· May, 2010

Stories about Disaster from May, 2010

Azerbaijan: Animal rights

Thoughts. Dreams. Visions. Nightmares. Me. reports on an action staged in support of animal rights in Azerbaijan. The blog says that the event held close to Baku's Zoo was a welcome event and centered on the need to create a special center to cater for stray animals. However, it also...

Oil spill disaster in Singapore

  29 May 2010

A ship collision in Singapore Strait caused the spilling of 2,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. Singapore netizens are using the web to monitor and document the marine disaster and to call for volunteers in the cleanup drive.

Cape Verde: Using an Online Tool to Fight Dengue

  25 May 2010

The Government of Cape Verde is using the internet as a powerful tool to fight dengue [pt]. By creating an epidemiological watch online through which it is possible to insert every new case on a database as soon as it is discovered, they are able to assist and help areas...

India: Outrage At Mangalore Plane Crash

  22 May 2010

An Air-India Express plane arriving from Dubai has crashed in Mangalore Bajpe airport in south India, killing most of the 166 people on board. It is the first major crash in India for some years, but many bloggers and Twitter users are not surprised at the news.

Sri Lanka: Emergency Flood Relief

  21 May 2010

In Sri Lanka thousands of people are affected by the recent heavy rains and flashfloods especially in the western, southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Sarvodaya blog has the situation reports and information about relief, aid and assistance.

Egypt: No Longer Jewel of the Nile

Four of the seven upstream Nile Basin Initiative countries have decided to sign a new Nile deal. Despite strong Egyptian and Sudanese opposition, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a new water-sharing agreement. Egyptian bloggers react to the news in this post by Marwa Rakha.

“Black Planet Award” goes to…Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan

  19 May 2010

“The Formosa Plastics Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of PVC, its CO2 emissions constitute one quarter of all emissions in Taiwan and with its special dispensations from the government and close cooperation with officials the tax rates for three of the major FPG companies pay less than 10% taxes...

Chile: The Rebirth After the Earthquake Tragedy

  17 May 2010

The 2010 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit sought to engage Chilean bloggers through a blogging competition organized in collaboration with the organization OCD Iberoamérica. Here is the winning post written by Isidora Barroso.

Sri Lanka: Drainage Problem In Colombo

  16 May 2010

Kanishka Ratnapriya at GroundViews posts some pictures showing the inundations in different parts of Colombo after two hours of rain, and questions the faulty drainage system of the capital of Sri Lanka.

Russia: Coal Miners Block the Railroad

Desperate coal miners in Mezhdurechensk [EN] (Kemerovo region, Siberia) blocked the Transsiberian Railroad and were suppressed by the police (video here [RUS] and here [RUS]). Miners claim that the official data on the casualties in the May 9 Raspadskaya mine explosion [EN] were underestimated. Their official appeal is here [RUS]....

Netherlands: Twitter campaign against violation of privacy

  14 May 2010

Dutch internet users have started a campaign on Twitter (@telegraafboycot) to boycott the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf [nl] after it violated the privacy of the sole survivor of the plane crash in Tripoli by interviewing the little boy by phone. The hashtag is #telegraafboycot.

Haiti: Help or Hindrance?

  14 May 2010

The Haitian Blogger asks: “Why does a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the Western Hemisphere need 9,000+ UN troops, US troops and 4.4 million dollars for prisons?”