Stories about Breaking News from March, 2008
Peru: Two Earthquakes Shake Lima
Juan Arellano of Globalizado [es] reports on this morning's earthquakes in Lima and provides links to what bloggers and users of twitters have been saying.
Japan: Richard Gear ditched by Nissan?
A news report [ja] (summary in English) that Nissan has decided to back out of a contract for a TV commercial with Richard Gear due to the actor's support of...
Egypt: American Navy's Friendly Fire
Egyptian bloggers lament to the loss of one of their countrymen who was killed in an incident involving the American Navy in the Suez Canal. They are also wondering where their sovereignty as a state has gone and whether the slain man's family will ever see justice.
Moroccan Blogosphere on Fouad Mourtada: Finally Free
Young Moroccan engineer Fouad Mourtada was released from prison by presidential pardon days before Eid el Mawlid, the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Fouad was imprisoned for more than forty days for creating a Facebook profile of the king's brother, Moulay Rachid. Bloggers reflect on the grassroots effort to free Fouad and celebrate his liberation as a step forward for personal freedoms in the Kingdom.
China: Civilians in violence and conflict
Thugs vs. Peacekeepers or Fighters vs. oppressors; Mob vs. Protectors or Martyrs vs. killers? Before I could judge, please allow me to present some recounts of the Tibet unrest from the commons there. (As most western media had sided with Tibetans, I basically pick quotes from common Hans for balance.)
Jordan: Five Jordanian Journalists Jailed
Five Jordanian journalists have been sentenced to three months in prison each, in two separate cases, for breaking the law in their country. Jordan's bloggers speak up against this latest crackdown on freedom of expression.
Israel: Secret Service Creates New Blog
Shin Bet, the Israeli secret service joins the blogosphere this week, causing Molly of Israeli blog The Big Felafel to ask: “Can you really imagine a Shin Bet techie cracking...
China: Patriotism triggered, though under censorship
A brief record of the Chinese public opinion on Tibet unrest. Attention: they are all found inside the Great Firewall. But I believe they stand for a considerable part of us Chinese. Their information sources on which they judge and think might be filtered, but don’t laugh at that---- before the time tells what’s true, you might also be manipulated!
Morocco: Bloggers React to Fouad Mourtada's Release From Prison
At 11:30 GMT, Sami Ben Gharbia broke the news that Fouad Mourtada had been freed. Mourtada, who was sentenced on February 22 to three years in prison, was released after serving only 25 days of that sentence. So far, no major news sources have reported on the story, but several bloggers have reacted.
Japan: Support for Tibet
As fires rage on in the streets of Lhasa, bloggers in another part of the world have been anxiously following developments in Tibet with open eyes and open ears. Over the weekend, as mainstream media in Japan presented what many criticized as toned-down coverage of ongoing events in Lhasa, the word "Tibet" climbed to number one on Japanese blog search engines with thousands of entries largely in support of the uprising.
China: Fire on the streets of Lhasa, Tibet
With the Tibetan capital now reportedly largely cut off from the outside world, information regarding the ongoing situation in Lhasa slowed to a trickle over the weekend. Some updates, however, having been coming out over blogs and other online channels.
Israel: Bloggers Mourn Terrorism at Religious School
On Thursday, March 6, eight teenagers were killed and many more wounded in a terrorist attack on a Jerusalem religious school. The perpetrator was identified as a Palestinian from East Jerusalem in possession of an Israeli identity card. Sources say he posed as a student in order to enter the building, writes Maya Norton, who reviews Israel's English language blogs for reactions.
Israel: Palestinian Gunman Kills 8 Students in Mercaz Harav, Jerusalem
A gunman entered the prominent Jewish seminary, Mercaz Harav, in the heart of Jerusalem on Thursday night, killing at least eight students and wounding some nine others. Gilad Lotan reviews the Hebrew blogosphere for reactions.
Brazil: Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and the besieged Latin America
There was a lot of talk about the 'Border Crisis in Latin America' on the Brazilian blogosphere in the last few days. Brazilian people suffer from an endemic form of 'know-it-all syndrom' and, thus, many of us were talking -- a lot -- and taking sides about the impending conflict.
Japan: Supreme Court declares registration system constitutional
Economist and blogger Ikeda Nobuo comments on a Supreme Court decision [ja] declaring that Japan's Net registry system (Juki Net) is constitutional. He argues that a decision against the registration...
Japan: Mixi in hot water over terms of use revision
Japan's hugely popular social networking site Mixi is in hot water this week after news that a proposed revision to its Terms of Use, to become effective as of April 1st, will force its users to agree to grant Mixi no-royalty, non-exclusive rights over all content published on the site, retroactively applicable to all content uploaded before the changes to the ToU. Bloggers in Japan responded with concern and outrage.
Brasil: The FARCs statement in face of the death of Raul Reyes
Professor Antônio echoes in his blog[PT] the statement allegedly made (in spanish) by FARC's High Command in face of what they call “the assassination of Raul Reyes”, one of the...
Japan: Justice served in contaminated blood scandal
Martin at Kurashi reports on news that the Japanese supreme court upheld a suspended prison sentence for a former health official, Akihito Matsumura, for having failed to prevent the use...
Protests over high prices strike Burkina Faso
Although somewhat overshadowed by the larger – and more dangerous –demonstrations in Cameroon last week, at least four cities in Burkina Faso also witnessed strikes over skyrocketing prices that descended into violent demonstrations.
Colombia: The Unsettling Conflict with Ecuador and Venezuela
Colombian bloggers are closely following the events unleashed by the Colombian army's incursion into Ecuadorian territory. Fear of war is palpable throughout the discussions on the legitimacy of the attack and its repercussions, the unveiling of computer files establishing nexus between the Ecuadorian and Venezuelan governments and the FARC and the knowledge of 50 KGs of Uranium that the FARC allegedly has.
Ecuador: Breaking Diplomatic Ties With Colombia
Ecuadorians are divided regarding the incidents along Ecuador's Northern border with Colombia, when the Colombian army attacked a group of FARC guerrillas, killing a top leader, Raul Reyes. As a result President Rafael Correa decided to break off diplomatic relations with Colombia because the attack occurred on Ecuadorian soil. Some bloggers agree with the president, but others are wondering what the FARC was doing in Ecuador and their relationship with the Correa government.
