Stories from 20 April 2008
Iran: Woman activist faces prison and lashes
Zannevesht says[Fa] that Nasrin Afzali, a woman activist, is sentenced to 10 lashes by whip and six months in prison in Iran.
Iran: A new site is filtered
According to Iranian media,Fararu,an Iran based news site,was filtered and nobody knows why. A few months ago there was an article about Global Voices in Fararu.
Iran: Save a Mother from Execution
Kamangir reports that Akram Mahdavi, 32 year old mother of a girl in her early teens is facing imminent execution for conspiracy to murder.The complaintaints in Akram's case have agreed to stop her upcoming execution in exchange for $60,000.
Iran: A cleric criticise both USA and Islamic Republic
Mohmmad Reza Zarei,an Iranian cleric, writes [Fa] that both USA and Islamic Republic lie. American government, contrary to Iranian one, says truth about small things and lies about big issues.
Turkey: Armenian Sportsmen
Unzipped posts an entry on an online exhibition which depicts ethnic Armenian sportsmen in Ottoman Turkey. The blog notes that not only were Armenian sporting events held during the priod 1911-14, but that the two ethnic Armenians represented Turkey in the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games.
Georgia: Dubai of the Black Sea
Registan comments on news that the United Arab Emirates plans to invest $100 million in Poti. With Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili promising to turn the port into a Eurasian Dubai, the blog wonders if this means foreign companies will move in to make a killing before finally leaving when new...
Damascus: The Destruction of The Old City
Damascus prides itself on being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The history of Damascus goes back well into the 8000BC. In every corner of its ancient alleys there's a taste of every historical era there was to be found. The city that had withstood everything from earthquakes to invasions for nearly 10 millennia, is now crumbling under the threat of... "Modernism", writes Yazan Badran, who brings us the reactions of a Syrian blogger.
Bahrain: Wanted – more vlogs!
Yagoob has started vlogging (video blogging) and is encouraging other Bahraini bloggers to do the same.
Azerbaijan: Seki
Exerro continues its journey through Azerbaijan with a fleeting visit to an observatory included. The travel blog says that despite the depressing relics and environmental damage of the Soviet era, the country is beautiful. In particular, the 17th or 18th century caravanserai hotel in Seki was a wonderful surprise. The...
Armenia: Wedding
Kyle's Journey in Armenia attends a local wedding and offers a fascinating account of some of the traditions which make tying the knot a day to remember. Although Armenians pride themselves on being the first nation to officially adopt Christianity as its state religion, most of the customs take place...
Japan: About40, and what next?
Changing times in Japan are opening the door for a new style of television. "About40", aired for the first time on April 11th, has done something novel for a Japanese TV drama: aim at the age bracket of 35 to 45 year old women, and hit it big. The new drama targets the late-thirties demographic of single women who entered the work force during the 80s bubble, captured in the newly-coined term "arafo". Bloggers give their initial thoughts on the show, and provide their perspectives on being "arafo" in modern Japan.
Korea: Invincible Samsung Kingdom
Through the three-month investigation into alleged corruption at Samsung, Samsung snuck out of punishment again. Even though the special investigation team was established, and hidden bank accounts and illegal activities were found, it seems that it was not enough for categorizing it as a criminal act. Manhouse shows what the...
Zimbabwe: Chinese troops Mutare?
Curly wonders what the Chinese troops are doing in Zimbabwe: “These blue suited marathon running highly trained policemen probably know the identities of the Chinese troops who have been reported as being seen on the streets of Mutare in Zimbabwe, after checking into a hotel resplendent with nice shining pistols....
Zimbabwe: The endless game
Ethan discusses “the endeless game” in Zimbabwe: “It’ not very often that I find myself siding with Condoleeaza Rice. But she’s right – it’s embarrasing that the African continent’s leaders haven’t put more pressure on Robert Mugabe to step down… or at least to release election results.”
Zimbabwe: Take Action Against Chinese Ship Carrying Arms
Call to action to stop a Chinese ship carrying arms destined for Zimbabwe: “Please can all those amazing people who have been following this issue – finding contact email addresses and brainstorming ideas – leave consolidated comments at the end of this post bringing us up to speed on what...
Zimbabwe: Play your liberation songs at high volume
Zimbabwe Independence Day Message: “Actions: Create your own ways of taking back Independence Day. * Switch off ZBC/TV. * Don’t buy state controlled newspapers. * Play your own liberation songs at high volume. * Write a letter to the editors of local and regional newspapers . . .”
Uganda: Government refuses passport to transgender woman
A post by Gay in Uganda last week reveals the discrimination the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) population faces when applying for travel documents.
Sudan's Looming War
Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement may possibly collapse if the bad pile up of misfortunes continues, but before we go into that, let's proceed with the good news first. Drima is ecstatic about a new book by the Sudanese Muslim scholar Abdullahi An-Na'im whom Irshad Manji hosted as a guest recently at her latest initiative, the Moral Courage Project.
D.R of Congo: Mobile game for conservation
Silverback is a mobile game to raise awareness about the plight of mountain gorillas in Congo DR: “Called “Silverback”, the game promotes understanding and appreciation of the world’s mountain gorilla population and was extremely well received in the mobile press, as well as in the non-profit sector. The game was...
Burkina Faso: Vegetarians need not apply
As much as Ouagalais love political intrigue, most people are much more preoccupied with the power cuts that have afflicted the city for the past five weeks or so. First, a galet poussoir, which translates as a roller tapet, failed at one of the city’s main power stations, forcing Sonabel, the local power company, to schedule rolling blackouts throughout the city every day for more than a week until someone was sent to France to pick it up a new piece.
Hyejin Kim: A praised young novelist among GVO authors
Global Voices celebrates, this month, Hyejin Kim's first anniversary as the GVO Korean Language editor. She is also a celebrated young novelist: her debut book, 'Jia: A Novel of North Korea', has been highly praised as a very vivid and moving novel set in 1990’s North Korea. Is this story just fiction? Hyejin lets us know in this interview.
