Stories about Weblog from April, 2009
Venezuela: How Children Show Their Community Through Photography II
Children can often be the most vulnerable members of refugee communities. The group Ancla2 is working to provide more opportunities to these children through a photography and creative writing workshop in a community called El Nula along the Venezuelan-Colombian border teaching them how to appreciate the details of daily life and to communicate that through images and text.
China: A citizen campaign to reveal the forgotten dead
从车上下来的高举冲锋枪的警察高喊“把手举起来，原地不要动”这个只有大片中才有的场景让我有些不知所措。 The police rushing down from the car with a sub machine gun at hand shouted at me, ‘put your hands up, freeze!’ It was so astonishing a scene that...
China: Tracking swine flu on Twitter
Swine flu for China so far is a chance to reflect [zh] on how SARS was prevented from becoming a pandemic, and the steps being taken now in Mexico and...
Macedonia: Celebrating Sakura Becomes a Tradition
Sakura, the annual celebration of cherry blossoms through display of elements of Japanese culture, took place in Skopje, Macedonia, this weekend: somewhat later than last year, because the organizers did not want it to overlap with the Catholic and Orthodox Easter celebrations during the previous two weekends.
Brazil: Fly me to the moon with public money
Another scandal has taken the Brazilian blogosphere by storm – it has come to light that public money is being used to fund holidays abroad for parliament members and their family, friends and acquaintances. As bloggers report, it seems that an even bigger scheme to resell unused air ticket is to be exposed.
Qatar: Video of Unpaid Workers Sparks Debate
The harsh realities facing migrant workers in Qatar was at the centre of a discussion on Qatar Living after an Al Jazeera English report highlighted their plight recently. The video zooms in on the lives of construction workers, whose livelihood was impacted by the economic crisis, some of whom haven't be paid for up to four months.
Indian Elections '09: On the Black Money trail
Black money stashed away in overseas tax havens/secret Swiss bank accounts - is not a new topic in India. However, the very same topic is generating quite a bit of heat in the ongoing parliamentary Elections in India. The Indian blogosphere weighs on the issue.
Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free’ Money
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Japanese government is spending two trillion JPY for cash handouts to boost consumer spending. To put it simply, all Japanese citizens and those registered as residents will receive 12,000 JPY, or 20,000 JPY for those under 18 or over 65, once they've lodged their application forms.
Global Health: Swine Flu Threat Spreads Worldwide
Confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu, which was detected in Mexico earlier this month, have now been found in at least seven other countries around the world. The World Health Organization says that this outbreak constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern."
Ukraine: The Ruins and the Greed
LJ user sabeloff posts pictures of the ruined remains of a seaside young pioneer camp in Odesa and shares the recent history of the place - which, unfortunately, is a rather common sight in today's Ukraine.
South Asia: Coping With The Heat And The Rolling Blackouts
Heatwaves during this time of year is not uncommon for countries in South Asia. But the recent dry weather has kept sufficient rain away from the region keeping the mercury rising. And load shedding (rolling electricity blackouts) due to power crisis in several countries have made the lives of millions of people unbearable.
Fiji's expats create democratic movement
A group of ethnic Fijians living in Australia pledged support for Fiji’s return to democracy and called on Australia’s and New Zealand’s governments to apply more political and economic pressure to the new order of Frank Bainimarama. Members of the meeting also called on people of Fiji living elsewhere to help support the country’s political restoration.
Kyrgyzstan: Lame Ad Design Spurred Nationalist Debates
On April, 22, a deputy Askarbek Shadiev criticized the advertisement billboard of the Swiss Office for Cooperation [en] during the session of the faction “Ak Zhol” party. Deputy was outraged...
Madagascar : Transitional government is trampling on freedom of speech
A series of unfortunate decisions taken by the Andry TGV Rajoelina, High Authority for the Transition (HAT) government--the violent arrest of a protester and the shutdown or intimidation of radio stations and journalists--is seriously threatening freedom of speech in Madagascar.
World Book Day: Women's lives in the mirror of their men
Do women's lives paint themselves on- or against - the canvas "their" men provide them through the years ? A literary stroll gives us a bigger picture and takes us from Quebec, to France and finally, to some fascinating Algerian writers.
Ecuador: The Departure of a Television Anchor
In the middle of a tense election season in Ecuador and with the general elections scheduled for April 26, a popular television journalist was fired by the Ecuavisa [es] station....
Mexico: Concern Over Swine Flu Outbreak
Mexican health officials have become concerned with an outbreak of swine flu, which has caused the deaths of 68 in Mexico City, and another 1,000 have fallen ill. The outbreak prompted the closure of schools and the cancellation of many cultural events. On the streets of the capital, residents are taking precautions to avoid the virus and others are waiting to see if it spreads.
Brazil: Judges quarrel live on TV and scandalize the country
The live broadcast of a fight between two judges of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) has scandalized Brazilians and excited the blogosphere and social networks across the country.
Armenia: Debate over campaign promise overshadows 94th anniversary of WWI killings
Yesterday marked the 94th anniversary of the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. Bloggers react to a statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama marking the occasion, but which avoided directly referring to the WWI events as genocide.
Read Your Way Around the World: Book Challenge Roundup
In order to show our loyalty to traditional forms of writing, at the end of March the Global Voices team proposed a challenge around UNESCO Word Book Day. We have...
Fiji: Diplomatic maneuverings
Last April 20, members of United Nations Security Council called the abrogation of Fiji’s constitution and the firing of its judiciary a “step backwards” and declared the country should hold elections as soon as possible. A few of Fiji’s bloggers blasted the UN for issuing statements that produced no concrete results such as trade sanctions.
