Stories about Law from May, 2007
Egypt: Live Snakes to Saudi
Egyptian blogger Mostafa Hussein links to an AP story which says that police detained a man at Cairo's airport – bound for Saudi Arabia – who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane!
Arabeyes: Unlicensed Bahrainis; Silent Algerians; Kidneyless Egyptians and More
What is banned and allowed in Bahrain? How did the government and politicians react to the low turn out at the Algerian elections last week? Why did an Egyptian man sell his kidney? And finally - why do you need Wasta in Jordan? These are the main questions the following translation of Arabic blogs shed light on this week.
Ukraine: Piskun, Again
Ukrainiana writes: “Svaytoslav Piskun, Ukraine’s perennial prosecutor general, lost his job today.” Once again. This time, though, his dismissal has caused some Ukrainian politicians to talk of “an attempted coup.”
Ukraine, Serbia: Investigating Political Murders
Taras Kuzio writes about political assassinations and pursuit of justice, and compares Ukraine to Serbia: “Ukraine’s fragile democracy is closer to Serbia’s democratising state than to Russia’s autocracy.”
Arabeyes: Breast-Feeding Dilemma
Imagine having to breast feed your colleague at work - five times - to ensure that your relationship remains professional! This is the fatwa (religious edict) that had Arab and Muslim bloggers buzzing with excitement and anger this week. Read the rest of the article to see how some of the region's bloggers reacted to the ruling, which has since been withdrawn.
Join the Debate on Darfur 10am (EST) TODAY!
Further to our earlier post, here's a quick update on the Reuters Newsmaker event on Darfur, which takes place in New York starting at 10am EST today. Our Sub-Saharan Africa editor Ndesanjo Macha will be live-blogging the event at his blog, Jikomboe, so you'll be able to follow the proceedings there. Reuters will be tossing to the GV team from time to time for questions and feedback, so please leave any comments you may have either on this post or on Ndesanjo's blog. In related news, Reuters Alertnet this morning released the results of its poll on the situation of Aid workers in Darfur (full coverage here).
Trinidad & Tobago: Soca Star Arrested
Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival and lifestyle reports on the arrest of soca singer Machel Montano following an incident that occurred outside Zen nightclub a few weeks ago.
Bosnia, Belarus: UN Human Rights Council
“In a 112 to 72 vote, Bosnia defeated Belarus to join Slovenia on the UN Human Rights Council,” Bosnia Vault reports.
Hungary: Police Rape Scandal
Pestcentric writes about the Budapest police rape scandal.
China: Splitting hairs over stem cells
Stem cell research—it's an old topic, but it's also a top topic, at least for today as two key Chinese public intellectuals—one a tv news personality and the other a crusader against intellectual fraud and traditional Chinese medicine—battle it out on their PhoenixTV blogs. It started with this post yesterday...
Kuwait: Lion Caught
Kuwait-based Lebanese blogger Mark informs us that a lion who escaped in Kuwait was caught by police.
Poland: Equality Parade and “Phobo-Phobia”
the beatroot writes about the Equality Parade in Warsaw and the failed attempt to get it banned it – “this time on the feeble excuse that homosexuality was against Christianity, and the Polish Constitution [?] which apparently privileges relationships between men and women.” Then, the beatroot grows “phobo-phobic” and refers...
Anguilla: Homosexuality and Constitutional Reform
“We cannot allow ourselves to get side tracked when it comes to our Constitution. We have to be ready with our arguments when the British team arrives in Anguilla in July”: As one of Britain's last remaining colonies readies itself for constitutional reform, Corruption-free Anguilla examines the current legislation regarding...
Indonesia: Water Privatization
The Indonesia Law Reporter takes the discussion from his newspaper article on water privatization online on his blog. “What I said on that article was that privatization carries legal risks, in simpler terms, the state's controlling power toward water will significantly reduces if water services is privatized. The article did...
Russia, UK: More on the Litvinenko Affair
“The British Crown Prosecution Service has charged Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoi with the murder of Alexandr Litvinenko. The question if anything will come of it,” writes Sean Guillory.
Trinidad & Tobago: Political Scandals
“Trinidad and Tobago has to be the most exciting place on earth without a war”: Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival and lifestyle examines recent political scandals, adding that the whole sordid affair “reads like an episode of ‘Allo Allo'”.
Congolese Youth Organization Takes President Joseph Kabila to Task
Kakaluigi posts an open letter (Fr) from COJESKI, an umbrella of Congolese youth organizations, demanding President Joseph Kabila: end the incursions and occupations of Congolese villages by foreign troops from Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazaville, and even as far afield as Chad, the Sudan and Central African Republic; end the pillaging of...
China: Lawsuit Against GFW
A Chinese open-source software programmer is suing China Telecom because his website was blocked by the Great Firewall. This trial will be held in Shanghai at 9:00AM (Beijing time, zone of UMT+8:00) May 29th. The place is No. 611 Ding Xiang Road, Pu Dong New District, Shanghai, China.– Via Ya,...
Uzbekistan: Alcohol Restrictions
Tolkun Umaraliev reports on Uzbekistan's new law that makes it more difficult to obtain alcoholic beverages.
Myanmar: Militia Given Free Reign
Fifty Viss writes about a vigilante group that took the law in its own hand by arresting civilian supports of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Morocco: The Week of Firsts
It was a week of firsts in Morocco - with the first French Minister of Moroccan descent, the first newspaper and the first wine store. Jillian York has more in this report.
