Stories about Feature from December, 2007
Special Coverage: The assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Given the volume of commentary from bloggers throughout the world about the assassination of ex-prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, earlier today in Rawalpindi, we have set up a Special Coverage page aggregating some of the reactions from Pakistan and other parts of south Asia, as well as our own coverage here on Global Voices. Visit the special coverage page for regular updates.
Pakistan: Reactions to Bhutto's death
Benazir Bhutto's death has come as a shock to many of the bloggers writing from and about Pakistan. While Bhutto's politics may be controversial, her assasinaton comes at a time when it was hoped that Pakistan could overcome the years of lapse of democracy. At Metroblogging Islamabad, the post provokes...
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 teeming with security folks. In another irony according to a report on the BBC Benazir was assassinated in almost the...
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.
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 a few days later that launched prominent Chinese bloggers into their own debate on the subject? NetEase has gotten nearly...
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 Bangladesh. From the museum catalogue: “Bangladesh possesses an immensely important cultural heritage, this arising from the fact that the eastern...
Thailand: Party Supporting Thaksin Leads Thai Elections
Bloggers in Thailand and abroad are analyzing the results of Thai elections where the party supporting the former Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra has emerged as the leading candidate for running the country.
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...
Korea: Why the Internet didn't Influence the Presidential Election This Time
The presidential election of the Republic of Korea was held on the 19th of December. While the election ended in the predicted result to many, it shocked others. In particular, the results of the election showed that some active netizens’ opinions didn’t influence this election compared to the last presidential...
China: Zuola on how citizen media should work
A fist-chop in the throat and surveillance by secret police seems to have put a swift end to the career of China's most popular investigative blogger Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang, but judging from his post earlier this month ‘Zhou Shuguang's understanding of citizen reporters and citizen media’, if you were to...
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.
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 living and breathing incarnations of the archetypical characters who make up the novels and movies we so love. Think of...
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.
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 the history of the Republic of Korea. Bloggers and netizens in towns and provinces are busy updating the voting news...
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.
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.
Lebanon: Who Killed Francois Hajj and Why?
Lebanon grabs the international headlines again, with another assassination. Who was killed and why? Who is blaming whom and what have the region's bloggers got to say.
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.
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.
Taiwan: Migrant Worker Rally-“I want my day off!!”
On International Human Rights Day, the dogfighting politics of the two major parties still occupied the front pages in Taiwan's mass media. The politicians consume the terms “democracy” and “freedom” for their own political odds while neglect basic rights of underprivileged communities. GVO Taiwan team would cover some important human...
Environment: In Bali, an inconvenient last minute proposal from the US
Global voices has been following the climate change talks in Bali, via the special coverage page. The following posts also appear as part of the aggregated feed to Reuters indicate a developing story coming out of Bali. Yesterday, Rory of Carbonsmart expressed discouragement with the talks in Bali, saying In...
