· April, 2008

Stories about Breaking News from April, 2008

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...

29 April 2008

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.

28 April 2008

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.

26 April 2008

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.

26 April 2008

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...

25 April 2008

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...

25 April 2008

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,...

24 April 2008

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.

23 April 2008

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.

21 April 2008

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.

21 April 2008

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.

20 April 2008

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.

18 April 2008

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...

18 April 2008