Stories from 21 April 2008
Uzbekistan, Ukraine: Tashkent Blacksmith and His Children
A monument to an Uzbek family that adopted 15 children during WWII has recently been dismantled in Tashkent. Below is a Ukrainian blogger's moving story of how her father helped one of these adopted children find his biological family.
Lebanon: Valet Parking
Valet parking provides a luxury service and VIP treatment for customers. This is not so in Lebanon any more, where the practice has become so widespread that it is found even at fast food outlets and career fairs attended by young unemployed people, who are looking for jobs. Moussa Bashir looks into what bloggers are saying about the phenomena.
Egypt: Blogger Sharqawi Released
From Egypt, Hossam El Hamalawy announced the release of blogger Mohammed Al Sharqawi – but is concerned about the welfare of other detainees who have gone ‘missing.’ Sharqawi was arrested during the April 6 strike, which was a protest against inflation and which called for better wages for workers.
Egypt: Disappearing People
Michaelitoo compiles a post about Egyptians who have gone missing, for their religious and political beliefs, in this article Tarek Amr translates from Arabic.
Armenia: New Government?
Unzipped comments on the formation of a new government by recently elected president, Serge Sargsyan. After what was seen as a handover of power from his predecessor, the blog says that nothing much has changed and foresees a power struggle brewing between forces supporting the previous president and his successor.
Zimbabwe: Who wants to be the president of this country?
Township Vibes wonders who would want to become the president of Zimbabwe: “Today the Zimbabwean dollar is trading at $200 million to £1. Yes that's true, 200 million dollars for one British pound. Not at all surprising to most Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwean dollar as well as the whole economy has...
Nepal: Elections and after
Pickled Politics on the recently conducted elections in Nepal.
Bhutan: A changing map
Freedom in Bhutan on the changing face of Bhutan's map.
Sri Lanka: Rice crisis
groundviews on the roots of the rice crisis in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan: Held by the Taliban
CHUP! on Pakistan’s envoy to Afghanistan, Tariq Azzizudin being held hostage by the Taliban.
Paraguay: Ex-Bishop Becomes Next President
Paraguay went to the polls to elect its next president on April 20th. Gathering nearly 41% of the vote was the former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo. His victory ends a 61 year run by the Colorado party and the exit of outgoing president Nicanor Duarte, who will leave on August 15.
Kyrgyzstan: Time to Solve Problems
The first week of April started with the ambiguous opinions of Kyrgyz bloggers about the Marie Claire magazine article by American journalist Erin Finnerty with photography by Rena Effendi and the provocative headline “Kyrgyzstan: From Silk to Heroin” about the problems of women in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. For instance,...
Olympic torch relay in Southeast Asia
The Olympic Torch has landed in the Southeast Asian region. Bloggers describe how ordinary people, protesters, police forces, sports enthusiasts and politicians are reacting to the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the region.
Kenya/Nigeria/South Africa: Top Visited Sites
Collins highlights 10 most visited websites in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa: “Its interesting which sites are most visited by African surfers on the internet.One thing for certain though is that we are visiting more foreign based websites than local site!That is quite informative especially for investors in the Advertisement...
Egypt: Handcuffed Patients
From Egypt, Mostafa Hussein, who posts pictures of patients arrested in the Al Mahalla protests, tells us why handcuffing patients to beds is not a good practice.
Egypt: Food Prices More than Double
The price of main staples such as rice, bread, beans, onions and even vegetable oil have more than doubled since 2004 and in some cases quadrupled in only a few months in Egypt, writes D B Shobrawy.
Mozambique: Connecting to the mobile web
David writes connecting to the mobile web in Mozambique: “This morning I helped a Mozambican colleague get set up with Yahoo! Mail. He’s pretty hip on the mobile media side of his phone. He knows how to connect to the Internet and visit web pages. But setting him up with...
Bahrain: Can't Spell New York
Students at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in Bahrain cannot spell New York, complains Redbelt, who posts a picture to prove his point.
Egypt: Dairy Workers Stage Sit-In
Five hundred dairy factory workers staged a sit in and Hossam El Hamalawy from Egypt posts a picture here. The protesters are worried they would lose their jobs – after reporting to work after a month's paid leave – only to be told that they should take another two weeks...
South Africa: Webby Award for Thought Leader
“Thought Leader has been named an official honoree by the Webby Awards, alongside blogs by CNN, CBS News, The New Yorker, CNBC, The New York Times, TIME and the Observer Media Group. This puts Thought Leader in the top 15 political blogs in the world and the only blog in...
Egypt: Detainees Update
From Egypt, blogger Hossam El Hamalawy updates us on the conditions of those arrested in the recent Al Mahalla protests and clashes, over inflation and increasing salaries. They include bloggers, journalists and activists.
