Stories about Breaking News from April, 2008
Qatar: Online Community Comes to the Aid of Workers
Qatar Living members are rallying to help an offline community of 600 workers who have lost all their belongings after a devastating fire broke out in their labour camp, writes Mohamed Nanabhay, from Doha, Qatar.
Zimbabwe: Will Malawi clear Zimbabwe's arms?
Will Malawi clear Zimbabwe's arms?: “The Nyasa Times has this report today and it seems a lot more plausible to me than yesterday’s Hollywood-style information regarding Venezula…”
China: Train Accident
Yesterday a train accident happened in Shandong which injured 416 and killed 70 people. Ting yun from my1510 pointed out that the investigation should be conducted by an independent team and the head of railway department should take the blame and resign [zh].
Southeast Asia: Rice and food price crisis
The Southeast Asian region, home to several emerging and developing economies, is also struggling to cope with the global food price crisis. Bloggers discuss the impact of the crisis in the region.
Mysterious death of a Filipino worker in Hong Kong
A death in Hong Kong is a blog set up by concerned Filipinos who are demanding a proper investigation to the mysterious death of a Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong
Ethiopian bloggers defend charged pop star
Ethiopian bloggers rushed to the defence of their country's top pop singer Teddy Afro, after he appeared in court charged with the hit-and-run killing of a youth in capital Addis Ababa. Many writers were convinced Afro was being framed by Ethiopian authorities who, they said, resented the singer's huge popularity and veiled anti-government lyrics.
PangeaDay: Videos to change the world on May 10th
On May 10th 2008 at 18:00 GMT, 24 films will be broadcast during a 4 hour event. What makes this different is that this event, PangeaDay will be broadcast from six locations worldwide in seven different languages worldwide to be viewed through internet, television or cellphones with one unique purpose: to make each other know about the lives of others and focus on what makes us similar, instead of what makes us different and let us work together towards peace.
Syria: Explosive Nuclear News
Yesterday, the CIA released footage of an alleged Syrian North-Korean-built nuclear reactor. The footage "exploded" all over the news. Yazan Badran brings us the reactions of Syria's bloggers.
Philippines: Blogging summit
iBlog4 or the 4th Philippine Blogging Summit is taking place today.
Lost Brazilian ballooning priest carried into the blogosphere
This time the story is rather sad, but the blogosphere is exploding with humorous takes on the tragedy of a Brazilian Roman Catholic priest who is missing after drifting out to sea while trying to set a record for a flight using helium-filled party balloons.
Lebanon: Roumieh Prison Mutiny II
“The prisoners handed over the seven warders they were holding hostage and returned to their cells after having negotiated and handed over demands to the chief of internal security,” reports Lebanon News Network on the peaceful ending of the prison mutiny.
Lebanon: Roumieh Prison Mutiny
“….of interest to the laymen, Roumieh prison is where the 4 Generals, Assayed, Azar, Hamdan; Hajj are kept … and where many of the Fath El Islam elements are imprisoned … I remain suspicious,” noted GPC on the mutiny taking place at the Roumieh prison in Lebanon.
Japan: Twitter in Japanese, with ads
The new localized version of Twitter in Japanese has been launched, as reported by Joi Ito, Asiajin, and the Polar Bear Blog. The Japanese version, unlike the current English one, includes advertisements, and there is a plan to eventually export these ads back to the English version.
China: Netizens defend Zimbabwe arms sales
As China's latest shipment of weapons and ammunition sits stranded off the coast of southeastern Africa and president Mugabe of landlocked Zimbabwe digs in against accusations of a fixed election, the majority of Chinese netizens are defending their government's arms sales to the country, at the same time accusing the US and its allies of double standards.
Paraguay: Ex-Bishop Becomes Next President
Paraguay went to the polls to elect its next president on April 20th. Gathering nearly 41% of the vote was the former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo. His victory ends a 61 year run by the Colorado party and the exit of outgoing president Nicanor Duarte, who will leave on August 15.
Olympic torch relay in Southeast Asia
The Olympic Torch has landed in the Southeast Asian region. Bloggers describe how ordinary people, protesters, police forces, sports enthusiasts and politicians are reacting to the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the region.
Singapore: How a terrorist escaped from a high-security cell
The Sun Shines on Singapore comments on a government report explaining how a terrorist escaped from a maximum security prison
Indonesia: 15 years for terrorist leaders
jubaonline writes that Indonesian terrorists who were sentenced to only 15 years in jail will be able to “walk out early because they didn't get life sentences.” The blogger adds that “Every Idul Fitri and Independence Day, prisoners in Indonesia get reductions in their sentences for good behavior.
Burkina Faso: Vegetarians need not apply
As much as Ouagalais love political intrigue, most people are much more preoccupied with the power cuts that have afflicted the city for the past five weeks or so. First, a galet poussoir, which translates as a roller tapet, failed at one of the city’s main power stations, forcing Sonabel, the local power company, to schedule rolling blackouts throughout the city every day for more than a week until someone was sent to France to pick it up a new piece.
China: One world, one dream, and one multi-front protest
The Chinese global anti-Carrefour boycott was supposed to begin on May 1, but with tempers flaring over CNN commentator Jack Cafferty's on-air remarks this past week, and a number of other recent incidents, people in a few cities across China decided to get a head start. So too did the Chinese hackers who had been planning a coordinated denial-of-service attack on CNN.com set for April 19.
Thailand: Olympic torch in Bangkok
As the Olympic Torch is coming to Bangkok, Camille's Samui Weather warns that any foreigner “caught protesting or rather disrupting the relay will be punished in a complete over the top way.”
