Stories from 24 September 2010
Armenia: Army forced to act after hazing video circulates online
A video depicting what appears to be evidence of bullying in the military stationed in Nagorno Karabakh, a disputed territory situated within Azerbaijan mainly populated by ethnic Armenians, continues to circulate online, from YouTube to the Daily Motion website.
Madagascar, rosewood trafficking: an investigator arrested
The site Mongabay [in English] and the blog MyDago [in French] reported on September 17 that “a foreign journalist”, whose identity was not revealed, was arrested on September 5 in Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar while investigating the smuggling of rosewood [in French].
Ethiopia: The Ogadeni Problem
semantic Eritrea discusses Ethiopia's Ogadeni problem: “Back in 2007, Ogadeni rebels overpowered the defenses of a petrol company. This shocked the companies in the region and the Ethiopian government.”
Sudan: How to Fix a Referendum
Lessons from Sudan on how to fix a referendum: “For not only has registration failed to begin (the stipulated date was July of this year), it is still not fully clear who is eligible to vote and what defines eligibility.”
Humorous Web Reactions to Thursday's Facebook Outage
Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users. The website was offline for a few hours on September 23, 2010. Several jokes about the Facebook outage were soon streaming on Twitter, with many of them being re-tweeted by hundreds.
Ethiopia/USA: Protesters and supporters welcome Meles Zenawi
Konobusiness blogs about the controversial visit by Ethiopian Prime Minister to Columbia University: “The intensity of the crowd, both pro and anti-Zenawi, caught police officers off guard as they were not wholly prepared for the number of people arriving.”
Anti-censorship webmaster arrested in Thailand
The webmaster of an independent online journal in Thailand was arrested at Bangkok airport today on charges of insulting the monarchy. Local mainstream media has been quiet about the issue but twitterers are providing information and other updates which help sustain the campaign to demand the freedom of the arrested activist
Brazil: Monitoring the Reform of a Park in Sao Paulo
Though September 21 is a national day to celebrate trees in Brazil, SOS Parque Água Branca [SOS White Water Park, pt] blog called it the “Day of the Dead Tree” this year, criticizing the implementation of a reform project to this green area in the city of Sao Paulo where...
El Salvador: The New Anti-Gang Law Explained
Voices from El Salvador explains the new Anti-Gang law in El Salvador. The post concludes with these questions: “does imprisoning gang members really treat the root of the problem? Will the harsher penalties imposed under the new law be enough to deter individuals from joining gangs?”
Mexico: State of Human Rights of Indigenous Women
In an interview for Vivir México [es], Pepe Flores asked Yalí Noriega –from Amnesty International Mexico [es]– about the state of human rights of indigenous women.
Guatemala: Tuk Tuk Taxis Revolt in Antigua
Photography blog Antigua Daily Photo shares images of a Tuk Tuk Taxi protest in Antigua: “It turns out, the tuk tuk taxi drivers were protesting the high number of traffic citations they are given by the Antigua Guatemala transit police. They felt they are being targeted unfairly by the transit...
Peru: Superficial Solutions As District Elections Approach
Gabriela García Calderón shares photos [es] of a recently fixed street in the Miraflores district in Lima, coinciding with mayoral and district elections. But the images that follow prove that only a few meters away the streets have holes that make it dangerous for anyone to pass through, especially those...
Israel: Facebook Tags
David Bogner, from Israel, asks: “Am I the only one who is completely tired of receiving email notifications saying that [insert name of someone you kinda/sorta know] has tagged a picture/video of you on Facebook?”
Nepal: The Nepali Congress Has A New Leader
United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal informs that the 12th General Convention of the political party Nepali Congress elected Sushil Koirala as the party’s new president. Mr. Koirala beat three-time Prime Minister of the country Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Sri Lanka: Hearings of the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission
Valkyrie at Groundviews posts translations of reports on the hearings of the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) held in Killnochchi and Mullaitivu that appeared in Tamil newspapers.
China: The Most Awesome Train Door
The Youku video shows the most awesome subway train door in Beijing city.
India: The Common ‘wealth’ Games ridiculed
South Asia Wired highlights some reactions from social media about the serious security lapses at the Commonwealth Game venues.
China: Cat meat posing as mutton
Elaine Chow writes in Shanghaiist about a recent rumor that “lamb shiskabobs” sold from street food vendors or mutton dishes from restaurants might have actually been made out of kitties.
