Stories about Feature from January, 2009
Middle East: Boycott as a Political Weapon
Many people across the Middle East have decided to boycott Israeli and American products in response to the Israeli war on Gaza. Tarek Amr reviews what bloggers have to say about this.
Philippines: The root cause of the flooding
In the Philippines, media reports have cited weeks of heavy rain brought by a cold front as the immediate cause of the massive flooding and landslides. Some Filipino bloggers have started asking more questions. What was the root cause of the flooding? What is really happening? Here are some efforts of Filipino bloggers to make sense of the disaster.
Guyana: Dirty Laundry?
The new President of the United States is the Caribbean's darling, but the President of Guyana is having a tougher time of it. The latest controversy to plague him comes in the form of his ex-wife spilling the beans about their stormy personal relationship and Mr. Jagdeo's alleged failure to provide her with a divorce settlement. Bloggers, of course, are all over the story...
Madagascar: Major Damages from Tropical Storm Eric & Cyclone Fanele
In the past days, Madagascar has been sandwiched between both Tropical Storm Eric and Cyclone Fanele. Considering that last year's cyclone season was particularly deadly, bloggers in Madagascar are weary of the consequences of such natural disasters. Despite growing political tension, many of them reacted promptly to share their thoughts on what seems to be another series of damaging catastrophes.
Palestine: “In Gaza, only the dead have seen the end of this war”
The people of Gaza are discovering the extent of the destruction inflicted during three weeks of Israeli attacks, and are slowly starting to rebuild their lives. Some bloggers are wondering about the less visible psychological and emotional damage. One asks, "What will be the reward for getting up and going on, one more time?"
Bahrain: Scores of Websites Blocked
Scores of websites have been blocked in Bahrain, following a new crackdown by the Ministry of Information. The latest sweep makes sites ranging from Google Translate to those of social, religious, human rights and political groups inaccessible to people in Bahrain.
Brunei: Rainy days and flooding
It is the middle of the annual North-East Monsoon season and Brunei has been experiencing strong winds and rainfall. It was just ten days ago that part of the country was submerged by waters. Blogs, no doubt play an important role in informing the public on the state of the rain and the aftermath.
African Blogosphere On Obama's Inauguration
“It is done. I knew it would come, but, oh, what a feeling! Yes, Mr. President, it is done, indeed!” These words from Kenyan blogger Whispering Inn sum up the emotional responses of most bloggers in the African blogosphere to the historic inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.
MENA: Reactions to Obama's Inauguration
Today marked an historic moment in United States history as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President. While Arab support of Obama has been waning over the past few months following the selection of his cabinet and his silence over Israel's attacks on Gaza, across the Middle East and North Africa bloggers still have plenty to say, reports Jillian York.
Turkey: Armenian “Martin Luther King Jr.” Commemorated
The second anniversary of a murdered journalist once again had the power to move mountains in strained relations between between Armenia and Turkey, two states separated by the biblical mount Ararat and an unholy history. Yesterday's commemoration might not have been on such a large scale, but newspaper articles, editorials, and reaction from bloggers show that the murder of a prominent member of Turkey’s dwindling Christian Armenian minority by a Turkish ultra-nationalist continues to shock the world.
Russia: Lawyer Markelov and Journalist Baburova Shot Dead in Moscow
Russian human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, 34, was shot to death Jan. 19 as he walked from a news conference in central Moscow. Journalist Anastasia Baburova, 25, who accompanied Markelov, was also shot as she tried to intervene; she died in hospital a few hours later. Many Russian bloggers reacted with shock and outrage to these broad-daylight shootings. Below are some of the initial responses, translated from Russian, as well as links to a few posts in English.
Malaysia: Lessons from the flooding disaster
Last week, flooding hit several areas in the Sarawak State of Malaysia. Bloggers recount their experience and the lessons to be culled from the flood disaster. The flooding was the worst in years in Malaysia.
Greece: Outcry over arms shipment to Israel
With the war raging in Gaza, news reports earlier this month about the routing of an extraordinarily large shipment of arms from the United States to Israel through the private Greek port of Astakos caused an uproar among Greek bloggers. They used Twitter to investigate the matter and put pressure on the government to halt the transfer.
Israel: Unilateral “Ceasefire” Goes Into and Out of Effect
Israel declared operation ‘Cast Lead' a success and announced that its security cabinet has voted in favor of a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Although the ceasefire has since been broken, with Hamas sending missiles into Sderot, here are some reflections of Israeli bloggers on developments on the ground.
Philippines: Helping flood victims through Plurk and blogs
Filipino bloggers have organized a feeding program for the benefit of flood victims in south Philippines. They announced their project through Plurk and other social networking sites.
Israel: Voices against the violence
The Hebrew blogosphere is battling over right and wrong, support vs. opposition and what it means to be patriotic to your own country, while at the same time condemning its actions. In this post, Gilad Lotan translates four different entries which highlight their writers' struggle with the grave outcomes of a war. A war where news is biased; where one side is considerably more powerful than the other; where innocent civilians are used as human shields and where the death toll is steep.
Flashfloods and landslides in south Philippines
More than 115,000 people in the Philippines’ northern Mindanao region had fled to safety due to flashfloods and landslides. The local government reported that the series of flashfloods that struck the region have reached humanitarian crisis proportions
Morocco: A Country Divided Over Gaza
As a quorum of Arab leaders convene in Doha today, the world is wondering how their meeting might bring about a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Yesterday, the news broke that King Mohammed VI of Morocco would not be attending the Doha or any other summit. Blogger react to that, and to the division of public opinion within Morocco, in this piece from Jillian York.
Costa Rica: After the Earthquake
A week has passed since the 6.2 Earthquake in Costa Rica, and on blogger and twitter people have been commenting on the aftermath, analyzing the relief efforts, the rescue operations...
Palestine: Israeli Troops Enter Residential Areas of Gaza City
Thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing from Gaza City as IDF troops have entered residential areas. A number of the foreign activists in Gaza were helping at Al Quds hospital when it came under attack, and managed to get out reports of what was going on. We hear from them and other bloggers in this roundup of Gaza blogs by Ayesha Saldanha.
Fiji Flooding: “The economic costs will be massive”
The sun peeked from behind the mass of clouds in parts of the Fiji island group Thursday morning, marking the first time many places had a major break in rain...
