this has nothing to do with me and the normal Serbia, but I hereby apologize in the name of that hidden normal Serbia because of the madmen who rule her.
Some have been pointing to the absurdity of starting the war between the two nations, especially because of the asymmetry of their size and military power. For instance, one social media user posted a photo of a hotel in the shape of a ship that had been built as part of the Skopje 2014 project, mocking the sensationalist tone of the warmongering media:
[Foto] Uzbuna ljudi!!! MAKEDONCI KRENULI BRODOVIMA NA NAS!!!
cc @unexploded_yet pic.twitter.com/eHZHu8lpDR
— Dobrica Veselinović (@dobrinacelnik) August 22, 2017
Alert people!!! Macedonians had obtained sailing ships and are going to attack us!!!
Macedonian journalist Borjan Jovanovski also mocked the headline's rhetoric by mentioning Vranje, the biggest Serbian city in the vicinity of the border with Macedonia:
До кај стигнавме со офанзивата? дали падна Врање бар?
— Borjan Jovanovski (@BorjanJovanovsk) August 22, 2017
How goes our offensive? Did Vranje fall, at least?
Social media users from the region also reacted to the scandal. For instance, Bosnian film director Dino Mustafić commented:
Medijski naslovi u Srbiji u vezi Makedonije pokazuju kako je Vučić kreirao paranoidnu-šizofrenu realnost u koju ubjeđuje cijelu naciju!
— Dino Mustafic (@MdinoDino) August 21, 2017
Media headlines in Serbia regarding Macedonia show that Vučić created a paranoid-schizophrenic reality and tries to persuade the whole nation to accept it.
Psychologist and political analyst Srđan Puhalo posted an “advertisement” about the vacant embassy, mentioning the Serbian minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić as a sort of secret agent from the James Bond 007 series:
Izdaje se namjestena ambasada u Skoplju, osvestana!!!
Sifra: Dacic 007
— Srđan Puhalo (@SrkiPuhalo) August 21, 2017
Embassy in Skopje for rent, fully furnished and blessed by an Orthodox priest.
Code: Dačić 007.
In spite of any political turmoil, the relations between the populations of Macedonia and Serbia have remained friendly since the break up of former Yugoslav federation in 1991. In times of need, the regular people of both countries have shown tangible solidarity through grassroots humanitarian aid actions for Serbia in 2014 and Macedonia in 2016, to name a few.


Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is beyond time that the appalling homophobia that is a blight on certain parts of Jamaican society come to an end.”


Venzuela: Metro Price Change · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Qtpd describes the change in pricing (ES) at the Carcas metro. Rather than charging per segment, each journey will now have the same price (US $0.30) regardless of distance or the amount of transfers. Three commenters agree with the policy change, though one believes that it will spark protests.


Nigerian, Bashir Dodo, awarded in Portugal for diagnosing eye damage | EduCeleb
20th February 2018
A 29 year old Nigerian student, Bashir Dodo has been awarded with the “Best Student Paper” at the recently concluded industry-leading BIOIMAGING 2018 conference in Portugal. His work developed a technique for identifying and diagnosing damage to the human eye.
He is a Doctoral candidate at the Department of Computer Science at Brunel University London. He also works in the university where his focus is on Computer Graphics with his project topic titled ‘Intra-retinal Layer Segmentation in Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Images.’
EduCeleb.com reports that Mr Dodo also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering  and a Master’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering (Software Systems) at the University of East London.
The research work showed a new algorithm for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) equipment which can automatically segment images of the retina into distinct layers.
This new technique which can separate the retina into seven individual layers, could improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis, and help save the sight of patients by identifying damage earlier.
Based on the psychological concept of similarity, Bashir used the ideas of continuity and discontinuity to develop an OCT algorithm that can identify where one layer of the retina transitions to the next.
OCT machines are used by ophthalmologists to produce non-invasive three-dimensional photographs of a patient’s retina, which are used in the diagnosis of eye-related disease.
“Layer segmentation is one of the early processes of OCT retina image analysis, and already plays an important role in clinics,” said Bashir.
“For example, the thickness profile of the Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer – which can be calculated directly from the segment layer – is used in the diagnosis of glaucoma, which is one of the most common causes of sight-loss worldwide.
“Automatically segmenting the layers could provide critical information for abnormality detection by comparing them to the average population, and monitoring the progress of disease against previous scans.”
Whilst doctors are currently able to identify the layers manually from OCT images, Bashir’s new technique automatically segments images of the retina, allowing specialists to spot abnormalities quicker and better track the progress of medication.
“It is evident that prior knowledge plays an important role in diagnosis,” said Bashir.
“Therefore, using automated methods to look back through medical records or ophthalmology literature has great potential to influence how this field progresses.”


Japan: Mask Idol · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lee from Tokyo Times blogs about Japan fashion and fetishism by refering to the recent “Mask Idol”.