Stories from 12 January 2010
Madagascar: New Threats to Protestant Church and Free Speech
The beginning of the year in Madagascar has been marked with yet more protests where protesters have been fired upon and the harassment of those perceived as close to the former regime of Marc Ravalomanana, including several journalists and the protestant Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar.
Saudi Arabia: Honouring The Pakistani Hero Of The Jeddah Floods
At the end of November Saudi Arabia's second largest city, Jeddah, was hit by heavy floods, blamed on poor infrastructure and mismanagement of city works construction. Many lives were lost, and even more people would have died had it not been for acts of heroism such as that of Pakistani Farman Ali Khan.
Bangladesh: Living Dangerously
Asif Saleh and Jyoti Rahman at Unheard Voice criticizes the actions of India’s trigger happy Border Security Force (BSF), who are responsible for a number of death of Bangladeshis each year.
Bhutan: Everything Is Cheap In Phuentsholing
Penstar describes about Phuntsoling, the shopping paradise of Bhutan: “Everything comes cheap here. Garments are cheap. Utensils are cheap. Culinary items are cheap. Trust is cheap. Faith is cheap. Dignity is cheap. Human life is cheap. Quality of goods is cheap.”
‘Nepali’ not ‘Nepalese’
XNepali blog argues that the ‘Nepalese’ should be addressed as ‘Nepali’. The blogger also created a Facebook group titled “Say no to ‘Nepalese’”.
Sri Lanka: Election Violence
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence posts a video interview which discusses the news that supporters of Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka were attacked resulting death of one person and many were injured.
Pakistan: Battling for Hearts and Minds
Kalsoom at CHUP -Changing Up Pakistan discusses the strategy of the Pakistani security forces who are battling for hearts and minds “with a campaign that vilifies the enemy and sways potential Taliban sympathizers.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Dear PM
From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni writes a letter to her Prime Minister.
Trinidad & Tobago: Taking a Hike
Aisha at MEP Caribbean takes a hike to Trinidad's Salybia waterfall.
Trinidad & Tobago: Discussing Homophobia
Trinidad and Tobago's gspottt thinks that “2010 is off to a promising start” thanks to sociologist Linden Lewis’ addressing of the issue of homophobia in the Caribbean.
Cuba: Bloggers’ Risk
“Some years ago I read a study by the UN International Labor Organization in which they reported the profession of journalist as the second riskiest in the entire world…the study was done in the nineties, when there were, as yet, no bloggers”: Generation Y reports from Cuba.
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: CLICO Questions
“The issue of the collapse of the CL Financial and CLICO house of cards has dropped off the radar for Barbados Prime Minister Thompson and the Bajan media”, but Barbados Free Press is glad that Trinidadian blogger Afra Raymond is asking some questions.
Russian Official Proposes to Block Online Gambling Web Sites
Moscow City Deputy Andrey Metelsky proposed amendments [RUS] to the Telecommunication Law that, if passed, would require Russian Internet providers to block gambling Web sites, fontanka.ru reports [RUS]. Bloggers are sceptical [RUS] about these amendments.
China: Iranian Cyber Army aims at Chinese critics, misses target entirely
"The feelings of the Iranians were hurt by the Chinese people," writes one Chinese Twitter user after pro-government Iranian hackers attacked China's largest search engine, which prompted a counterattack by pro-government Chinese hackers against two dozen Iranian government websites.
Lebanon: Robbed at Gunpoint
Sean at “The Human Province” talks about how he was robbed at gunpoint in a cab in the capital Beirut.
Iraq/Saudia Arabia: The Clerics War
Saudi-Iraqi relations have plummeted to a new low following remarks by Saudi Sunni cleric Mohammad al-Ureifi against Iraqi Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani during a Friday prayer sermon. Bloggers react to the development in this round up by Tarek Amr.
China: Controversial conviction of lawyer in corruption crackdown
With twenty gang lawyers arrested in Chongqing's corruption crackdown, the conviction of one last week has locals tired of lawlessness on one side and lawyers across the country seeing malfeasance in a political trial on the other.
Lebanon: Valet Parking
Armigatus presents several views on valet parking in Lebanon, encouraging people to walk instead of drive, in this post.
Arab World: Article on polygamy causes a stir
Nadine al-Bedair's article entitled "Me and My Four Husbands" has caused controversy and outrage amongst the Arab and Muslim blogosphere. However, there are also those that have defended her piece. Katharine Ganly explores these reactions.
Egypt: A Country's National Debt
Zeinobia at Egyptian Chronicles discusses her country's national debt in this post.
Jordan: One Year After Gaza
Jordanian blogger Ali Dahmash dedicates this post to Gaza and asks: “But what did Israel achieve after a year of the war?”
