· June, 2007

Stories about Breaking News from June, 2007

CIA facility in Tunisia?

From his prison cell in Bizerte (65km north of Tunis), The Tunisian prisoner Ramzi Bettibi managed to smuggle a very alarming letter that found its way on to the Internet (available in French). Ramzi is serving a four-year sentence at Bizerte for copying, onto a forum board he moderated, an...

Barbados, Jamaica: Flight Record

  25 June 2007

“Gotta love this guy because he is almost THE poster child for ‘I can do anything if I put my mind to it.'” Barbados Free Press applauds the efforts of 23 year-old Jamaican Barrington Irving, soon to become the youngest pilot ever to fly around the world solo.

Lebanon: UNIFIL Attacked

The UN peace keeping force in South Lebanon, UNIFIL, came under attack on Sunday. Six Spanish UN peacekeepers were killed and more were injured when a bomb exploded near their convoy. MacDara wrote that he “had intended for Sunday Nights post to be lighthearted and showing some of the good...

China: Nailhouse 2: Residents fight back

  23 June 2007

Unlike the Chongqing Nailhouse which was demolished earlier this year, some residents of an entire nailbuilding in eastern China came to an impasse with police this past week; blogger photos and accounts from the scene suggest they won't be leaving without a fight.

Cannibalism in Qatar

After a week of rumours about a case of cannibalism amongst a group of foreign workers in Doha, the story has finally been confirmed. Qatari points to an article in the local press where doctors found a finger in the stomach of a worker who had come in with a...

Egypt: Judge's request to block websites rejected

The State Commissioner Committee in Egypt has rejected the request made by the judge Abdel Fattah Mourad to block 51 websites and blogs deemed insulting the state's dignity and threatening Egypt’s interests. In the meantime, the investigation on blogger Amr Gharbia, who was charged for defaming Judge Mourad, has been...

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

“To light a candle is much better than cursing the darkness.”
So signed off Ausama on his last video for Hometown Baghdad.
Today I will concentrate my post on reactions to the second bombing of the shrine in Samarra. An event that has provoked much speculation among Iraqi bloggers. The first bombing proved to be a juncture in the ongoing war in Iraq and the second may prove just as critical, so it important to record responses here. That is not all, there is also Iraqi food and if you read to the end, which is the most sectarian blog ever?

Palestine: Baghdad Orphanage Horror

Palestinian Pundit Tony draws our attention to a Baghdad orphanage horror here. “24 boys were found naked and lying on concrete floors, covered in their own excrement, flies and sores. Some were near death..” reads the report, which has heart breaking pictures of the orphans.

Japan: Freak Accidents

  19 June 2007

TokyoMango reports on freak accidents in Tokyo in the news today: a 28-year old woman was strolling in Shinjuku when a sign from a pizza place fell on her head, leaving her in the hospital with a brain contusion, and a fancy day spa in an upscale neighborhood in Shibuya...

China: Chen Guangcheng beaten, on hunger strike

  19 June 2007

It's Dragon Boat time, nearly a year to the day since blind reproductive rights advocate Chen Guangcheng was taken in by police, and civil rights blogger Hu Jia makes his blogging return with news that Chen has been beaten while in prison.

Iraq: Al Hakim Dead

Iraqi blogger Lady Bird announces: “Al-Zawraa TV channel (recently in Syria), broadcast a banner today [the red line in the image above] saying that Abdul Aziz Al-Hakeem [Hakim] died today in a hospital in Tehran, no confirmation yet by any news agency.”

Egypt: Another Blogger Arrested

The Egyptian blogosphere scene is still witnessing more clampdowns on bloggers by State Security for different reasons. This week’s most recent incident is the arrest of Egyptian blogger Omar El Sharkawy. El-Sharkawy was arrested on June 11 while covering Egypt’s Shura Council elections or Upper House of parliament in his...

Egypt: Blogger Arrested

“Egyptian blogger Omar el Sharqawi was detained last tuesday by Mubarak's police, he managed to make a phone call and inform his friends that he was being held in Talkha police station in Mansoura. yet when human rights lawyers inquired about him the Talkha sherif denied Omar was ever arrested....

Lebanon: Blogger's Close Encounter with Explosion

Blogger Charles Malik was only 50 meters away from the explosion that targeted a Lebanese MP killing and injuring more than 20 civilians today. He recounts his experience: “We were in a cafe next to Luna Park enjoying the late afternoon next to the sea after an intense day. Children...

Lebanon: Bomb Explosion Targets MP

“A powerful blast ripped through Beirut’s seaside, between the Long Beach and Sporting Club swimming facilities in Beirut's Manara district. Five dead so far and ten injured,” reports Moussa Bashir, from Beirut. “Nothing, nothing at all, justifies such acts of terror…Lord have mercy…. we in Lebanon are in dire need...