· December, 2007

Stories about Feature from December, 2007

RIP: Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan

Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto (54) was assassinated in Rawalpindi earlier today at a political rally. Ironically according to media reports Rawalpindi is one of the most secure cities in Pakistan and...

27 December 2007

Saudi Arabia: Free Fouad Update

The leading Saudi blogger, Fouad Alfarhan, who has been arrested in Jeddah on December 10, 2007 for exercising his freedom of speech on his popular blog alfarhan.org has sent a letter few days before his arrest to his friends. According to his wife with whom we talked, Fouad's arrest was directly linked to his blogging activities. He may remain in custody for a one-month investigation period.

26 December 2007

China: Scrap the death penalty?

Was it New Jersey's undoing of the 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment earlier this month, or the United Nations General Assembly's call for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty...

25 December 2007

Bangladesh: The Musée Guimet affair

From January 2008 the Musée Guimet of France is holding an exhibition of the masterpieces of Ganges from the collections of the Bangladesh museums for the first time outside of...

24 December 2007

Caribbean: Christmas Traditions

All over the world, people get together with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. They exchange gifts, and invite one another to their homes for parties, lunches or dinners, signifying the trademark Christmas message of peace and goodwill. Karel McIntosh speaks to a few regional bloggers to get a glimpse into what Christmas traditions are like in the Caribbean...

23 December 2007

TBCS interns talk about the development of Sierra Leone

This week we have updates from the Sierra Leone-based Rising Voices outreach grant winner, Think Build Change Salone (TBCS). Participants of the TBCS project post more of their experiences as interns in local non-profit organizations in Sierra Leone.

22 December 2007

Suso, Gratitude, and Human Dignity

Originally published on Rising Voices. Every neighborhood has it's own local set of celebrities who become either famous or infamous for their talents, idiosyncrasies, and personal histories. They are the...

21 December 2007

Arabeyes: Celebrating Eid Al Adha

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid Al Adha - which commemorates Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah (God). It also culminates the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which has this year attracted more than 2 million people. Here's how bloggers from the region marked the occasion.

20 December 2007

Korea: Election Day

I am writing this post in the middle of election day (2 hours left) in Korea. Not surprisingly, until now, the turnout of voters is recorded as the lowest in...

19 December 2007

The Battle of Polokwane and the Future of South Africa

The ANC's 52nd National Conference in Polokwane, South Africa has entered its third day. The voting for the hotly contested ANC presidency and other leadership positions has ended. The results, which will most definitely determine the future president of South Africa, are expected to be announced later on today. South African bloggers have not been silent about this historic conference of the South African ruling party.

18 December 2007

Iraq: In Memoriam, Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi

It is with great sadness that I report the death of an Iraqi blogger. Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi was a contributor to the video blog, Alive in Baghdad. He was killed while at home, during a raid by the Iraqi National Guard in his street. Ali took 31 bullets between the chest and head and died immediately. Ali was not the only victim of that raid. Hussain, his neighbour, was found dead. Salam Adil sums up the reactions to the tragedy in this post.

18 December 2007

Japan: Final Report on Internet Regulation

The idea that a country boasting one of the world's most active net cultures would attempt to regulate online content within its borders may appear to some as infeasible. But plans unveiled earlier this year by the Japanese government aim to do exactly this, targeting a broad range of content that includes blogs and personal homepages.

16 December 2007

Russia: Voting in Grozny

According to dubious Central Election Commission's data, over 99 percent of Chechnya's 580,918 eligible voters showed up for the Dec. 2 parliamentary election - and 99.36 percent of them voted for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. Journalist Timur Aliev - was both a voter and a candidate in this election. Read his somewhat surreal account of what it took to exercise his right to vote in Chechnya's capital Grozny.

16 December 2007