Stories from 4 April 2008
Armenia: Diary of an Opposition Activist
After a reader sent Unzipped the scanned pages of a diary written during the recent opposition protests in Yerevan by French-Armenian Karabakh war veteran Sargis Hatspanian, the Armenaker Kamilion posts the first installment of an English translation.
Angola: Celebrating the peace anniversary
In a post called ‘Peace’, PValente [pt] celebrates peace in Angola after the end of the civil war, in 04/04/2002, and publishes his pictures of the commemorative T-shirt to “mark the 6th anniversary of the day of peace and national reconciliation in Angola.”
B-razi-loggers Rage and Roll Against ISO Approval of Microsoft Standard
April fool's day this year has brought a bitter taste to the Brazilian open source community. The announcement of the approval of Microsoft's Open XML Format (OOXML) as an ISO/IEC International Standard was, at first, seen as some kind of joke. After all, OOXML had lost a vote on its...
Qatar: US Military Aircrafts Crash Lands
Emgee at Qatar Living links to an Al Jazeera story which says: “A US military aircraft has crash landed at the al-Udeid military base in Qatar. The B1 bomber reportedly suffered technical difficulties and exploded as it attempted to land at the base about 35km from the capital Doha late...
Iran:Prostitues’ Photos
Sibiltala remembers Kaveh Golestan, a leading Iranian photographer, who was killed at the age of 51 as a result of stepping on a landmine in Iraq in 2003. The blogger likes[Fa] Kaveh's photos from Iranian prostitues before Islamic Revolution.
Mexico: Emo Youth Become Targets of Attacks
Across Mexico, youth part of an "emo" culture have been the targets of attacks by groups, who may have been incited by a popular television personality. The easily identifiable youth may have been targeted due to their dress, taste in music or other stereotypes. Local bloggers have provided coverage from the very first incidents, pro-active protests, and other reactions.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: MLK 40 years Later
Jamaican blog Abeng News Magazine honours Martin Luther King by sharing people's recollections of April 4, 1968, while Something Extra remembers when Dr. King visited Jamaica.
Suriname, Guyana: Plane Crash Kills 19
Airline World says that 20 are feared dead in a plane crash in Suriname, while Guyana Providence Stadium links to a mainstream media report on the tragedy.
Iran:Shia News was filtered
Bahraini says[Fa] that Iranian Shia News site ( a center for Shiite news) was filtered by authorities and nobody explained any reason for this action.The blogger adds the site's managers decided to stop their activities. Watch some photos of Shia News inauguration day.
Sri Lanka: Politics and the Village
Perceptions explains the dynamics of politics and power at the village level in Sri Lanka.
India: Media and the Politicians
Sacred Media Cow on media management tactics of politicians in India.
Pakistan: Films and Diplomacy
Changing Up Pakistan! on the film diplomacy in the subcontinent between India and Pakistan.
Nepal: No alcohol during elections!
United We Blog! reports that the sale of alcohol has been banned in Kathmandu during the election period.
Bangladesh: A role model for youth
Unheard Voices asks if Dr Yunus is a good role model for the youth in Bangladesh.
Kuwait: Do Opposites Really Attract?
Big Pearls from Kuwait asks: “Do opposites really attract?”
Iraq: Women's Rights Slipping
Hayder Kamal, at Alive in Baghdad, interviews an activist for women’s rights who discusses her work improving women’s knowledge of their rights.
Egypt: Shobrawy's Notes on Fitna
Egyptian D B Shobrawy discusses his views on the 15-minute movie, Fitna.
UAE: The World's First Self-Making Bed
UAE blogger Fahad Al Mahmood introduces us to the world's first ‘self-making’ bed.
Jordan: Married Men
“Somehow, the fact that a guy got married, and got a kid makes him suddenly a guru, and on anything and everything, including things that are in your area of expertise,” writes Jordanian Qwaider about married men.
Somalia: Mapping pirate activities
White Africa writes about a map showing pirate activities in Somalia: “UNOSAT has released the following map of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia in 2007. Fascinating map.”
Zimbabwe: Senate seat results
Senate seat results in Zimbabwe: “Well, here’s the first batch of Senate seats announced by the ZEC. It’s more of the same ZEC strategy: information being tortuously drip-fed with results being released in neck and neck stages. We know, from David Coltart’s website, that he has not only won his...