Stories from 17 March 2009
Sri Lanka: Form Of Charity
The End blog recommends person to person charity because: “What happens in state run forced charity, is that when I get one Rupee as a grant or a subsidy, much more is spent on the processes that bring me that money.”
Pakistan: A Proud Event
The reinstatement of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was a proud event for many Pakistanis like the blogger at Monsoon Frog after a long time.
China:Parliament ridiculed for its fancy proposals
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's parliament of more than 2,000 delegates, ended in Beijing on 12, March, with pledges to help maintain steady and relatively speedy economic development in 2009. Top national leaders such as Hu Jingtao, Premier Wen Jiabao were present at the closing ceremony. (Xinhua)...
Bangladesh: Floating Hospital
Bangladesh is inundated with heavy monsoon rain and floods every year. Mikey Leung reports that :”In the face of this rising tide, one organization has developed a novel solution. They’re delivering high quality health care to Bangladesh’s poorest people, in floating hospitals.”
Colombia: Documenting the trucker's life on the road
What is life like when you are constantly on the road? Blogger Francisco Cárdenas, best known for his blog Cine al Oído, has set out to experience that and share it with us online on 8ruedas. He will climb aboard Juan Camilo's truck with a photographer friend to explore the Colombian roads and find out the secrets, stories and adventures truck driver's hold to share online in real time through streaming video, twitter updates and pictures uploads.
El Salvador: Blogger Reactions to Mauricio Funes Victory
Various blogs from El Salvador posted their reactions to the news of the victory by FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes in the March 15 Presidential election with 51% of the vote. Funes, a former television journalist, ends nearly two decades of rule by the ARENA party and brings FMLN into power, which is a party that was built by former guerrilla fighters after a peace deal ended armed conflict in that country. Guest blogger Hunnapuh collects some of these viewpoints.
Tunisia: Remembering Tunisia's First Internet Prisoner
Tunisian Zouhair Yahyaoui will always be remembered among Tunisian activists as someone who had sacrificed his life for the struggle for freedom of speech. Four years after his death from a heart attack at the age of 36, after serving time in prison for articles he had published online, bloggers remember him as a role model and cyberactivism pioneer.
Jamaica: Windies Winners?
Have the West Indies transformed themselves into a winning cricket team following their 20/20 victory over England? Jamaica's Girl With a Purpose is “cautiously optimistic”.
Bermuda: Eye on Madagascar
Bermudian blogger Catch a fire draws attention to the escalating crisis in Madagascar.
Jamaica, Dominica: Carbon Neutral?
The President of the Maldives plans to make the territory carbon neutral in 10 years; Jamaica Salt sees similarities between the islands and is “looking around for environmental action in JA”, while Steve's Dominica‘s first thought was: “Dominica, ‘Nature island’, Green-globe nation etc etc, should be aiming for this.”
Taiwan: Defense review in the news
Michael Turton analyses some news related to Taiwan's latest defense review.
Trinidad & Tobago: Phagwa Pics
Nicholas Laughlin's blog etc. posts a flickr photoset of Trinidad and Tobago's 2009 Phagwa celebrations.
Zimbabwe: Honoring Ordinary Heroes
So, not only politicians qualify to be national heroes in Zimbabwe.
Cuba: Six Years After
Blog for Cuba maintains that six years after the island's Black Spring, “there has been no easing of the harsh repression of dissent in Cuba.”
Zimbabwe: Massive discrepancies in medical costs
A detailed story about massive discrepancies in medical costs in Zimbabwe from Sokwanele's subscriber.
Bermuda: Transparency Progress
Vexed Bermoothes says that the Attorney General's promise that the Bermudian public will have the opportunity to comment on a draft freedom of information law (which should allow for modifications before it goes to Parliament for debate) is “positive news.”
Jamaica: Being Positive
Iriegal sees hope for Jamaica when it comes to curbing crime, but would like to see “more success stories on the front page” of the local media.
Azerbaijan: A strange country
On the eve of tomorrow's constitutional referendum to remove the two-term presidential limit, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines says her country is “strange.” On the one hand, as a bridge between East and West, Azerbaijan has a lot going for it. On the other, however, it continues to experience significant...
Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe in a bullet-proof vest
Denford Magora reports that Mugabe put on a bullet-proof vest to visit Morgan Tsvangirai at the Avenues clinic, “If you go back to the footage of Mugabe visiting with Tsvangirai, now armed with this new insight, you will notice that Mugabe's suit bulges out and is straighter than normal, almost...
The Pope in Cameroon (1): Yaoundé Clean Up Controversy
Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Cameroon from 17 to 20 March 2009. This has led the government to take some radical clean-up measures, which have caused a lot of controversy in the Cameroonian blogosphere.
Tunisia: Covert Censorship of a Newspaper!
The editor of Al Mawfek accuses the Tunisian goverment of executing a "seizure in disguise" last week to censor the independent newspaper.
