23 November 2008

Stories from 23 November 2008

Japan: Falling Land Prices

The GLOCOM blog reports that land prices are falling across Japan, even in prime locations such as Otemachi and Ginza (Tokyo). The trend resembles the beginning of country's so-called “lost...

23 November 2008

Iran:”No blog action for Gaza”

Iranian FarsNews, a conservative and semi official site, reports[fa] that Iranian bloggers including Islamist ones, did not cover news about humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip.

23 November 2008

Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women

Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV (Ar). Marwa Rakha translates from Arabic.

23 November 2008

Palestine: No point in blogging?

Heba, a blogger in Gaza, has decided to call it a day: “Since I do realize that writing about the situation is not actually contributing to changing any of it...

23 November 2008

Jordan: List of controversial figures

From Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi to Libyan president Moammar Qaddafi to Hizbulla commander Hasan Nasrallah to Egyptian leader Jamal Abdil Nasser, Jordanian Hareega shares his list of the 10 most...

23 November 2008

Egypt: Shaaban Sings for Obama

Shaaban Abdel Rehim, the illiterate Egyptian singer whose songs are mainly about political and social issues, has released a new song about the new American President-Elect Barack Obama. Tarek Amr looks at the blogosphere's reactions to Abdel Rehim's newest hit.

23 November 2008

Venezuela: Following the Local Elections Online

Today Venezuela is taking part in elections for mayors and governors., which will paint the political map between States and Municipalities aligned with President Hugo Chávez or not. Venezuelan bloggers and twitter users are covering the election with the tag #23N and a campaign was launched to encourage people to vote and discuss the elections among their friends and family.

23 November 2008

Georgia: Junior Eurovision Success

Unzipped comments on this year's junior Eurovision international music competition and says that Georgia's win was well deserved. The blog notes that Russia gave full points to the country it...

23 November 2008

Madagascar: South Korean Land Deal Sparks Controversy

South Korea has just leased half of all the arable land in Madagascar according to the Financial Times. This has stirred quite a debate in the Malagasy blogosphere about land sovereignty and economic development. It is still unclear whether the land deal has actually been signed by both parties. Meanwhile, bloggers are arguing whether this sort of deal should be considered “neo-colonialism”.

23 November 2008

Armenia/Azerbaijan: Journalists Under Attack

Beaten in Armenia and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, journalists in the ex-Soviet South Caucasus know the price of freedom. Some of them are even fighting from prison cells, wrestling state persecution and challenging societal intolerance for dissent. Bloggers tell the story of free speech in the South Caucasus.

23 November 2008

Japan: Proud to be Okinawan

Superyuko at Nachikasanu Koiuta describes the first time she became aware of her Okinawan identity. 10 years ago, in Tokyo, where she came to live and to attend university, she...

23 November 2008

China: Deadly subway tunnel collapse – who to blame?

On 15, Nov, a 100-meters-long--50m-wide section of the subway tunnel under construction collapsed. The most serious subway accident ever in China claimed more than 21. But far more than that, the accident might imply more incoming tragedies, since the danger is not simply lurking in tunnels, steel rods, or under roadbeds, but deeply in our system.

23 November 2008