Brazil: After The Internet Bubble, Here Comes The Internet Balloon
We hear every day about how connected the world has become. But according to an estimate by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union, some 4.3 billion people still live their lives completely offline. In other words, more than 60% of the world’s populations doesn’t have Internet access.
As part of an ambitious mission of digital inclusion, Google has announced its Loon project, aiming to take the Internet to the most remote and underprivileged areas using balloons equipped with radio antennas to provide access similar in speed to 3G, according to the search giant.
In the first half of 2014, the initiative will be tested in the Amazon forest. “This project will no doubt contribute significantly to developing access to the Internet in that large area which is difficult to reach with traditional technologies,” said Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo after a meeting with Google representatives last month. …
Worldcrunch
Italy: Foreign births on the rise in Italy
More children are being born to foreign parents in Italy while the number of Italian births continues to drop, according to a birth and fertility report by Istat, Italy’s national statistics agency. The figures also revealed the country’s most popular baby names.
A total of 80,000 children were born to foreign parents to Italy in 2012, according to Istat’s latest birth and fertility report, showing a 2,800 increase since 2009.
The number of births to Italian parents, meanwhile, was found to have decreased by 11,000 compared with 2011 and 42,000 compared with 2008.
Overall, the number of births in Italy in 2012 decreased by 12,000 compared with the previous year, according to Istat.
The statistics also revealed that the most common baby names for Italian children were Francesco, Alessandro, Andrea and Lorenzo for boys and Sofia, Giulia, Giorgia and Martina for girls. …
The Local
United Arab Emirates: World’s tallest commercial tower is named ‘Burj 2020’
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the Government of Dubai Authority with a mandate to establish Dubai as the global gateway for commodity trade and enterprise, has chosen the name ‘Burj 2020’ for the world’s tallest commercial tower in honour of Dubai’s Expo 2020 win.
To be held for the first time in the Middle East, the Dubai Expo 2020 themed ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ will further drive Dubai’s position as more than just a transfer point between East and West, and truly support the vision of the leadership of Dubai to become the new economic centre of the world. …
Khaleej Times
Mongolia: UB Art Fair to be held
Every year, professional artists and sculptors wait in anticipation of the UB Art Fair.
This year’s UB Art Fair will be unveiled at Blue Moon Art Gallery from November 29 to December 1. The UB Art Fair aims to develop cultural tourism, extend the tourism season, and support professional artists. …
UB Post
Estonia: Enterprise Estonia Pulls ‘Russian Doll’ Campaign
Enterprise Estonia, the state tourism and entrepreneurship support agency, has pulled an online campaign for the Russian market following criticism that it was not appropriate in the way it depicted either Russian Federation tourists or Estonia.
The Russian-language campaign, developed by the DDB and Nafta ad agencies, had the tagline “You and 75 friends to Estonia,” and depicted Russian Federation tourists as a noisy group of Russian dolls who descend on Tallinn. The tagline referred to the prize in a drawing with partner Estonian Air. …
ERR News
Panama: Snowbirds bringing new Christmas carol to Panama
The annual Welcome Back Snowbirds celebration for those refugees from the northern hemisphere who come to winter in Panama, will pay tribute to an additional group this year.
The event, hosted by the CanadaPLUS Club,will include a welcome for the Thames Centre Community Choir from London, Ontario, Canada, whose members have paid their own way to participate in the annual Carols By Candlelight Festival, a community involvement event raising funds for Santo Tomas Hospital and the Hogar Malambo orphanage. …
Newsroom Panama
Cyprus: Cyprus has 2nd highest rate of students in U.S.
Cyprus has the second highest rate among EU countries of university students in the U.S., despite a marginal drop from 438 students in 2011-2012 to 425 in the past academic year, according to U.S. embassy figures.
The most popular universities for Cypriot students are Harvard, Columbia and MIT.
“The StudyUSA programme that was launched three years ago, has offer almost up to 3m dollars in scholarships from U.S. universities to Cypriots,” said Anna Argyrou, Senior Consultant at the Fulbright Commission in Nicosia. …
Cyprus Mail
