Stories about Breaking News from December, 2009
Bangladesh: Knighthood For Fazle Hasan Abed
Unheard Voice informs that Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and chairperson of the largest NGO of the world, BRAC, has been awarded with knighthood for his endeavors towards eradicating poverty and empowering the poor in Bangladesh and many countries of the world.
China: Akmal's death sentence, a resolute No to memory of humiliation?
Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen convicted of smuggling heroine into China, was executed on Tuesday although his families along with the British government had pleaded for reprieve, claiming that he is mentally ill. The supreme court of China however dismissed the request of a mental assessment because the documents provided...
Indonesia: Email mom ‘not guilty’ says the High Court
Prita Mulyasari, a housewife who was charged with defamation by a hospital for an email complaint against a bad health service, was found not guilty by the Indonesian High Court. Bloggers and twitterers are happy with the ruling.
China: Three prominent bloggers GFWed in the same week
Following the blocking of veteran Internet essayist He Caitou's (@hecaitou) two longstanding blogs hecaitou.net and caobian.info on December 25, renowned columnist Lian Yue (@lianyue) had yet another one of his blogs, lianyue.net, blocked on the 29th; late on the evening of December 30, Peking University new media associate professor Hu...
India: Perils Of Making Democracy Accessible
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor was caught up in another controversy as he tweeted to his approx. 542,000 Twitter followers a personal opinion on the recent change in Indian visa rules. Smoke Signals has the details.
Kazakhstan: Journalist murdered, professional motives excluded
Sayat Shulembayev, 28, journalist of the news video-portal “Stan” was brutally murdered in Almaty. As “Stan” producer Michael Pak says, Sayat rented a room in the house near bus station. The murderers killed the landlord and the journalist, apparently, to eliminate the possible witness [ru]. The news portal does not...
Pakistan: Bomb Attack On Shia Procession
Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan reports that today “a suicide bomber attacked a Shia procession commemorating Ashura in Karachi, killing at least 25 people and injuring 50.”
China: Tweeting in support of Iran
Twenty-four hours later and #CN4Iran remains in heavy constant use by Chinese Twitter users speaking out in support of protests now underway across Iran. The #CN4Iran hashtag has since been joined by a @CN4Iran Twitter account and a central blog. Related is this post with a similar story from 2007.
Uzbekistan: Criminal Charges Filed Against Documentary Photographer Umida Akhmedova
Umida Akhmedova, photo by Fergana.ru Umida Akhmedova, the Uzbek [EN] documentary photographer, has been accused of insult and slander against Uzbek people and traditions, reports Fergana.ru [EN]. The maximum penalty for these charges includes remedial work on two up to three years or detention for up to six months. According...
Australia pushes internet censorship; Twitter erupts
Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy declared his determination last week to push through mandatory internet censorship of a government-defined blacklist of websites, sparking an online frenzy in blogs and on Twitter. News of the proposed internet censorship propelled the issue to a “trending topic” on Twitter for several hours, under...
Sri Lanka: Groundviews wins Manthan South Asia Award
ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) reports that the Sri Lankan citizen journalism platform “Groundviews” has won the prestigious Manthan Award for South Asia under the e-news category.
Belarus: New Plans For Internet Control
“Nasha Niva”online portal in Belarus published [Google Translation – ENG] a draft of the President's decree “On Measures to Improve the National Segment of the Internet.” The decree will significantly limit the Internet freedom and introduce new measures of online censorship.
Egypt: And this one goes to Djamila Bouhired
Algeria's 75-year-old activist and revolutionist Djamila Bouhired is ill and is beseeching her country and countrymen to finance her medical treatment. The news has infuriated many Egyptian bloggers who see her as an Arab icon and a hero.
Russia: Domain “блог.рф” (blog.rf) Registered By Security Service
Domain “блог.рф” (“blog.rf”) was registered by the Russia Special Communications and Information Service (formerly known as FAPSI [ENG], part of the Federal Security Service [ENG]), LJ-user di09en reports [RUS] citing the domain data [ENG].
Russia: Kremlin Plans To Create ‘Party of Bloggers’
The Kremlin will create a new “Party of Bloggers”, reports [RUS] luberblog.ru. The party will function on the basis of electronic signatures and forums. This initiative shows the virtuality of the whole party system in Russia.
Philippines: Bloggers Raise Voices Against Martial Law
As the world commemorates International Human Rights Day, Filipino bloggers are eerily reminded of the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo imposed martial law in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao.
Indonesia: Coins for justice
Netizens have launched a campaign to collect the money in form of coins to show support for Prita Mulyasari, an Indonesian housewife who wrote an online complaint against a bad hospital service, was found guilty in court for "defaming" a private hospital.
Russia: Online Forum Beats Media in Covering Night Club Fire
Fire at the night club "Lame Horse" in a central Russian city Perm killed more than 100 people. Local online forum Teron.ru quickly became the main source of information about the tragedy for ordinary citizens and mainstream media.
Guinea: Attempt on Military Leader Dadis Camara's Life
According to several news sources, Captain Dadis Camara, leader of the military junta which seized power in Guinea in December 2008, was shot and wounded by one of his aides yesterday in Conakry. Many RFI readers, holding Camara responsible for the September 28th massacre of opposition protesters, call it justice.
Russia: Blogger Arrested For Pneumonic Plague Rumors
Ivan Peregorodiev, a 22-year-old medical student and blogger, has been arrested on December 3 for spreading rumors about pneumonic plague in the city of Saratov. Authorities accused him of disseminating false information related to an act of terrorism.
Russia: Newspaper Website Hacked And Completely Destroyed
The Web site of a popular Russian tabloid “Moskovsky Komsomolets” [RUS] lost all of its online data due to the recent hacker attack, radio “Ekho Moskvy” reports [RUS].
