Stories from 2 April 2007
Tunisia: Dailymotion Censored April 1st
Tunisian blogger Astrubal writes[Fr]: “Tunisian blogs and sites have been censored, then those of civil society, then those of LEGITIMATE political parties, now the stupidity of Ben Ali's regime is attacking Dailymotion, one rare remaining space of freedom for Tunisians… Yesterday (April 1st), the Ben Ali dictatorship decided to behead...
Africa, France: Suing African Leaders for Embezzlement
Demain le Congo Brazzaville posts [Fr] a complaint lodged in the French accusing of embezzlement African leaders such as Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassoun Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville and Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso. The complaint acknowledges that a French judge cannot adjudicate on salaries of African dictators but emphasizes...
Caribbean: Rating the West Indies v Sri Lanka cricket match
Cricketwukup.com rates various aspects of Sunday's Cricket World Cup match between the West Indies and Sri Lanka. The highest marks go to the crowd, for “bravery in the face of the adversity”.
Cuba: Say no to Santana
Claudia4Libertad links to a petition requesting that Cuban-American music star Gloria Estefan reconsider having Carlos Santana appear as a guest artist on her tribute to Cuba album “90 Millas” on account of Santana's professed admiration of Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Guyana: Berbice River Dance
Andy Moonsammy posts a video mashup on YouTube mixing video from the show “Riverdance” with tassa drumming and Indo-Caribbean chutney music.
Guyana: Her mother's voice
Guyana-Gyal's mother's hoarse voice – the result of a foreign “taliban flu” – reminds Guyana-Gyal of the voices of the vendors on Water street who “don’t talk to one another. They shout.”
Vietnam: Countryside Wedding
Vietnamese God takes us to a friend's wedding in the Vietnamese countryside.
Thailand: Internet Usage Tax
Stuart Towns comments on the recently announced Internet usage tax in Thailand. “And it only gets worse: “In addition to the bandwidth tax, an extra usage tax of 490 Baht (US$14)will be levied on those using Bittorrents and surfing foreign language internet forums.” Unbelievable!” update: Thai blogger iteau exposes this...
Kazakhstan: Architecture Square
Leila Tanayeva reports on a new, ultra-moder construction project for Almaty's Republic Square.
Singapore: Anti Smoking Advert
Culture Shiok comments on the decision by the Singpore's health authorities to show an anti-smoking advert after 8 PM as some children found the advert too disturbing. “Airing the advertisement late at night may spare some children from having nightmares (Do Singapore youngsters go to bed that early?). We'll just...
Kyrgyzstan: April Fool's!
Tolkun Umaraliev reports on an April Fool's story that appeared in the Kyrgyz press.
Malaysia: Thinking Blogger Award
Yang-May Ooi writes about one of her readers tagging her as a “Thinking Blogger”. “I like the idea behind this award because it will make us all review the blogs we follow as readers, asking “Which one makes me think?” As bloggers, it challenges us to perhaps delve a bit...
Philippines: Culinary Adventure
Eating Asia visits Philippines to try out local food. The blogger has posted pictures and recipes of some of the dishes.
Kyrgyzstan: How Many Lives?
Sean Roberts says that Kyrgyzstan's president may have have staved off upcoming opposition protests against him, though he is not entirely out of the woods yet. Roberts says that eventually though, the president will run out of political lives.
Georgia: Stuffing the Goose
Steady State says that the president of Abkhazia, a de facto independent region in Georgia, is trying to attract ethnic Abkhaz who fled to Turkey a century ago to return. Though the largest ethnic group in Abhkazia, all other non-Abkhaz ethnic groups combined outnumber ethnic Abkhaz in the region.
Internet and Philippine elections
Statistics vary on the actual number of internet users in the Philippines. It may range from as low as nine million to a high number of thirty-five million users. This figure is enough to compel politicians to recognize the value of online campaigning. Many candidates who aspire to tap the...
Armenia: A1 Plus 5th Anniversary
Onnik Krikorian reports on the public events marking the fifth anniversary of the closure of A1 Plus, the only alternative voice in Armenia's broadcast media.
Afghanistan: Improving the Army
Afghan Warrior notes that re-enlistments in the Afghan National Army are very low, and says that the government should increase pay, replace old equipment, and provide housing for Afghanistan's troops.
Africa: women, where are thou?
Kenyan Pundit asks, “Women, where are thou?”: Several of my virtual and real buddies have received scholarships to attend TED Arusha. So far, all the receipients that I know are male…a trend similar to the Blogging Indaba last year… and I’m curious to know whether there are any women out...
Armenia: Dialysis Hurdles
The Armenian Odar reports on poor treatment for dialysis patients at a Yerevan hospital.
Colombia: Protesting Hunger
Voices are starting to rise up against malnutrition in Colombia. First Carlos Raúl van der Weyden Velásquez writes “we should not be surprised” after news leaked out about the the dozens of starving children who died in Western Chocó department. Adam Isacson describes a protest against hunger in the Colombian...
