Stories from 9 May 2008
Peru: 200 Years of Lima Cemetery
The “Presbítero Maestro” cemetery in Lima celebrates its 200th anniversary and Javier Vargas of Deveritas [es] posts colorful photos about its “beautiful tombstones, mouments and mausoleums adorned with marble sculptures belonging to wealthy families and national heroes.”
Malaysia: Raja Petra Posts Bail
Detained Malaysian blogger Raja Petra has posted bail and is now at home.
China: Google Kingsoft Translation
William Long introduced the release of a new Chinese-English translation tool by Google and Kingsoft [zh]. Fons also writes about it at China Herald.
China: 12% Wage Raise Expected in Guangdong
Fons from China Herald quoted a report from market watch about the Guangdong government's plan to lift wages of all employees by 12 percent this year.
China: Violating Baby's Right to Play
Zheng Jingyan said that the national security police intimidated her neighbors and told them not to let their kids play with her baby. Zheng's husband, Hujia, was sentenced to 3.5 years earlier this year and Zheng is monitored.
Diaspora: Armenian Student Association Remembers Genocide
Unzipped features a guest blogger from the Armenian Student Association in California who reports on how Armenian-American university students remember the Armenian Genocide through art and performance.
Japan: Fujyoshi Sub-culture
Ben Ng notices that the Fujyoshi (female ontaku) sub-culture is on the rise in Japan.
Japan: Demographics
Ampontan blogs about government and private sector's plan for meeting the demographic challenge.
Japan and China: Hu's Visit
Japan Observer comments on Chinese President Hu Jintao's 5-day visit to Japan.
South Korea: Film Festival
Junni wrote a Korean film festival guide at Ohmynews.
Saudi Women Against Late Night Weddings
“Apparently many Saudi women believe that late night weddings are highly inconvenient, so they’re campaigning and holding workshops to try and change this tradition,” writes Bahraini blogger Esra'a, who argues that Saudi women should be rallying for other, more pressing issues.
Egypt: Disabling SMS Messages
“[T]here had been news circulating saying that the regime ordered the three mobile phone operators in Egypt either to cancel all the accounts with unregistered data especially in Mobinil and Vodafone or to close the SMS service for these accounts,” writes Zeinobia from Egypt.
Egypt: Increasing Gas Prices
From Egypt, My Life Thinking writes about increasing gas prices in his country.
Palestine: Israel Trainee Diplomats Internet Brief
“The Israeli government's Foreign Ministry is involved in efforts to influence public opinion on the Internet. Israel's Foreign Ministry orders Internet propagandists, so called ‘trainee diplomats,’ to skew online polls and public forums to conform with the Israeli line,” writes Window Into Palestine.
Egypt: You've Been Punk'd
Egyptian blogger Tarek says: “Egyptians, you've been punk'd,” following news that Egypt's parliament endorsed Monday a government bill to raise taxes and fuel prices less than a week after President Hosni Mubarak announced a 30 per cent salary increase for all government employees.
Morocco: Dutch Sweets Soon
Dutch sweets will soon be available in Morocco, according to 24 Oranges.
