By Siobhan O’Leary
The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that Chinese dissident artist and architect Ai Weiwei has decided not to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair for health reasons. Ai has been recovering in a Munich hospital from surgery to treat a brain injury which has been attributed to a beating he received in August from state police in Sichuan while reporting about the deaths of schoolchildren during last year’s earthquake. The SZ adds that it is unknown whether Ai was pressured in any way by the Chinese government to make his decision, but the newspaper stated that his “scars are healing relatively slowly.”
Buchreport continues its series on the most important web startups in Germany, this time focusing on pausanio.de, which provides information about art and cultural travel destinations in Germany and Europe. Founded in August, the site features audio guides (some free, some for a fee), photos, and art guides both for adults and children. The content is all linked to a map and can be researched by location. Users can even upload their own stories, photos, reviews and travel tips. Pausanio’s business model relies on selling audio guides, advertising, and deriving additional income from affiliate programs with publishers and Amazon.
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[...] also had to cancel his appearance at the 2008 Frankfurt Book Fair due to a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a beating he received from [...]