Stories from 12 April 2008
Costa Rica: A Woman President
Costa Rican president Oscar Arias said that he would do everything possible so that a woman is his successor as the leader of the nation. Juan Carlos Hidalgo took his comment as Arias’ way of saying that he would like his Vice-President Laura Chinchilla to keep his party in office...
Russia: Ramzan Kadyrov's Motorcade
The video of what is described to be a motorcade of Chechnya's president Ramzan Kadyrov has been viewed over 100,000 times (plus, the clip has been re-posted by a number of other YouTube and RuTube users). Below are several bloggers' reactions to what they've seen.
Argentina: “New” Trains in Buenos Aires
TBA Me Mata [es] published a video on the “new trains” that have been bought from Spain as used trains and writes, “the tragic thing is that these trains – over there they are waste – they are in better condition than any of the traincars that we travel on...
Iran: Photos from bomb explosion
Erfan from Shiraz has published several photos from bomb explosion at a mosque in southern Iranian city Shiraz where at least 8 people were killed. The blogger said he was afraid of showing his camera and he took all photos by his mobile.Iranian government announced that explosion was not caused...
Iran: A bomb explodes at mosque
A bomb exploded during prayers Saturday at a mosque in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, killing at least eight people and wounding 66. Sayetanha,a blogger from Shiraz, says[Fa] there are many people who have been killed but the cleric of mosque did not get hurt.
Mozambique: The first established blogger in Tete
Carlos Serra, from Diários de um Sociólogo [Sociologists Diary, in Portuguese], introduces us to Muarramuasando[pt], written by Tomás Muarramuassa, who seems to be the first established blogger in the Mozambican region of Tete.
Iran:Detained Students May Face Torture
Sibiltala says[Fa] it seems that Iranian media outside Iran did not write about Human Rights Watch (HRW) recent report about four detained leftist students. HRW says “officials must investigate the reports of torture and punish anyone it finds responsible.”
Iran:No Olympic Torch for us
Razeno says[Fa] that 2008 Olympic Torch passes through many countries but not through Iran. The blogger adds even it passes through Pakistan where there is a lot of violence. Razeno is upset about isolated Iran in the world.
Iran:Videobloggers in action
According to Iran Inside Out,a project of Rising Voices,veteran Iranian videobloggers will partner with the Tehran-based Young Cinema Society to identify aspiring young filmmakers and teach them the skills to both produce short videos.
Brazil: Bloggers united against WordPress ban
The Brazilian blogosphere has not quite yet recovered from its last fright and there is already another threat on the way: a blanket ban on blogs hosted on Wordpress.com after a judicial court passed an order to close down a specific blog. Some bloggers are already campaigning just in case this comes true, while others stress that above all Brazil needs proper legislation (and knowledgeable legislators) to deal with the Internet and the new technologies issues.
El Salvador: Blogging for Justice in a Little Girl's Murder
Katya Miranda was young girl who was murdered in 1999 in El Salvador, in a crime of shocking depravity. All the charges against the suspects, who have ties with the military and police, were subsequently dismissed in legal proceedings widely criticized by human rights organizations. With the ninth anniversary of Katya's murder, Salvadoran bloggers are raising a call for justice to be done in this case.
Zizou from Djerba translates the Dalai Lama in Seattle
zizou from Djerba has volunteered to do live Arabic translation of the Dalai Lama's “compassion conference” in Seattle this week.
Zimbabwe: Questioning Mbeki's power
Hope is totally disappointed by the South African President, Thabo Mbeki: “Mbeki, after going to Harare to see Mugabe, says today that there is “no crisis”…I cannot believe I am so upset – again – because whenever I know Thabo Mbeki is about to meet to discuss anything to do...
Zimbabwe: Mugabe's rebel government
Robb discusses Mugabe's decision not to attend SADC meeting: “So when Zambian President Mwanawasa called for an emergency meeting of SADC in Lusaka today, Mugabe couldn't be bothered to attend. Instead he is sending his Foreign Minister. (Is he the Foreign Minister? Given that Mugabe is not the President, and...
Madagascar: Too much emphasis on the environment ?
Madagascar is arguably most renowned for its unique biodiversity. However, the focus on the environment is sometimes resented by Malagasies who think it diverts attention away from the hardships of the Malagasy people.
Indonesia: Fried fish cracker
Yohana's Culinary Journey relates how Indonesians love to eat any kind of crunchy fried fish cracker. The food item is called krupuk.
Vietnam: Street food
Miss Adventure in Vietnam samples the street food of Vietnam
Thailand: YouTube self-censored lese majeste protest clip
Self-censorship on YouTube is working well - silently. One of the silently banned clips can be viewed anywhere in the world, except Thailand.
Thailand: BBC reporter charged with Lèse Majesté
Thai police officer filed a criminal complaint seeking to have British journalist, Jonathan Head, of British Broadcasting Corporation charged for insulting Thailand's king
Southeast Asia: Rising price of rice
Rice is the staple food in Southeast Asia and in many parts of the world. Many people in Southeast Asia are worried over reports that rice is getting more expensive and supplies are dwindling. Bloggers discuss the impact of the rice crisis in the region.
Kuwait: A Ridiculous Mixture of Hail, Rain, Wind and Dust
Unusual for this time of the year, Kuwait was just hit by a 'semi-tornado,' which included "a ridiculous mixture of hail, rain, wind, dust, gusts" in the words of blogger Kuwaitism. Equipped with cells phones and digital cameras, the Kuwaiti blogopshere is full of stories reporting the unexpected weather which hit the country.
