· September, 2009

Stories about Weblog from September, 2009

Serbia: The Death of a French Football Fan

Brice Taton, a 28-year-old French citizen and a fan of the Toulouse football team, was brutally beaten by fans of the Partizan football team in downtown Belgrade on Sept. 17, before the Partizan vs Toulouse game. He died in a Belgrade hospital on Sept. 29.

30 September 2009

Nepal: Towards A More Humane Dashain Festival

Nepal's biggest religious festival Dashain is celebrated all around the world by the Nepalese diaspora. This year's Dashain in Nepal was a bit controversial, with animal rights activists calling for an end to the tradition of animal sacrifice during the festival.

30 September 2009

China: When will the sunshine come?

Chinese officials will soon be required to report all their assets as part of an anti-corruption "Sunshine Act" of the Communist Party. But resistance so far has been significant, leading to much online public debate among Chinese citizens.

30 September 2009

India: Durga Puja: A Daughter Comes Visiting

The Durga Puja is an annual festival that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. Bengalis believe that Durga is the daughter of Bengal and during the 5 days of festivities she visits her parental home along with her 4 children and 2 close friends.

29 September 2009

Egypt: Another journalist to be deported

"Your name [is] on the computer." With those words Cairo-based Swedish journalist and blogger Per Bjorklund is being turned away from the Cairo Airport, where he landed a few hours ago. Egypt's bloggers are angry and speaking up against it.

29 September 2009

Middle East: Arabisk, Blog Competition and Debate

Newly launched Arabisk is an annual competition to select the best Arabic blogs. First welcomed by bloggers, Egyptian bloggers are now complaining that they have been sidelined from the contest. Here is round up of their reactions.

28 September 2009

Syria: First Bloggers’ Contest Winners Announced

The winners of the first Syrian blog contest have been announced. Many bloggers commended the initiative and hoped it becomes an annual event. However, a few of them expressed some criticism and frustrations, and offered suggestions to further develop the contest.

28 September 2009

Philippines: Helping flood victims through social media

A tropical storm hit many parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces in the Philippines last Saturday. Social networking sites were flooded with personal stories, photos and videos of the typhoon's aftermath. The stream of information soon became a “hub” for coordinating rescue and relief efforts for those who had access to the internet

28 September 2009

Israel: “Ajami” Reveals Nuanced Look at Israeli Society

The film "Ajami" was the big winner at last night's Ophir Prizes and will continue on to international audiences as Israel's foreign film nominee for the 2010 Academy Awards. Israeli bloggers comment on the film, which touches on coexistence between people of different religions.

27 September 2009

Philippines: Worst Flooding in 40 Years

Tropical Storm "Ondoy" hit the Philippines last Saturday triggering the worst flooding in 40 years which left 50 people dead and 280,000 residents displaced. Social media sites were maximized to share updates about the storm and to assist flood victims

27 September 2009