Stories about Breaking News from August, 2008
Korea: Korean Mata Hari – North Korean Spy Scandal.
While the Beijing Olympics was held, Koreans were excited about news of a series of medals. It even seemed that hot attention to political issues and arguments among the citizens since the inauguration of the new President have slowly diminished. The rate of support for the new President, which drastically...
Kyrgyzstan: Crashed Boeing Photos
Elena uploaded other photos of the Boeing-737 that crashed shortly after takeoff from Bishkek airport, leaving more than 60 people dead.
Turkey: YouTube Un-blocked?
Several Turkish bloggers are reporting the lifting of the YouTube ban in Turkey, including Internation Musings, however it may take up to 72 hours for Turkish web users to see it.
Venezuela: Yukpa Indians, Chávez and land disputes
Citizen media videos have been uploaded informing of the situation arising in Venezuela between the Yukpa Indians of the Perijá Mountains, landowners and President Chávez. This dispute over land limits is 30 years in the making, when military forces displaced the Indigenous communities of the Yukpa by force and established landowners who have cattle ranches and have been working the lands ever since.
Bahrain: Grand Auto Theft Raid
“Around an hour ago, at 2 PM today, two inspectors from the Ministry of Information raided a “Euphoria” shop in Seef Mall and confiscated all Grand Theft Auto IV titles, Both PS3 & Xbox 360,” reports Redbelt from Bahrain. The game is also reportedly banned in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Lebanon: Maid is Lebanese for Slave
How are some housemaids or domestic helpers being treated in Lebanon? Nash Suleiman sums up the reactions of Lebanese bloggers to this tragedy, following the release of a report on the situation by Human Rights Watch.
Twitter users and Bangkok rallies
Thai Twitter users are commenting about the huge rallies led by anti-government groups in Thailand. One user, bodychan, writes: “I don't want Samak say this word ‘No one died in Government House’.”
Anwar Ibrahim back in Parliament
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will become Member of Parliament again after winning in a recent election. No Kacau, Don't Kacau sees a better political landscape for Malaysia.
East Timor: Wikileaks on Ramos-Horta attempted assasination
Timor Online [pt] posts a link to documents related to the attempted assassination of East Timor President Ramos-Horta, in 2008, from Wikileaks. They are in English and the bloggers are now working on translations into Portuguese and French.
Russia, Georgia: Unilateral Recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's Independence
Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal's Cyrillic sector.
Palestine: Rejoice Over Prisoners’ Release
Palestinians are rejoicing today in the release of 199 prisoners from Israeli prisons. The release was announced last Monday, and was likely timed according to Condoleezza Rice's arrival in Israel today
Kyrgyzstan: Plane Crashed Near Bishkek
Elena uploaded photos of the Boeing-737 crashed outside the capital Bishkek on Sunday where 25 people of the 90 people on board have survived.
Palestine: Boats break siege of Gaza
The latest news on the two boats attempting to sail to the Gaza Strip as an act of solidarity is that they have reached Gaza, despite earlier warnings that they might not be permitted to do so. Bloggers have reacted to the action with both excitement and concern.
Lebanon: The Memorandum of Understanding…or Controversy?
Shia Hezbullah and Sunni Salafist groups in Lebanon have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that prohibits Muslims from killing each other. Hours later, the agreement was revoked. Nash Suleiman digs into the Lebanese blogosphere to bring us the story.
Egypt: Parliamentary Fire Reactions
People's reactions here are really confusing ... ehm ... and amusing as well. Ok, believe it or not, but some people here were really happy that a fire has destroyed Egypt's iconic Parliamentary building.
India: All about a block of ice
Indian Muslims Blog provides an insight into the ongoing agitation in Jammu region in India telling that its “all about a block of ice“. The blog also posts some pictures of a protest in Kashmir.
Jamaica: Bolt Wins 200m
Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine is thrilled to report that lightning does indeed strike twice as Usain Bolt cops the Gold – and sets a new World Record – in the 200m event.
Strong storm in north Philippines
Classes are suspended in north Philippines because of a strong storm, as twitted by amazingpig.
Egypt: Parliament on Fire
Egyptian bloggers are in a daze, after the country's iconic Parliament Building, went up in flames earlier today. And while an official reason has yet to be announced for the cause of the fire in the 19th century palace, which houses the lower parliament or Shura (consultative) council, bloggers are seething - though not lost for words.
China: The Beijing Bay
Via TorrentFreak, on the IOC's takedown notice sent not to p2p network The Pirate Bay which was hosting torrents of Olympics footage, but Sweden's Minister of Justice: “We were going to ignore the Olympics, but now we’re loading our cannons. Our weapons of mass distribution are pointed towards China.”
China: India-US nuclear deal
While anticipating a question regarding China in Katie Couric's upcoming interview of American presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain, Out Of The Way blogger Ellaconic has instead opted to look toward India and a less-observed issue, and presents a lot of background which led up to the recently-approved India-US...
