Stories from 25 October 2008
Yemen: 40 People Killed in Torrential Rain Storm
More than 40 people have been killed and about 30 are missing in Yemen after torrential rain hit Hadhramout. Writing at Moments In Words From Hadhramout, Omar Barsawad brings us the story.
Peru: New Terrorist Attack by Shining Path Guerrillas
Silvio Rendón of Lapicero Digital [es] writes about the recent attack by Shining Path guerrillas against a military group in Vizcatán in the department of Huancavelica department that left 15 dead.
Turkey: Blogger.com Blocked
Blogger.com is now blocked in Turkey, announces TurkeyTalk. This follows the blocking of WordPress and YouTube, following court orders.
Malaysian Media Council: Double handcuffs or media freedom?
Amidst a number of recent journalistic blunders, Malaysia’s Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, announced that the government has full intention of establishing a national media policy, together with a regulatory body over Malaysian media. Syed Hamid said that that a policy is currently being drafted and also that the foundations...
Scenes from the Kuwait Stock Exchange
Mark, from Kuwait, shares those scenes from the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
Jordan: An Encounter with a Bisexual in Iran
Jordanian Rami Abdelrahman, who lives in Sweden, posts this fascinating post by a Swedish friend who travelled to Iran on a study visit and his encounter with a ‘bisexual’ tour guide.
Saudi Arabia: Funding Increased for Scholarships
Will students on government scholarships have their stipends increased? Ahmed Al Shumrani [Ar], from Saudi Arabia, hopes so.
Jordan: Dog Attacks Car
Dog attacks car? Karkoor from Jordan links to this story from Australia.
Egypt: Eye Opening Bahrain Visit
Alien Back [Ar], from Egypt, visited Bahrain and wrote his impressions here.
Jordan: Dubai Visa Problematic
From Jordan, Princess N writes about how frustrating it is to get a visit visa to Dubai.
Jordan: Rumours, Gap Year Foreign Students, and Body of Lies
From an innocent murmur to a devastating consequence on the life of an innocent girl, see how rumours can destroy lives in Jordan in this round up of Jordanian blogs by Mohammad Azraq, which also discusses foreign gap year students in Amman and the latest big screen hit Body of Lies.
Japan: You call that “art”?
Blogger aiki_tachibana, in a post entitled “Don't call that ‘art'!” [ja], reacts to news about a controversial art performance in Hiroshima on Oct. 21st. According to reports [ja], a group of artists calling themselves “Chim←Pom” (チン←ポム) chartered a plane to fly through the sky and draw in smoke the characters...
Israel: Desiring the Druze
Anglo-Arab blogger Doshka has decided that Druze men are ‘hot': “In Israel, they are quite possibly all first cousins because they can neither marry out of the sect, nor can outsiders convert to the Druze faith – meaning they have a very, very narrow gene pool. It's a very, very...
Palestine: No security
In Gaza, Sameh Habeeb talks to a young girl who witnessed her father and brothers being beaten by Israeli soldiers: “In all cultures the father of the family represents safety and security to the family. The Israeli soldiers routinely rob Palestinian fathers of their role.”
Saudi Arabia: Creating a modern mix
Saudi blogger Hala wonders about Canadian activist Irshad Manji, who is lesbian, feminist, and Muslim: “Some choose to create a modern mix of their original values and their new ones, thus reaching a comfort zone that can enable them to access both societies with agreeable levels, but how far can...
Korea: US$100bn Package for Stabilizing the Market
South Korea's government has agreed to guarantee foreign-currency borrowing by the country's banks to help stabilize financial markets. The announcement doesn’t bring positive views from netizens. The netizens also have different interpretations. 불과 금요일까지만 해도 정부의 은행지급보증은 일말의 가능성에 불과했다. 유럽에서 너도 나도 지급보증 들어가서 지급보증이 멍멍이 짖는 소리처럼 들리는...
Southeast Asia: Film entries to the Oscars
Bisean lists the film entries of Southeast Asian countries to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars.
Malaysia: Era of contaminated food
After the China milk scandal, Jewelle notes that in Malaysia some popular food brands are also allegedly contaminated. Are we living in the era of contaminated food?
Working in Brunei
What are some of the advantages of working in Brunei: “peace, no income tax, heavily subsidized petrol price, excellent education facilities for the kids and one of the lowest inflation rate in the region.”
Philippines: 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit
Congratulations to the organizers and participants of the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit in General Santos City. Mindanao is the Philippines’ second biggest island.
Bali bombers to be executed next month
Three Indonesian men will be executed next month over the 2002 Bali bombings. Early this month, a cleric accused the CIA of being behind the bombings.
