Stories about Breaking News from January, 2008
Mozambique: Police stops suspected children trafficking truck
Breaking the news in the blogosphere, Carlos Serra [pt] reports that the police in Inchope intercepted a truck with 40 children between the ages of 7 and 11 years from Nampula, Mozambique. It is believed that they were being trafficked. “Social and institutional vulnerabilities makes trafficking possible and extended. Several...
Lebanon: Did the civil war really end?
French Eagle on the recent terrorist attack in Lebanon writes in a post entitled “Human Stupidity” [Fr]: “Civil war? Did it ever really end? Perhaps the Syrian occupation was a local anesthetic and its end liberated the old demons…”
Lebanon: Demonstrations, Deaths and Specter of Civil War
Here is a random selection of bloggers’ reflections on yesterday’s incidents which started as demonstrations against electricity shortages and against hikes in prices but ended in riots, shootings and deaths.
Flagging at the Iraqi Blogodrome
Iraq has a new national flag. Some people may say that flags are really not important, but for Iraq it is big deal. Every new regime has sought to cement its presence through the national symbol. And this government is no exception. So what do Iraqi's really think and were the media right? And, if you read to the end, find out what design the Iraqi bloggers collectively agreed upon.
Davos: peeking in and participating through videos
The World Economic Forum´s annual meeting of political and business leaders is taking place between January 23rd and January 27th in Davos, Switzerland. This year, common people can participate in this forum by giving their ideas to make the world a better place and posting it on the YouTube video sharing site.
Lebanon: Car Bomb Targets Counter-Terrorism Captain
Yet another terrorist attack targeted Lebanon leaving behind deaths and destruction. Today, at 10am local time, a car bomb killed Lebanon’s active counter–terrorism police officer, Captain Wissam Eid and three others. The explosion along the Hazmieh highway, just on the outskirts of Beirut, also wounded 38 other persons. Moussa Bashir sums up some of Lebanese bloggers’ reactions to the incident.
Japan: Videotape from 1995 Monju reactor leak
The infamous Monju fast-breeder reactor leak of 1995, an accident that long ago earned itself a place in the history of nuclear power in Japan, has returned one more time to haunt government and industry officials with images they had hoped they would never see again. More than ten years after the original incident, a never-before-seen video has finally come out, released on YouTube by a group called News for the People in Japan (NPJ) and also posted by blogger tokyodo-2005 at his blog.
Syria: Bloggers React to Gaza Blockade
As Israel continues its blockade on the strip, humanitarian conditions dip lower and lower. And while the Middle East shivers under the exceptional weather conditions, Gazans find themselves without fuel for heat or electricity. Yazan Badran records the reactions of Syria's bloggers on the unfolding tragedy.
Japan: Insider trading at public broadcaster NHK (Part 1)
Japan's public broadcaster NHK faces yet another controversy, with revelations of insider trading by three NHK employees on shares of Kappa Create Company. This first part of a two-part series features a translation of two very popular posts by blogger and economist Ikeda Nobuo, once an employee of NHK, who provides details about the 20-year-old pre-broadcast reporting system that led to the news leak.
Kazakhstan: German Journalist Attacked in Astana
Ben reports that German journalist Marcus Bensmann was seriously injured in an attack on his life in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Egypt: Gaza In the Headlines
Eman Abd Al Rahman brings us the latest headlines from the Egyptian blogosphere decrying the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. A four-day blockade has plunged Gaza in darkness, sparking international calls and anger on the Arab street to stop the carnage.
Palestine: Gaza Under Seige
Bloggers around the region are adding their voices to an international outcry as the Gaza Strip falls into darkness. A four-day Israeli blockade on the strip has led to the closure of the territory's only power station because of the lack of fuel.
Iraq: Another New Flag?
A proposal by the Iraqi Parliament to change the flag has started a heated debate among Iraqi bloggers this week. And there is more.. hear news from the front line of the Iraqi resistance, remembering the 1991 war, what happened when the army tried to demolish a bridge in Mosul and the low down on Iraqi satellite TV.
Brazil: No right to information
“Where is the transparency?”, asks PE Body Count [pt] on learning that the Secretary of Social Defense in Pernambuco, Brazil has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press. “The attitude, in the most naive approach, may raise suspicion that there manipulation of the homicide...
China: A melee in and out of the college
A physical brawl between a college profeesor and his girl student in class incurred unusually opposite voices. The situation was even more complicated due to the resignation of another professor and was ending in a political debate between the liberal and the left wing.
Barbados: New Government Elected
As Barbados wakes up this morning to a new government, Keltruth Corp., Barbados Underground and Barbados Free Press congratulate the winning party, but note that “after the celebrations are over, it will be time to deliver on the promises.”
China: This week's mass incidents
Still several months to go until the Olympics, yet just the past few days have seen a number of unrelated mass incidents take place around the country, from the large protest at the Tianmen Party headquarters and a taxi driver strike in solidarity following the the recent beating to death...
Iraq: Videos of snow in Baghdad
The unexpected happened in Iraq: Snow fell on the capital city of Baghdad, and citizens grabbed their video cameras to record this once in a lifetime event.
Colombia: Uncertain Future for the Hostage Situation
In the wake of the release of two women who had been held hostage by the FARC terrorist group for 5 and 6 years, there are mixed feelings regarding the future political situation in Colombia, especially after the request by Venezuela´s President Hugo Chávez to world leaders to consider FARC an insurgent and not a terrorist group.
Touring Libyan Blogs: the price of fame
A storm is brewing in the Libyan blogosphere and legal system over the debut book of a lawyer-cum-author. Fozia Mohamed looks at what bloggers have to say about the book, its author and the motives behind it.
China 2007: Online
In 2007, the internet performed as a platform on which people fulfilled what they might not be able to fully enjoy in the reality --- the freedom of speech, the public participation and the pursuit of justice. In China, the internet was a copy, an extension of the real world. To know about the former, you might know about the latter.
