Stories from 13 July 2008
Brazil: Digital Crimes Bill approved by the Senate
The Brazilian Senate approved this week its ‘Digital Crimes Bill’. Marcelo Träsel [pt] believes that the final version was slightly better than the original proposal: “For example, there won't be penalty increase by two thirds for libel, defamation and injury on the Internet. Some other terms were better defined, such...
Death Penalty for Malagasy Farmers over Land Dispute
Twenty one farmers from the locality of Ankorondrano-Analavory (90 km west of Antananarivo) were sentenced by the state because of a collective act of rebellion that stemmed from a dispute over land ownership. An online campaign for clemency for the farmers and conversations about the verdicts are taking place, keeping online forums users and blogs busy.
Angola: An unacceptable silence
Brazilian expatriate, Menina de Angola [Girl from Angola, pt] comments about two separate cases of rape committed against Brazilian women in Luanda and criticizes the silence surrounding the issue, which according to her hasn't triggered any action from police, media or community: “I always thought the Angolan society was sexist,...
Jordan: The Big Day!
Jordanian Qwaider is no longer single. Click here to see what he has to say about the Big Day!
Tunisia: Introducing Dahsha
Tunisian blogger Mohammed Marwan Meddah introduces us to Dahsha - an online encyclopaedia, which he describes as “one of the serious efforts to enrich Arab content on the internet.”
China: The Upside Down Commemorative Notes for Olympics
The People's Bank of China has issued a commemorative note with a face value of 10 Yuan to mark next month's Beijing Olympic Games. However, before most of the collectors had a chance to get it, a blogger named Naughty Lion pointed out a "mistake" in the backdrop of the special notes.
Peru: Success of National Strike in Doubt
A national strike took place on July 9 throughout Peru, which was organized by the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP for its initials in Spanish) and had rallied against Peruvian president Alan Garcia's economic policies. Both the striking groups and the government declared victory, but Peruvian bloggers say that the underlying issues that led to the protests still remain.
Armenia: Indian Students
Armenia Higher Education & Sciences comments on a meeting between the country's new president and the Indian Ambassador. The specialist education blog wonders if the two discussed any real issues, especially as the number of Indians studying in Armenia has steadily declined since 2006 when one student died after falling...
Armenia: Junior Eurovision
Unzipped comments on Armenia's entry into this year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The blogger says he is impressed by 12-year-old Monika Manucharova whose family is homeless, but concludes that the song is not the best.
Armenia: Genocide Literature
The Armenian Odar comments on a blog post dealing with literature on Genocide. In a second post, the same blog provides information on a book by a Turkish Human Rights Lawyer who discovered her Grandmother was actually Armenian and a survivor of the 1915 massacres in Ottoman Turkey.
Africa: Summer Reflections (Thoughts from Mothers)
With this article, Paula Odhiambo salutes all mothers in Africa and reflects on children's compassion and giving, talking about sex with children and announces the birth of a blogger's baby girl.
Doing business with the poor
The United Nations Development Program has released a new report on how businesses may include the global poor as potential customers–and how the global poor might benefit from collaborating more closely with businesses.
Vietnam: Street vendors
Street vendors were banned from Hanoi's thoroughfares. But noodlepie observes the order had little impact as shown by some of the images in flickr.
Thailand: Minister resigns over Preah Vihear
Thailand's foreign minister has resigned over the ownership issue of the Preah Vihear temple, which is also being claimed by Cambodia. chut/bloc discussed further its political implications.
Brunei: Pencilnose campaign
Brunei blogger and GV author Maurina invites everyone to join the pencilnosing campaign.
Singapore: Audio books
priscilla's world who is based in Singapore shares her fondness for audio books
Singapore: Babies and economic choice
Having another baby should be more than just an economic and monetary issue, insists Lucian from Singapore.
Singapore: Destroy a landmark to build a train station?
Yuhui rejects the decision of the Singapore government to demolish a historic building so that it can build a new train station.
Memorizing Quran and Hadist competition
The Indonesian government in association with the Saudi government will hold an Asean Musabaqah Hifdzil Quran wal Hadist/MHQH (Memorizing Quran and Hadist competition) this month.
Peru: Digital Rights Management Enforcement
Francisco Canaza of Apuntes Peruanos [es] is surprised by the authorization for the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies through a legislative decree from the Peruvian government and which will make it illegal to manufacture modified components for video games, for example.
Summer Early in Kuwait
With the mercury increasing as the summer sets in in Kuwait, bloggers are busy looking for distractions this summer vacation. Among them is Zdistrict, who goes on a trip to Kubbar Island. He writes: This was a bit of a hot weekend and going to Kubbar didn’t seem like a...
