Stories from 29 March 2009
Paraguay: Ten Years Since Vice-President Argaña was Assassinated
It's been ten years since the assassination of Paraguayan Vice-President Luis María Argaña and Edgar Ruiz Diaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] has a lot of questions that have never been answered in this unsolved case.
Bahrain: Lightning and Rain
It's raining in Bahrain and Hypnotic Verses captured lightning with her phone camera.
Saudi Arabia: Censoring Skin
From Saudi Arabia, Susie describes the ‘trouble’ censors go through to ‘cover up’ women's skin: “Certainly seeing all that tempting erotic skin, and coloring in all those feminine body parts must have some kind of perverse effect on these men who have been entrusted with keeping the entire country out...
India: Arguments Against The Third Front
Solitary Reaper analyzes the election manifesto of the Third Front, a political alliance contesting in the upcoming Indian elections 2009, and comments: “here are a few people talking about taking India back to the stone age.”
Iran:Iranian football coach sacked
Several Iranian sites and bloggers reported that Ali Daei, Iranian national football coach was sacked after Iran suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in its fifth World Cup qualifier at Tehran's Azadi Stadium. Here is a video film where Iranians insluted Ali Daei and chanted slogans agianst him.
In Love With Syria
Global Voices Online Morocco author Jillian York describes [en] her short visit to Syria in this post, where she explains why she had the time of her life.
Qatar: Rain and Hail
Qatar had rain and hail. Here's the latest buzz from Qatar Living.
UAE: Mystery installations
Samuraisam has spotted strange installations in the middle of the desert in the UAE after a closer look at Google Earth maps. Help him find out what they are.
UAE: Call for censorship feedback
A censorship watchdog is encouraging Internet users in the UAE to submit their feedback over the blocking of photo sharing site Flickr, reports the UAE Community Blog.
UAE: Will VAT be Introduced?
Will VAT be introduced in the UAE? Tune into the discussion at the UAE Community Blog.
Sri Lanka: New Dissent Voices
ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) blog features two new dissent websites, which are voicing critical perspectives on the current affairs of Sri Lanka.
Syria: Fruit Juice Envy
Sasa from Syria News Wire says Syria has the best fruit juice in the world.
Brazil: Beyond cyberspace – when blogs move offline
Books are becoming e-books and blogs and websites have appeared as books and other types of media. In this state of flux, it looks like the paper book has the power to beat virtual writing rather than the other way round. In Brazil, there is more than just a fashion of launching e-books to attract readers and writers but also an opposite stream in which blogs have reached the offline shelves as well as the movie screens.
Azerbaijan: Blogger Interview
Dotcom, an online project which has participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, has published an interview with Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on blogging and citizen media. In particular, she talks about her work on gender issues and media freedom as well as about her blog, Flying Carpets and...
Azerbaijan: Barcamp Caspian
Caucasus New Media reports from this week's Barcamp Caspian held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In particular, the blog notes presentations on localizing the Opera web browser for the Caucasus and fears about possible Internet censorship in the country.
Taiwan: Our land and the Statute of Rural Renewal
The scenery of Taiwan's countryside as simple and stunningly beautiful as depicted by the above popular lullaby will soon be vanished. Small rivers will be replaced by sewage pipes, hills will be flattened, and there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of factories and sumptuous villas rise in the middle of farmland. Of course, there will be potted plant inside the walls of these villas, but there won't be egrets or even sparrows anymore.
Taiwan: Human flesh search engine
The phenomenon of human flesh search engines began in China. Hanjie looks at two cases when they were used in Taiwan.
Venezuela: Blog for the Release of Germán
Libreren a Germán [es] is a blog dedicated to the release of kidnapping victim Germán Antonio García Velutini, who was abducted on February 25 in Caracas, Venezuela.