Stories from 5 April 2008
Egypt Gears Up for a General Strike Sunday
An online campaign calling for a general strike across Egypt on Sunday has been gaining momentum, will thousands promising to stop work for the day in protest against low salaries and increasing prices. This prompted the government to issue a stern warning against those planning to take part in the event. Arrests have been reported in Cairo, with one blogger already detained Saturday, for his alleged role in calling for the strike.
Laos: Act of charity
Laotian Teacher reminds the public that “an act of charity is not just giving of things or monetary donations; it is also an act of caring for others with our...
Philippines: Politician's dilemma
Doralicious, a city councilor, is confused whether to publicly promote events through billboards. She said: “If I do not promote my events, people would say I am a useless councilor…But...
Singapore: Online street maps
Miyagi.sg notes the importance of maps and street directories today, especially given the rising prices of fuel.
Thailand: Credit cards
Thailand Crisis explains why credit cards are booming in Thailand.
Lebanon: Polygamy and the End of Empires
Jeha writes about different points of view to polygamy and small stuff that ends empires.
Lebanon: Teachers’ Strike
Lebanese teachers went on strike (April 3) to protest low wages, high cost of living and inflation, as reported by Sursock.
Lebanon: Mughnieh's Billboards
“We came up with a stencil of him so that people can remember him like they do Che Guevara,” said the “creative director” responsible for Mughnieh's billboard design, as quoted...
Lebanon: Hezbollah Since Mughnieh's Assassination
“Hizbullah members and people around the party are avid readers of Israeli politics and society,” states Bech in this analysis about Hezbollah since Mughnieh's Assassination.
Lebanon: Presidents’ Faces on Currency
Jamal's satire on which of the Lebanese presidents’ face should go on each of the Lebanese currency bills.
Free Speech Roundup: Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen
The Indonesian government has ordered the country’s internet service providers to block YouTube over “Fitna” the movie. In Saudi Arabia, the blog of the detained Saudi blogger Fouad Alfarhan was blocked, along with the Free Fouad website, which is dedicated to Alfarhan's case. In Turkey, a Turkish court banned access to Slide, the maker of social networking widgets, for “harboring pictures and articles that are considered to be insulting to Ataturk.”. And Yemen blocks Maktoob blogging platform cutting off Yemeni Internet users from the more than 46,960 blogs the service hosts.
Morocco: The salon
Nicole of Moving to Morocco shares a heartwarming firsthand story of Moroccan hospitality.
Morocco: The Case of Rachid Niny
Laila Lalami wonders why the case of Rachid Niny is receiving so little global attention.
Morocco: An Interview with Mohamed Ali Lagouader, Author
From Mohammédia, Morocco, aspiring author Mohamed Ali Lagouader has discovered the art of transcending borders and reaching out to an international audience through publishing his novels and poetry online. Jillian York catches up with Lagouader and speaks to him about his writing, reading and dreams in this interview.
Angola: Miss Landmine Crowned
Miss Landmine has been crowned: “Augusta Urica is the winner of Miss Landmine beauty pageant in Angola. The pageant was organized for survivors of landmine explosions in the country. Eighteen...
Zimbabwe: Anyone know someone with a truck?
As Zimbabweans face an uncertain future following the presidential and parliamentary elections last week, Harare has become the capital of rumours and jokes created to be spread virally using SMS. Comrade Fatso writes on his blog, "Anyone know someone with a truck? There's a guy wanting to move all his stuff from State House to Zvimba. The jokes spread as text messages refer to our aged dictator relocating to his rural home."
China: Taiwan election stirs mainland blogsphere
The 22 March presidential election in Taiwan has not only influenced the island, but also renderred an unexpected impact on mainland China ---- and it's a political one.
Egypt: Dictatorship for Dummies
Egyptian blogger Ahmad Sherif strikes back with a series of designs entitled Dictatorship for Dummies.
Israel: Israeli Startup Falsely Accused of Rigging Zimbabwe's Elections
On Friday, March 28th, an online newspaper called "Zimbabwe Online" published an article accusing Cogniview, an Israeli startup company, of helping Robert Mugabe rig the Zimbabwean elections. A lengthy response was published on Cogniview's blog, denouncing the story as blatantly false, and proposing a possible scenario of how their Open Source PDF converter was linked to Zimbabwe's elections, writes Gilad Lotan.
Armenia: Spring Didn't Come – Part 2
The Armenaker Kamilion posts the second installment of pages from a diary chronicling the recent opposition protests in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, written by French-Armenian Karabakh war veteran Sargis Hatspanian.
India: The Olympic Torch and Tibet
It seems like Tibet refuses to go away from people's mind. Tibet continues to be the dominant topic of conversation and is clearly gathering a lot of public support, especially...
