Stories about Law from August, 2010
Zambia: Citizens react to Chiluba's court clearance
Zambian President Dr. Frederick Chiluba and seven others were found guilty of stealing US$46 million public funds by Zambian High Court judge Evans Hamaundu. As expected, the court's decision last week has attracted debate in the Zambian blogosphere.
Poland: “Defenders of the Cross”
Updates on Poland's “Defenders of the Cross” story and on “how a tragedy has turned into a feacial farce” – at 20 east and the beatroot (here, here, and here).
Russia: TorrentReactor Village; $17,000 in Roaming Charges
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy shares two stories much discussed in the Russian blogosphere now: how a “Russian village almost got named after a torrent website in a publicity stunt,” and how a Russian woman received a $17,000 roaming charges bill after her son had spent some four hours playing games...
Cuba: About the Law
Iván's File Cabinet tells the story of the Teófilo family, whose patriarch, in light of eviction threats from the authorities, is convinced that “his biggest crime was to try to have a prosperous life”; Laritza's Laws, meanwhile, reports on an unprecedented legal matter involving the incumbent Minister of Justice.
Maldives: Homosexuality Criminalized
The Rainbow Maldivian reminds tourists that homosexuality is criminalized in Maldives with punishment like 10 to 30 lashes and/or jail terms.
Jordan: Reema, We Refuse to Let You Die in Vain
A 35-year old mother of three was shot by her husband during her sleep in Jordan. The reason for this murder? Her husband believes that his wife was a "victim of sorcery" and that she would kill him first. A heartfelt obituary has been written online by her nephew, a blogger, and appeals are being sent so that her death may not be in vain.
Zambia: The Attorney General Vs Dr. Frederick Chiluba
Zambian Economist posts the court ruling in the case Attorney General Versus Dr Frederick Chiluba (Zambia's former president) and others.
Mexico: Adoption Rights for Same-Sex Couples
Pepe Flores writes [es] about the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a law which allows same-sex couples to adopt children. He calls the ruling, “A great triumph for the LGBT community in our country, and in general, for all civil society.”
Hong Kong: You want to take the bus? That's so tragic!
This youtube video (with English subtitle) showing a quarrel between the private van owners and bus passengers after has become a big hit online. For more background, see ESWN.
Macedonia, Romania: Blogger Detects Cross-Border Plagiarism
L'Acqua Al Deserto discovered [MKD] that Romanian singer Irena had recently released “a copy” of Milioner, a 2007 single by Macedonian singer/songwriter Elena Ristevska with music by Darko Dimitrov, also available in Serbian, and in English (with lyrics by Leroy Chambers). Irena's website claims [RUM] that the author of ‘her’...
Pakistan: Killings In Balochistan
Apart from the recent devastating floods Pakistan has other problems to tackle. Hamid Abbasi at Chowrangi points out to the recent brutal ethnic killings of Punjabis by members of a terrorist/liberation movement in Balochistan.
Singapore: No eating and drinking inside trains
Siew Kum Hong criticizes the absolute implementation of the ban on eating and drinking inside the trains of Singapore. The ban it seems is also applied on babies drinking milk.
Jordan: Big Brother is Watching You!
Jordanian netizens had a rude awakening when news surfaced about the sentencing of Imad Al-Ash to two years in prison - for insulting the Jordanian monarch in an instant message (IM) he had sent to a friend. Bloggers and their readers have their say here.
Kazakhstan: Former presidential adviser released
Joshua Foust reports that James Giffen, adviser to the Kazakhstan president and middleman between oil companies and Nazarbayev, was accused of bribing the Kazakh officials, but now the U.S. government dropped most of the charges against him.
Serbia: Banking Group Turns Well-Intentioned Suggestion Into PR Disaster
The lack of understanding that major corporations still have for what's being said online may not come as a shock. Intesa SanPaolo, Italy's largest banking group, however, has recently demonstrated plain poor business sense and a complete disregard for basic PR in a breaking story on the Serbian market.
Ukraine: Businessman Seeks Protection Via YouTube, Not Police
A Donetsk businessman posts hidden camera footage of threats and harassment by a competitor, as well as an appeal for help to the Ukrainian president, on YouTube; the video (RUS) has generated over 56,000 views so far. (A detailed Kyiv Post story by Peter Byrne is here (ENG); Vadim Isakov's...
India: The Blackberry Debate
The Acorn discusses in details about the current dispute with RIM, provider of Blackberry’s messaging system, and the Indian government over encrypted messages and intercepting the communications for state security.
Zambia: The people Vs George Mpombo (former Defence Minister
Zambian Economist posts the judgement in the the case of The People Vs George Wello Mpombo – where the defendant was charged with a count of dishonoured cheque. Mpombo is a former Defence Minister and a leading critic of Zambian President Rupiah Banda.
China: I am Liu Xianbin
Liu Xianbin is 42 years old and has spent almost one third of his life time in jail. He has been under arrest again since June and activists are campaigning for him under the slogan: "I am Lui Xianbin".
Jamaica: Dudus’ Defence
Jamaica Salt notes that “after many many months, Christopher Coke finally gets himself a couple of defence lawyers.”
Jamaica: Buju's New Album
“Buju Banton’s new album will hit the stores the same day he hit[s] the courts…on September 13″: YardFlex.com reports.