Stories from 24 May 2007
Dubai: New Zoo
Dubai-based blogger Seabee is not holding his breath for a new zoo. “According to a report in Gulf News, we'll soon will be rid of Dubai's disgrace of a zoo. Dubai Municipality says work on the new one at Dubailand will start in as little as two months and it...
Syria: Spring Blooms
Syrian blogger Abd gives us a break from politics and posts photographs of some of his country's spring blooms here.
Syria: Lebanon is Boiling
Writing from Syria, Mustafa Hamido says: “Lebanon is boiling. It is the filed of all conflicts in the world. When US tried to prove its strength in the world after its clear defeat in Iraq went to Lebanon and has supported anti-Eastern powers which includes an important portion of Christian...
Qatar: Why Somalia isn't Iraq
Qatar-based blogger Abdurahman Warsame explains why Somalia isn't like Iraq. “There has been bomb attacks in Mogadishu since the city fell to the Transitional Government. A number of civilians were killed in various attacks, the prime minister Ali Ghedi and Mayor of Mogadishu, former warlord Mohamed Dheere, have both survived...
Palestine: Support Resisting Iraqis
Palestinian blogger The Cylinder encourages his readers to sign the Iraqi Oil Law petition. “Please help Iraqis who dare to resist!” writes the blogger.
Palestine: Don't Take Me for Granted
“One thing I can’t stand about people is those that take me for granted. They don’t take me seriously. They just look at me and just judge me on looks. That’s it! Those people are shallow and have no life. I got sick of it. Especially guys. They just don’t...
Morocco: Restoring Fez
Moroccan blogger Samir updates us about the latest restoration projects in Fez. “While many people are busy restoring old houses in the Fez Medina, there are other projects going on that are making an important contribution to the life of the people in the Medina,” he explains.
Kuwait: Summer School Costs
Sumi-Kuwait rants about the rising costs of summer schools. “I have always wanted to send my kids to the British School of Kuwait's (BSK) Summer Program. I assumed it would last the entire summer and be at least affordable. I just got off the phone with the operator at BSK...
Yemen: Censorship of tow opposition news websites
The Yemen's Ministry of Telecommunications has blocked access to tow opposition news websites (www.al-shoura.net and www.aleshteraki.net) because they are reporting about the humanitarian situation and the fighting in the northern province of Sa'ada between the army and Shia rebels. According to aid workers the clashes “led to the deaths of...
Arabeyes: Breast-Feeding Dilemma
Imagine having to breast feed your colleague at work - five times - to ensure that your relationship remains professional! This is the fatwa (religious edict) that had Arab and Muslim bloggers buzzing with excitement and anger this week. Read the rest of the article to see how some of the region's bloggers reacted to the ruling, which has since been withdrawn.
Darfur: The Reality, the Agenda & the Proposed Solution
Darfur, in the minds of different people, constitutes and means different things. This is due to the fact that we, the general public around the world are getting exposed to a tirade of conflicting views and information. As that continues, so will our polarization. Therefore, the long and seemingly endless...
Join the Debate on Darfur 10am (EST) TODAY!
Further to our earlier post, here's a quick update on the Reuters Newsmaker event on Darfur, which takes place in New York starting at 10am EST today. Our Sub-Saharan Africa editor Ndesanjo Macha will be live-blogging the event at his blog, Jikomboe, so you'll be able to follow the proceedings there. Reuters will be tossing to the GV team from time to time for questions and feedback, so please leave any comments you may have either on this post or on Ndesanjo's blog. In related news, Reuters Alertnet this morning released the results of its poll on the situation of Aid workers in Darfur (full coverage here).
Morocco: Muslims Making Headlines
“Muslims are making headlines yet again. The Pew Research Center has found that one in four American Muslims under the age of 30 think that suicide bombings can sometimes be justified as a means to defend Islam,” writes Christine Benlafquih in Arabisto. “With headlines focusing on this one aspect of...
Trinidad & Tobago: Soca Star Arrested
Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival and lifestyle reports on the arrest of soca singer Machel Montano following an incident that occurred outside Zen nightclub a few weeks ago.
Barbados: Rihanna and Tuk
As Gallimaufry celebrates fellow Barbadian Rihanna's accomplishment of being the first artiste ever to reach Number 1 on the UK singles charts solely on the basis of digital sales, she also takes a look at Tuk, a musical genre indigenous to Barbados.
Bahamas: Saving Nassau
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit has a few ideas about how to go about improving downtown Nassau and quotes Pat Rahming to emphasize the point: “…The need for thought about both the function and meaning of the downtown can't be overemphasized. That is where the legacy of the nation is...
Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Cozier on West Indies’ Performance
“At Lord’s, there was an unmistakable hint that old uncertainty had been replaced by new resolve.” West Indies Cricket Blog quotes cricket commentator Tony Cozier on the West Indies team's performance against England.
US Virgin Islands: Active Hurricane Season
News of St. John reports that the upcoming hurricane season is expected to be “more active than usual”.
China: Comparative Studies
Quifeng from bullog writes about the arrogant nature of comparative studies in China [zh]. For example in observing India, researchers like to explain the superior of Chinese developmental path over India.
Bangla Blogs: Breaking Taboos and a Debate
The Bangla blogging platform Bandh Bhanger Awaaj is buzzing with discussions, debates, memes and literatures. Hundreds of bloggers and thousands of readers are keeping this space lively. It is generating a lot of interest among the bloggers and readers with its variety of posts. Recently there was a wave of...
Taiwan and China: Chinese speech
ESWN translated a debate over a popular song called Chinese Speech by S.H.E. The song criticized by Liberty Times (pro-independent newspapers) for misleading and corrupting the next generation in Taiwan into thinking that they also use ‘Chinese speech.’
