Stories about Law from July, 2006
DRC: Post-Election Roundup
“A Peaceful Election” Congolese at the polls. Photo by Federico, courtesy of Extra Extra. By and large, the voting has ended in the DRC, according to The Salon: With the exception of the three towns that had to continue/report the voting for today, due to numerous arsons (Mbuji-mayi, Mweka and...
Nigeria: Scotland Yard
Detectives from Scotland Yard have just arrived in Nigeria to help with the investigation into the murder of politician Funsho Williams who died last week in Lagos, writes UKNaija. “If they fail, I can just imagine the Nigerian government crowing ‘Well, even the experts from Scotland Yard couldn't crack it,...
China: reticence: would-be lesbians, corporate executives and urban journalists
Ever wonder why there was no male version of 2004's smash television phenomenon Super Girl? While a lesbian conspiracy might have made for better Communist Party PR positioning than news of yet another great initiative cut down by state censorship, super-adrogynous and super-popular Super Girl winner Li Yuchun‘s queer image...
Russia: “List of 17″
Sean's Russia Blog writes about groups present on (and missing from) the FSB's Terrorist Organizations list.
Russia: Brian Grover & Matthias Rust
Copydude writes about two men who became (in)famous after they flew their light planes into Russia illegally: Brian Grover (1938) and Matthias Rust (1987).
DRC: Counting of Ballots Has Begun
The Salon writes: “Counting has begun in many voting stations in the Eastern part of the country, which is an hour ahead of Kinshasa, and the West. Radio Okapi's live service is reporting an estimated level of participation that is higher than 70% in most of the stations that have...
Martinique: Plane Crash Aftermath
Bien Vu writes (Fr):”It's been more than 8 months since 152 Martiniquans died in a crash in Maracaibo [,Venezuela]. Since then, talks at cross-purposes between the Association aux Victimes du Crash Aerien [association of victims of the aerial crash] (AVCA) and the Brazilian insurer of West Caribbean Airways who cannot...
DRC: Human Rights Watch Election Concerns
Human Rights Watch outlines human rights concerns that might impair the fairness of elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo tomorrow.
Russia: Andrei Sychyov's Case
Sean's Russia Blog posts an update on Andrei Sychyov's case and writes about cruelty in the Russian army.
Russia, Ukraine: Stories About Words
Below is the translation of three stories about words: in the first one, they are being banned; in the second, they offend; in the third, there aren't enough of them. LJ user plushev, a Russian radio journalist, writes (RUS) about the government's attack on the name of the controversial National...
Nigeria: Political murder
Even sadder and more depressing than the Middle East, writes UKNaija, “is the news of the brutal callous murder of Funsho Williams, the grey bearded affable engineer who had consistently for the past ten years made no secret of his ambitions to rule Lagos State.” Taurean Minx also shares her...
DRC: Last Minute Campaigning and Complaining
As Sunday's presidential election approaches, and the campaign period closes today, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bloggers chronicle last minute campaigning and complaining by some of the 30 or so candidates and other actors. Candidates’ Backgrounds Prince du Fleuve du Congo continues a debate with Christian Geraud about Joseph Kabila...
Martinique, France: Tribu Ka Suspended
France's Council of Ministers recently decided to dissolve Tribu Ka, a Black nationalist French group, accusing it of anti-semitism. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy claims the group posted a graphic of a chimpanzee holding a star of David on their website. Martinique's Le Blog de [Moi] agrees (Fr) that Tribu...
Albania: Little Progress in Anti-Corruption
Our Man in Tirana cites a World Bank study, which declares that in terms of instituting anti-corruption reforms, “Albania remains the worst performer among all transition countries.”
Russia: Kremlin's Big Fish Fishing
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the current regime's idea of fishing: the “big fish” are Mikhail Khodrkovsky's former business partner Leonid Nevzlin, currently based in Israel, and two London residents – the “oligarch” Boris Berezovsky and “the so-called ‘Foreign Minister of Ichkeria’ Akhmed Zakaev.”
Martinique: More Prison for Wife Burners
Bien Vu deplores (Fr) 15 recent cases of women set afire by their husbands in Martinique. Some have been severely injured, others have died reports the blogger. He says: “even after the perpetrators have been found guilty, they remain a danger to their wives. We hope to see these individuals...
DRC: “The Burning has begun”
Light in the Heart of Darkness, an english-speaking expat blogger based in the DRC, says Kabila's popularity in Kinshasa is waning and fears that if he is elected, “the country is going to burn.” She points to yesterday's UDPS-led poster-snatching protests as evidence that the burning may have begun.
France, DOM-TOM: Victory against housing discrimination
Reunion-based Pierrot Dupuy, himself the father of a victim of housing discrimination in France announces (Fr) advocacy group CollectifDOM’s legal victory in the area of housing discrimination against French citizens from the French Overseas Departments and Territories (DOM-TOM) living in France. From here on, landlords can no longer ask for...
Uganda: Death of detainee
Human Rights Watch calls on the Ugandan government to investigate the alleged torture and electrocution of a security detainee in a government “safe house” in Kampala on May 4.
Belarus: A Youth Movement and Other Enemies
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a new oppositional youth movement, Bunt, and the current regime's actions against its activists. Also, there's an entry about an attack on a Latvian diplomat in Minsk.
China: Cameras, drunks and forced website closures
Kimbo Hu/Hu Defu, a well-known Taiwanese aboriginal folk musician gave a performance at a small bar in Beijing this past weekeknd. In attendance were many prominent bloggers, and here is Ycul blogger Reading Storeroom‘s account of the show, along with the problems he sees as more and more Chinese purchase...
