29 April 2009
Stories from 29 April 2009
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.
Egypt: Plans for Sexual Harassment Film Unveiled
After the success of Egypt's Anti-Harassment Day, Egyptian blogger Asser Yasser invited women to share their personal experiences with this issue. Women and young women will be filmed going about their everyday lives, registering the different forms of harassment they are subjected to. Marwa Rakha has the story.
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Bubisher: A Bus of Books for Children in Western Sahara
Do you want to go to the Sahara desert and read for children living in the refugee camps? Bubisher is a mobile library being driven across Western Sahara refugee camps. In those refugee schools, the bus shares with youngsters food for the soul and mind: books. Renata Avila highlights the initiative.
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UAE: Torture video sends shock waves around the world
Last week, a grainy video from 2005 made headlines, shaking up viewers around the globe. The video, first shown on U.S.-based ABC News, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - brother of UAE's crown prince torturing an Afghan grain farmer, attacking him with a cattle prod then literally pouring salt on his wounds. Jillian C. York brings us reports from the blogosphere.
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Egypt's First Independent Union Formed
Egypt's real estate tax collectors have formed their first independent trade union since 1957. In addition to local recognition, the union has won international legitimacy after being accepted in the international body Public Services International. One blogger follows the developments from their start until the moment of triumph - with hundreds of photographs.
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Ecuador: President Correa Wins Reelection
With the majority of votes counted, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa appears to be headed towards re-election without the necessity of a run-off. His party, PAIS Alliance, also captured the majority of seats in the National Assembly giving it increased power in the country. However, there are a lot of still unresolved problems facing the nation, and Correa hopes his "21st Century Socialism" will help address these issues.
Nice post Aparna. Good to see that Kolkata men and women are organizing against street sexual harassment. Kathmandu organized its...