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As part of Foreign Fridays, we explore a different country each week through its most unusual, amusing and odd facts. If you want your country to appear, then simply get in contact with us either in the comments below or through Facebook or Twitter.

This week it is the turn of China:

On the first day of Chinese New Year, many people, particularly
Buddhists, abstain from eating meat as they believe
that it will ensure they enjoy a long life.

We have reached the final New Year related Foreign Fridays Fact, in what has been a busy January, full of celebrations. And this week we have possibly the most famous of them all- Chinese New Year. 

In China the New Year's celebrations last for 15 days, with New Year's Day counting as day 1. During this time most people take time off work to be with family and friends, and many travel back to their home town or village. Trains, buses, roads, and planes all become packed out with people travelling across the country.

If you are using Wikipedia in an English speaking country, then you may have noticed today that you cannot access any of the information. Instead of the normal pages of life-saving information, you will be met by a black screen, similar to the one above. This is because, for the first time ever, Wikipedia is protesting against two new laws that have been proposed in the United States.

SOPA (which stands for the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act'), and PIPA (‘Protect Intellectual Property Act') are two bills that aim to stop copyright infringement by websites outside of the US. However, many people, the Wikipedia community included, believe that these laws will harm free expression and freedom on the internet. In Wikipedia's own words:

"We are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people's access to online information...These bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet."

It is not the idea of stamping down on online copyright infringement that Wikipedia disagrees with, but the "badly drafted legislation" which will not only be ineffective against it's main aim, but will actually harm the internet as we know it.

Movie award season started this weekend with the Golden Globes being held in Los Angeles. Presented by English comic Ricky Gervais for the third year running, the big winner from the night was, unusually, a black and white silent movie called The Artist.

The Winners and Losers

The Artist tells the tale of a declining silent actor who is starting to lose his celebrity as talking films gain in popularity. On the night, it was named best comedy and its star Jean Dujardin (pictured above) took home the best male comedy actor award. On the drama side, George Clooney won best actor for his role in The Descendents, which also won Best Film Drama.

Other big winners included hotly-tipped Meryl Streep for her role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and Michelle Williams who plays Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, both of whom won Best Actress awards. On the international scene, Iran's A Separation, which tells the simple tale of a couple's break up, won best foreign language film.

As part of Foreign Fridays, we explore a different country each week through its most unusual, amusing and odd facts. If you want your country to appear, then simply get in contact with us either in the comments below or through Facebook or Twitter.

This week it is the turn of Russia:

Much of Eastern Europe is celebrating Old New Year tonight. In Russia,
they traditionally celebrate by drinking vodka and champagne,
and by eating Mandarin oranges.

January is the month of a thousand New Year's Eves. Well, maybe not a thousand, but certainly a few different ones other than the traditional British 31st December, and today is Old New Year. This confusingly named festival is celebrated by Eastern European countries where the Orthodox Church is still prevalent. The reason it falls on January 13th, is due to the use of the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the modern calendar.

There has not been much good news for international students recently. Everything from the implementation of stricter visa requirements, to the recent events in the news, has shocked many students, leading them to question is 'England international student-ist'? 

To start with the worst, a twenty-three-year-old Indian boy Anuj Bidve was fatally shot on December 26th during a night in Salford. It is believed that the shooting was unprovoked and racially motivated. Is England racist? Equally, in today's England, a ban WAS going to be issued on international students in Plymouth preventing them from using shops in the town centre. This plan came from a belief that international students were the cause of unruly behaviour in the area and an increase in shoplifting. Back to the days of segregation? Here? Today in 2012's England?

And let's not forget the lady on the tram from Croydon, which I assume everyone has YouTubed, shouting racist remarks at immigrants. One takes a look at London and would dispute the very possibility of England being racist, having welcomed hundreds of thousands of international students into the city, all of whom enjoy the rights, the amenities and the opportunities of any other Londoner.