Stories about Feature from May, 2010
Jamaica: Latest Updates
Twitter has been buzzing with the latest developments regarding Jamaica's state of emergency. Things began to look "much better" late yesterday: wanted men were turning themselves in, one international mainstream television station was reportedly going to "apologise for [its] 'inaccurate report'" (although some tweeple were of the opinion that "an apology [was] not enough") and all seemed quiet in areas that had previously been fierce battlegrounds.
China and Hong Kong: Responses to Cheonan sinking incident
The release of the international investigation report on sinking of Cheonan in May 20, 2010, concluding that the South Korean warship had been bombed by a North Korean torpedo has...
Jamaica: Situation Improving?
Four days into the state of emergency imposed on the Jamaican capital, the situation is becoming clearer - not simply in terms of statistics - but in understanding the chain of events that led to the current impasse. There are also reports that life in the capital city may slowly be returning to normal.
South Africa: The World Cup is Coming to Grahamstown
This year in Grahamstown, South Africa, the World Cup coincides with the annual National Arts Festival, which is expected to increase tourism and opportunities for residents. Citizen journalists from the Grocott's Mail have examined many of these issues and how they will impact their local community.
Jamaica: Bloggers Look at the Lighter Side
West Indians have a saying, "If you don't laugh, you'll cry." Certainly, the current wave of violence in Jamaica - is nothing to laugh about. But after days of sobering news, bloggers clearly needed to seek out the amusing aspects of an otherwise untenable situation.
Egypt: Rima Fakih – What does religion have to do with it?
Rima Fakih, an Arab Muslim immigrant, won the Miss USA Pageant. There are those who considered her award an Arab victory, those who considered her a Muslim disgrace, and others who dug up her past.
Bloggers React to Gunfights and Change in Government in Madagascar
Gunfights in Antananarivo and yet another change in the government shook Madagascar the past week. Bloggers react:
MENA: To Draw or Not to Draw Muhammed
The fire ignited by the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day on Facebook, is still raging. Here is a snap shot of reactions from across the Middle East.
Pakistan: Netizens Protest The Blanket Ban Of Facebook And Other Sites
After the ban of Facebook, Youtube and several other sites in Pakistan, many netizens of the country are outraged by the decision.
Trinidad and Tobago: Election Landslide
After a snap election ends the rule of Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Trinidadian bloggers react to the new People's Partnership coalition government, led by the country's first female prime minister.
Egypt: On Street Activists and Citizen Journalists
Between online activists, citizen journalists, and street demonstrators, it seems that the cause lost it's purpose and the Internet turned into a soundproof room for cursing and cussing. Marwa Rakha takes a closer look at online activism and its relationship to events on the ground.
Jamaica: Citizen Media Follows the Standoff
A study in extremes is perhaps how the last 24 hours in the Caribbean region could be adequately described: As Trinidad and Tobago peacefully went to the polls and elected its first female Prime Minister, Jamaica was facing more violent unrest.
Southeast Asia: Reactions to Thailand protests
The violent confrontations between the heavily armed soldiers and Red Shirt protesters in Thailand in the past week have stunned the world. What are the reactions of bloggers from neighbouring Southeast Asian nations?
Egypt: Parliament Votes to Extend Emergency Law
The Egyptian Parliament decision to extend state-sanctioned emergency rule for another two years garnered international criticism and domestic backlash, as the law gives exclusive right to the Ministry of the Interior to detain suspects without charge, monitor communications and wiretap contact networks, restrict newspaper content and impede political assembly and demonstration. Bloggers react to the development.
Caucasus: Eurovision Social Media
With the first semi-final in this year's Eurovision Song Contest due to take place tomorrow, activity on blogs, social media networks and micro-blogging sites in support of entrants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the three countries making up the South Caucasus, is naturally increasing. However, their use also sometimes reflects the geopolitical and technical realities of the region.
Jamaica: State of Emergency
Things are starting to unravel in Jamaica, as the drug money link between dons and politicians, starts to get the media attention it deserves. The United States want Christopher ‘Dudus’...
Peru: Schoolgirl Questions US First Lady About Immigration Reform
During a recent visit to a Maryland school, US First Lady Michelle Obama received a question from a schoolgirl of Peruvian descent, who asked why people without immigration papers were being taken away and who disclosed information about the status of her parents.
Eto'o's Success Lifting Cameroon ‘s Hope
After the success of his Italian club Inter Milan in the UEFA European Champions League, Cameroonian football star Samuel Eto'o is the toast of the town and his country. Cameroonian bloggers are proud of the accomplishment of their star player and hope that the momentum of his success can carry on for Cameroon at the World Cup.
Japan: 1300 years in the making, celebration in Nara
While both culturally and physically a long ways from the modern capital of Tokyo, tracing back well over a thousand years into Japanese history one comes across Nara, a quiet,...
Morocco: Discussing a Free Thinker's Legacy
The death of Moroccan philosopher and social theorist, Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, has gone with little notice in the media. Yet al-Jabri's contributions over the last decades to the uphill battle between rationality and religious thought has probably never been so relevant as today. Bloggers have been commemorating his legacy.
Russia: Hacking of Women's Community Raises Gender, Ethical and Privacy Dilemmas
The legendary Russian women blog community "girls_only" with the most sensitive and private discussions was hacked by anonymous hacker and uploaded to a mirror site. The scandal raised a lot of legal, ethical and online security dilemmas. It also showed that men and women are creatures that live on different Internet planets and inspired online discussions about the gender differences.
