· September, 2007

Stories about Weblog from September, 2007

Oman: Rent Law and Life in Muscat

Oman's bloggers are ranting about increasing rent and driving in Ramadan in this round up of Omani blogs. Also, how was life before the opening of mega malls and are you interested in attending Oman's first bloggers meeting on October 3?

30 September 2007

Morocco: Berbers can be blonde

Major media outlets and bloggers went into a frenzy a few days ago when a blurry photograph taken by a Spanish tourist in Morocco's Rif mountain region showed a small blonde girl bearing a strong resemblance to missing British child Madeleine McCann perched on the back of a Moroccan woman. As it turns out, the photo was not of Maddie but of a 2-year-old Moroccan girl. What do Moroccans think of this matter? Jillian York has the story.

30 September 2007

Bahrain: Halfway There!

From Bahrain this week: a mid-Ramadan celebration, great happiness to be at university, a description of some dating practices, and a packet of rice that just doesn't make sense!

29 September 2007

Taiwan: Whose land?

The indigenous Smangus people consider a wind-fall beech tree is in their territory, but the Forestry Bureau doesn't agree. Bloggers discuss, how do we decide who is the owner of the land?

29 September 2007

Kazakhstan: Big politics and human lives

While the usual discussions about political cobwebs and oil business intrigues kept the Kazakhstani bloggers busy, two dramatic incidents stood out: A rocket crash potentially threatening the health of thousands of people and the murder of a Russian blogger made the Kazakhstani blogosphere think about the value of a human life.

29 September 2007

China: Reality shows forbidden

No one would forget how popular Super Girl was on 2005. As a talent-search reality competition, it created a miracle both in economy and culture impact. Besides over 400 millions...

29 September 2007

Uganda: Bloggers respond to massive flooding

The top thing on many Ugandan bloggers' minds in the past two weeks has been the massive flooding across sub-Saharan Africa. The floods hit particularly hard in northern and eastern Uganda, where 250 people have died and up to 150,000 have been displaced.

29 September 2007

Arabeyes: Meet Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Egypt-based blogger Maryanne Stroud Gabbani started blogging in 2003 at the age of 54, after becoming frustrated with trying to answer people individually regarding how it was that she was so happy living in a place that the news said was so opposed to "western women". She figured that hopefully a blog would reach more people and give Egypt a human face and has never looked back since.

28 September 2007

Egypt: Ramadan Musings

It's fair to say the month of Ramadan provides a unique experience for all parties involved, the fasting followed by excessive eating, the excessive eating followed by excessive partying and the scathing eye of everyone around you, writes D B Shobrawy, who brings us the latest from Egyptian blogs this week.

28 September 2007

Japanese cameraman killed in Myanmar

During a demonstration on September 27, Japanese photojournalist Nagai Kenji was killed while reporting on the ongoing unrest in Myanmar. Initially, news reports were that Nagai had likely been struck...

28 September 2007

Ghana: Did God save the Akosombo Dam?

We start off this week’s review with Ghana’s electricity crisis, which started in August 2006, but has seen a considerable improvement almost a year later. Could it be because priests prayed for the Akosombo Dam to fill up?

28 September 2007

Myanmar: Internet Blocked

The follwing post is from a Burmese blogger who wishes to remain anonymous. There have been massive support from Myanmar bloggers for the current protest activities, and the whole Myanmar...

28 September 2007

Korea: Myanmar and Korea

How do Koreans think about the Myanmar situation? Interestingly, many bloggers strongly feel an attachment to this situation and link it to Korean history. The Myanmar situation reminded some bloggers...

28 September 2007

Myanmar: Soldiers back down in Mandalay

Monks continued their protests on Thursday, 27th September. The following post has links to the happenings on September 27, and eyewitness accounts and translated excerpts from Burmese blogs sent in by a Burmese blogger.

28 September 2007

China: Bloggers side with Burmese monks

Chinese government talk of non-intervention in the violent crushing of democracy protests this week in the Myanmar capital Yangon hasn't resonated much with a number of high-profile Chinese bloggers, with several taking the risk of openly joining the Red Shirt for Burma campaign and calling for their readers to do the same.

28 September 2007

Philippines: Corruption scandal reaches the presidential palace

A $330 million national broadband network deal between the Philippine government and ZTE firm from China. Critics describe the contract as overpriced, unnecessary and disadvantageous to the Philippines. Tales of bribery, corruption and harassment have surfaced which could implicate the First Family.

27 September 2007