Stories from 5 November 2008
Southeast Asia celebrates Obama’s victory
Southeast Asian bloggers are celebrating the victory of President-elect Barack Obama. In fact, Obama's election success has led many bloggers in the region to reflect about the need for change in their local politics.
Egypt: The Struggle to Wear Hijab on TV
Faith tackled the story published by BCC, about Ghada El-Tawil who recently returned to television, after she was sacked from her job as anchorwoman in the Egyptian National Television six years ago when she began wearing a headscarf or Hijab.
The Lusosphere for Obama
See how bloggers from Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and East Timor are celebrating Obama as the new US president, and how they hope his election will bring change to their own countries.
Mexico: Plane Crash Carrying Top Government Officials Leaves Doubts
On Tuesday evening, a small plane carrying 8 people including two important members of the Mexican government's fight against crime and drug-trafficking crashed into rush-hour traffic in a Chapultepec neighborhood and left at least 13 people dead. Due to the nature of the officials' work and the risk faced by government and security officials, many are wondering whether it was the work of drug cartels exacting their retaliation or whether it was an unfortunate accident.
Bhutan: Crowning of a new King
Cigay at Kuzu-Bhutan weblog writes a poem as a tribute to the coronation celebrations of the King Fifth Druk Gyalpo to be held tomorrow in Thimphu, Bhutan.
Nepal: Learning from US election
Kumar Paudel at Nepaleon writes on the US election: “Will Nepali leaders learn from this event? Do they have courage to accept their failures in election and congratulate the winners? I doubt. But, they need to learn.”
Jamaica: Farewell to the Dragon – Byron Lee
Despite earlier rumours of his death, Jamaica awoke this morning to the news of the passing of the legendary Byron Lee. Lee, bandleader of the Dragonaires, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies yesterday, November 4, 2008, after a two year battle with cancer. Although the news was...
Bangladesh: Cloud of uncertainty over election
An Ordinary Citizen writes on the steps of BNP, one of the major political party in Bangladesh to delay the impending parliament election: “BNP will make a unforgivable mistake if it does not join election.”
Egypt: Activist's Flickr Account Censored
Egyptian activists are screaming foul after Flickr resorted to 'censoring' their accounts on the photo sharing network. Two activists report that their accounts have been censored - and supporters are threatening to migrate to other services if the blackout continues. Nermeen Edrees reports from Cairo.
Obama and India
The election of Barack Obama was a keenly watched event in India. Obama appears to have been the choice for President for many bloggers in India. Here is an quick snapshot of the initial reactions from bloggers in India about the historical significance of Obama's election. Interestingly, an underlying theme...
Obama for Bangladesh
The US presidential election was closely watched by many nations in the world. Bangladesh was not far behind. In a recent post in Voices without Votes we see how Bangladeshi blogs engaged in cheering for Obama and McCain. What impact the victory of the US presidential elect senator Barack Obama...
Iraq: OBAMAAAAAAA!!!! woooohooooo. Wow!!!
So says Neurotic Iraqi Wife. Overall Iraqi blogs were positive toward president elect Obama, but not all bloggers were happy. Salam Adil rounds up Iraqi reactions to the American presidential election.
Paraguay: Violence Between Supporter Groups
A fan of the Paraguayan football club Sportivo Luqueño recently died at the hands of rival fans. Mabel Rehnfeldt of El Dedo en la Llaga [es] is placing the blame on the clubs’ management for looking the other way when dealing with supporter groups.
Azerbaijan: Good Morning, Mr. President
The View From Baku posts an account and video from the Hyatt Regency where the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan invited American citizens to watch the election returns from yesterday's presidential vote. The bloggers says the emotion was surprising and that many Azerbaijanis congratulated him on Barrack Obama's victory.
Costa Rica: Rise in Telemarketing Calls
Opinion 3ccv is fed up with the increasing number of “spam” telephone calls [es] being received at home. The majority are from travel agencies offering packages and from credit card companies.
Mexico: Dangers With Peseros
Daniel Manrique of Tome Chango Su Banana [es] writes about the some of the dangers of the public buses in Mexico City. “Peseros” have been involved in accidents, often due to inexperienced young drivers and writes, “why do they hire 18-year-olds with no experience and entrust them with the lives...
Egypt: Noha makes Egyptians angry!
On October 24, Noha made Egyptians proud when in an unprecedented case, sexual harasser Sherif Gommaa was sentenced to three years behind bars, hard labor, and was also ordered to pay 5,001 Egyptian pounds fine to Noha Roshdy Saleh for groping her in the street. Now she is making them angry. Marwa Rakha tells us why.
Egypt: ‘Obama's Win was Obvious’
It's official now, Obama is the 44th president of the United States, and for sure the Egyptian bloggers have mixed opinions about the new president of the world ... ehm ... USA, writes Tarek Amr, who reviews Egyptian blogs on last night's historic election results.
Israel: Is Obama good for Israel?
As America elects its next president, Israeli bloggers ponder which candidate is best for their country. Gilad Lotan reviews blogs in Hebrew and English for reactions.
Maldives: Change for good or for worse?
Footstep of dreamer from Maldives reacts to the news of Obama winning the US presidency: “2008 has definitely been a year of change..to the Maldives and to the world! But would it come as a good change?”
South Africa: Afrigator Launches AfriGreater
Africa's blog aggregator, Afrigator, launches AfriGreater: “Afrigator has partnered with Africa’s coolest T-shirt company, SpringLeap.com and we’re giving away five great t-shirts every month to you – our favourite African bloggers.”
