Stories from 18 January 2008
Iraq: Respect Women
Hala S, an Iraqi who lives in the UK, relates an incident which made the following thought ring true: “There will be no democracy and no freedom in the Middle East till men learn how to respect women and look at them as partners not inferiors”.
Libya: Gitmo Prisoner Infected with Aids
A Libyan detainee at Guantanamo Bay could have been infected with the deadly Aids virus after a blood transfusion, says his Chicago-based lawyer H Candace Gorman.
Three Die of Cold in Lebanon
Jounoune, from Lebanon, links to a news report which says that at least three people were killed in the latest cold wave to hit the country.
UAE: French Base Soon
The French are making their presence felt in the Gulf – after signing an agreement with the UAE to establish a military base there, reports Abu Aardvark.
Kuwait: Old Pictures
Mark finds his picture as a child in a photography book on Kuwait.
Jordan: Illegitimate Children
Khalaf takes a look at the issue of illegitimate children in Jordan in this post.
Ukraine: Interview on Prostitution
Natalia Antonova interviews a Ukrainian man on prostitution.
Ukraine: Lutsenko Beats Up Chernovetsky
Ukrainiana writes about “grossly uncivil conduct” of Ukraine's interior minister, who beat up Kyiv's mayor today.
Ukraine: Crimean Politicians
Orange Ukraine writes on how Crimean politicians “are asking for testing of Ukrainian language to be conducted in Russian” – or else they wouldn't let the country's PM enter the peninsula.
Serbia: Kusturica vs Willis
Belgrade 2.0 writes about Emir Kusturica's dislike of Die Hard, Bruce Willis and all things Hollywood.
Russia: Vasily Alexanyan
Robert Amsterdam writes on the plight of Vasily Alexanyan, an imprisoned and gravely-ill former Yukos executive.
The Baltics: Missing the Borders 2
Lituanica has more on the story of the missing borders and one poor cleaning lady, who was on her way to work in Kaunas, Lithuania, but fell asleep and found herself in Tartu, Estonia, instead.
Latvia: Review of “Defenders of Riga”
Latvian Abroad reviews Defenders of Riga, “a feel-good patriotic movie”: “And watching a war movie in which bombs were falling on the familiar streets on which I've walked thousands of time, just a few hundred meters from the movie theater… was so much more intense emotionally.”
Macedonia, Russia: Photos
Pictures from Macedonia, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod (here and here) – from Flickr user quinn.anya (via Openly Feminist, a Bulgarian-language blog by Petya of Bighead).
Serbia, U.S.: Bobby Fischer
East Ethnia writes about the legacy of chess champion Bobby Fischer, who died today: “Maybe there will be an opportunity now to remember him for what he achieved, less so than for what he became.”
India: Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing
To each its own on the rather contentious issue of mandatory HIV/AIDS testing.
Sri Lanka: Tamil, patriotism and politics
Hissyfits speaks out – reflecting on the way politics and anti-Tamil sentiment can affect everyday life.
Sri Lanka: Media and the LTTE
Times Eye is rather annoyed with the biased coverage of the killing of two MPs in the media.
Sri Lanka: Terrorism and Fish
Lanka Rising on a rather unexpected positive outcome – “Due to terrorist threat to the Colombo harbor, the government declared the sea near the harbor as a banned zone for intruders including the fishermen”
Iraq: New Flag
Iraqi Konfused Kid sheds light on discussions surrounding a new Iraqi flag.
Egypt: Parliament Threats on Cut Ties with European Parliament
Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt, reports that the Egyptian parliament is threatening to cut ties with the European Parliament and the Euro-Mediterranean Council if the European Parliament passes a resolution criticizing Egypt’s record on human rights.
