Stories from 4 November 2010
Armenia: Iranian Embassy Protest
Unzipped posts video and photographs of today's protest outside the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, in support of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, sentenced to death in Iran for infidelity. Commenting on the reaction of the Embassy, the blog opines that the Iranian Ambassador does not understand the concept of...
Costa Rica: Red Alert and National Emergency due to Strong Rains
Tropical storm Thomas has seriously affected Costa Rica which has declared a State of National Emergency. The strong rains have caused extensive damage throughout the country: So far 20 people died under a landslide to the west of the Capital of San José, other people are still missing, hundreds have been evacuated and at least 11 roads and highways have been blocked or closed.
Sri Lanka: Student Unrest
In recent months there were a number of protests involving thousands of university students in Sri Lanka, many of which have turned violent, reports Groundviews.
Pakistan: Eliminating Stray Dogs
Tamashbeen at All Things Pakistan posts a disturbing picture of a municipal campaign to “eliminate” stray dogs in Karachi.
Pakistan: Flood Tax On Private Schools
Hina Safdar at Chowrangi criticizes the proposed flood tax on private schools based on school fees in Sindh state.
India: Divali For The Soul
Ugich Konitari shows how to rightly celebrate Divali – “how to bring a daily ‘Divali’ into some one's life”.
Bangladesh: Our Own Obama
“He has surprising similarity with an ordinary Bangladeshi man in the street, no one can absolutely make any mistake about his Bnagladeshi root by looking at him,” comments Rumi at Unheard Voice on the first Bangladeshi-descent congressman elect Hansen Hashem Clarke.
Barbados: A Final Farewell
Barbadians paid their final respects to the late Prime Minister David Thompson this week. One of the youngest leaders in the region, Thompson passed away on October 23 from pancreatic cancer; a state funeral took place on Wednesday and bloggers took the opportunity to pay tribute to the man and his life's work.
Barbados, St. Lucia: After Tomas
Barbadian bloggers post photos of the aftermath of Tomas, while Sun, Rain, Or… has updates about the situation in St. Lucia, here and here.
Africa: Cinema Africa 2010 in Tokyo, Japan
Cinema Africa 2010 in Tokyo, Japan: “The Cinema Africa festival is here again! It will run from 13th to 25th November, co-sponsored by the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and in association with the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa.”
Tanzania: Social Media and Election Monitoring
Elsie discusses social media and election monitoring in Tanzania: “The early report from Uchaguzi dot or dot tz* is hot off the press. Here is a quick glimpse at the accumulated efforts of citizen monitoring using the Ushahidi platform”
Tanzania: Partial Election Results
Partial election results in Tanzania show the president leading his challengers, but they suggest the ruling party will lose seats in parliament. In the presidential race, the election commission has issued results from 57 of Tanzania's 239 constituencies. President Jakaya Kikwete is leading in 40 of the 57.
Haiti: The Beauty of Haitian Art
“Sometimes I feel like I focus too much on the negative in my posts, giving the false impression that nothing good is happening in the world of Haitian culture…”: Tande trains the spotlight on the positive.
Zimbabwe: Stop Persecution Against Roy Bennette
Stop persecution against Roy Bennet of Zimbabwe: “For several years now, Hon. Bennett has been victim of harassment, expropriation, prison terms and persecution by the part of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF. Appointed by the shared-power government in February, 2009 as deputy agriculture minister, his post continues to be unfilled due to...
Caribbean: Relief Must Have Benefits?
Caribbean bloggers are offended by the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister's statements about hurricane relief to hard-hit CARICOM countries; The Undisputed Truth says the backlash has begun.
Barbados: Building Codes
“We took a passing hit from the tail of a weakening quasi-hurricane and just look at the damage! Can you imagine if Tomas had of passed directly over Barbados as a Class 2 hurricane or worse?”: Barbados Free Press calls for better building standards.
Azerbaijan: The media, religion & secularism
The Önər Blog [AZ] comments on calls by the Iranian Ambassador in Azerbaijan, as well as some religious citizens, to close down the ALMA newspaper after it was critical of the prophet Muhammad. The blog says that religion runs counter to democracy and freedom of expression, especially in a secular...
Brazil: online xenophobia targeting north-easterners
Lirabellaqua, from blogging collective Trezentos [pt], and political blogger Rodrigo Vianna [pt] weigh in on the recent slew of online hate speech [pt] that has targeted north-eastern Brazilians who voted for president-elect Dilma Rousseff. Supporters of Dilma's opponent, Jose Serra, spread tweets condemning voters in the impoverished region, where Dilma won a...
Taiwan: Internet freedom faces threats
Two recent incidents raised concerns about the government's attempt to limit freedom of speech on the internet in Taiwan. One incident involved threats of a lawsuit against the producer of a parody of a campaign video for Taichung Mayor Jason Hu. In the other incident the Ministry of Education demanded a...
Australians Weigh the US Midterm Elections
Global Voices author Kevin Rennie gathers the views of Australian bloggers to the recently conducted congressional and local elections in the United States
Southeast Asia: Social media events
John Berns links to the upcoming social media events in Southeast Asia. Barcamp Vientiane One! will take place on November 27 and Joomla Day in Thailand is scheduled on November 13
