Stories from 1 April 2009
Israel: Palestinian Youth Orchestra Disbanded for Israeli Performance
In honor of Good Deeds Day in Israel, a Palestinian youth orchestra performed for a group of Holocaust survivors. Known as the “Strings of Freedom,” the group was composed of 13 children, ages 11 to 18, from the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Find out what happens next to them in this post.
Sri Lanka: Vanni Mercy Mission
Indi.ca comments on the much talked about Vanni Mercy Mission: “These Sri Lankans don’t need politics, they need relief.”
India: Supreme Court Rules against Beards in Schools
Vinod Joseph of Desicritics reports that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had ruled that the defendant student Salim has no right to wear a beard if forbidden by his school rules.
Bangladesh: Interview of Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Pak Spectators posts an interview of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Laurette of Bangladesh on Global meltdown and other crisis like oil price rise, poverty, food crisis etc.
Global Voices Managing Director forced into hiding after April Fool's iPhone prank
For Georgia “GAP” Popplewell, Managing Director of international blogging project Global Voices, the e-mail she sent to the community mailing list announcing that free iPhones would be given to all contributors seemed like a harmless enough April Fool's prank. Certain members of the community, however, failed to see the humour,...
The first Brunei Postgraduate Symposium
Two weeks ago, the first Bruneian Postgraduate Symposium was held at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental African Studies in London. The symposium provided an oppprtunity for Bruneian students to exchange ideas and concerns on various topics. Participants discussed the difficulties of accessing resources and data on Brunei for academic research.
Brunei's budget process
The Daily Brunei Resources explains the process of approving the annual state budget of Brunei.
Thailand: Chiang Mai air pollution
Thousands in Chiang Mai in north Thailand have suffered respiratory infections due to severe air pollution. Even government authorities are advising locals to wear surgical masks.
Malaysia's New Prime Minister
The soon to be 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia is Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Many writers have expressed concern that Najib's ascendancy will “steer Malaysia back to authoritarianism.”
Vietnamese Mail Order Brides in Singapore
A video documentary exposes that Singapore men could “purchase” Vietnamese brides for S$10,000. Alvin comments: “What’s even more humiliating, the girls were made to visit a clinic in Singapore to get a certificate verifying their virginity before they can be sold.”
Palestine/Israel: Palestinian Support on U.S. Campuses
“What is happening on the U.S. campuses is not about supporting the Palestinians as much as it is about promoting hatred for the Jewish state. It is not really about ending the ‘occupation’ as much as it is about ending the existence of Israel,” observes journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, a...
Israel: Searching for a Peace Prophet in Palestine
“If Palestinians adopted a Gandhian nonviolent strategy, could they reshape the entire conflict with Israel and finally realize a two-state solution?” asks Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg in an entry entitled, “The Missing Mahatma: Searching for a Palestinian Ghandi.”
USA: Do Mormons Want Internet Filtering?
News For the Mormon Legal Community posts a discussion on the Mormon church's position (or lack thereof) on Internet filtering.
Israel: Political History of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
False Dichotomies blogger, Alex Stein reflects on the political history of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who took his oath of office today. Netanyahu served his first term as prime minister from 1996– 1999.
Israel: Survey Finds Happiness Linked to Wealth, Immigration
A survey conducted by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies found that wealth, marriage, and immigration to Israel were the greatest indicators of happiness. Immigrants who arrived in Israel voluntarily, specifically those from Western countries, were found to be 13.5% happier than native born Israelis, Israelity reports.
Cuba, U.S.A.: The Cuban Press
As President Barack Obama eases U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba, Generation Y says: “In the street no one talked about anything else…but the official media treated it warily. The journalists have been caught up in other issues: the potato harvest, the World Baseball Classic, the Bolivarian Revolution and, of course,...
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Focus on Obama
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp posts another poem for Barack Obama, while in Trinidad and Tobago, Media Watch applauds the BBC‘s coverage of Obama's arrival for the G20 Summit and says that local media should take a cue from its foreign counterparts to improve their coverage of the upcoming Summit...
Cuba: Amnesty on Antúnez
Diaspora bloggers Uncommon Sense and Sunrise in Havana both refer to an Amnesty International statement “calling for the public to step up on behalf of Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez).”
Puerto Rico: Indigenous Summit
The Voice of the Taino People Online reports on the upcoming 3rd Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas, to be held in Panama.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Child Protection
“If I told you a mother rented her baby,would you believe or say it's just an April Fool's joke?”: From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni thinks that “it's high time…that we have a Family Services with enough teeth to undertake the serious business of protecting our children.”
Trinidad & Tobago: On the Waterfront
Trinidad-based blogger Haveworld posts photos of Port of Spain's newly developed waterfront.
