5 April 2009

Stories from 5 April 2009

Russia, UAE: Sulim Yamadayev – Dead or Alive?

According to some sources, Sulim Yamadayev, former Chechen rebel commander and former commander of the Russian Vostok ("East") Battalion, was assassinated in Dubai on March 28. According to other sources, he survived the shooting. Below is a selection of bloggers' reactions to the conflicting media reports about the attack on Yamadayev.

Brazil: lndian culture, poetry and rights on the blogosphere

  5 April 2009

Brazil has one of the most impressive mosaics of indigenous peoples in the world and this cultural richness has started to show up on the Brazilian blogosphere. For this reason, GVO is dedicating a trilogy to cover aspects of indian blogging in the country, starting with this introduction to the indian blogosphere.

Japan: “Missile” or “Flying Object”?

  5 April 2009

“Missile” or “flying object”? Yasuharu Dando has put together a page with screenshots of how the major Japanese newspapers have reported whatever it was that North Korea launched over Japan to accompany his blog post on the topic of wording for headlines. The page is temporary and will be taken...

Azerbaijan: Grumpy old troll

A little over a month after setting up her blog, Scary Azeri in Suburbs responds to a troll who takes exception to what she writes. The blogger is nonetheless happy that even angry readers means more traffic.

Japan: Bullying at school, the parents’ point of view

  5 April 2009

Ijime – the Japanese word for “bullying” – is still a worrying social phenomenon in Japan, despite the “latest” surveys published by the Japanese Ministry of Education [pdf, ja] (no data after 2007 is available) appearing to show how the cases of bullying at school have decreased by 7.1% in later years...

Bolivia: Unlikely and Historic 6-1 Win Over Argentina

  5 April 2009

With head coach Diego Maradona and his squad of superstars in La Paz to face Bolivia in a World Cup qualifying football match, it was expected to be another easy victory for Argentina ranked 6th in the world. However, it was the Bolivian team that shocked the entire continent with at the unexpected 6-1 victory bringing about renewed hope and faith in the national team.