· January, 2008

Stories about Disaster from January, 2008

China: Train Jam

  28 January 2008

Because of the heavy snow in Hunan, the spring train traffic has been seriously affected. The situation in Guangzhou Railway station can be viewed at 56.com (zh). Inmediahk.net has an article written by a mainland reporter, pointing out that the traffic problem at the eve of spring festival has been...

Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Lusignan Massacre

  28 January 2008

“I've never felt so utterly hopeless about Guyana as I do today, and it weighs all the heavier in this prolonged season of hopelessness about my own country, my own society”: As news spreads about the horrific massacre in the town of Lusignan, Nicholas Laughlin‘s heart bleeds for Guyana.

MENA: Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr…It's Freezing

  27 January 2008

Brrrr... It's freezing in the Middle East is the message that has been popping up on blogs recently. Here's a round up of what some of the region's bloggers had to say about the cold spell, in the otherwise warm and sometimes explosive hotspot of the world.

Davos: peeking in and participating through videos

  26 January 2008

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

  25 January 2008

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

  25 January 2008

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

  23 January 2008

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.

Tajikistan: The ice age. Now

  23 January 2008

Despite the fact that the long-awaited hydropower station Sangtuda-1 in Tajikistan has been launched, the population still does not feel the changes. It is worth of mentioning that only the first (out of four) turbines was launched and the other three will be on till the end of this year....

Egypt: Gaza In the Headlines

  22 January 2008

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

  21 January 2008

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.

Morocco: House Collapse

  21 January 2008

The View From Fez reports on the dangers of house reconstruction in Morocco, and mourns the recent deaths from a house collapse. The collapse on Wednesday killed eighteen people and left at least twenty-six people injured. There may be more bodies under the rubble.

Kenya: Mapping the dark and the light

  19 January 2008

Ethan Zuckerman blogs about Ushahidi: “One way to measure the continuing protest and unrest is to follow the story through Ushahidi, a citizen media site put together by friends of mine to allow Kenyans to post news about post-election unrest and violence. Each incident is added to a map, giving...

Kazkahstan: Surviving or Prospering?

  17 January 2008

Kazakhstan is a country of contrasts, with no exaggeration: desperate poverty neighbors with arrogant wealth, economic growth is accompanied by decline of social sphere and expansion of state control, and tolerance abuts discrimination. Such is the set of topics in focus of Kazakhstani blogosphere this week. Eilide, a blogger living...