Stories from 2 February 2009
Bulgaria: Deaths in Police Custody
Maya's Corner writes about the recent deaths of two people in police custody: “In the 1990s, arrested people were regularly beaten by police and some of them died. Fortunately, as Bulgaria was (at least de jure) moving to the civilized world, this trend slowly but steadily declining. Now, we seem...
Ecuador: Blogging to Prevent Domestic Violence in Guayaquil
The municipal government of Guayaquil, Ecuador recently sponsored a blog contest open to new and existing bloggers around the theme “Home: A Safe Place?” The topic was chosen to give visibility to the problem of domestic violence and to help generate solutions to eradicate this problem in homes and communities. Here are some of the contest winners.
Thailand: Obama lookalike
Andrew Biggs was delighted to meet a student in Thailand who looks like U.S. president Barack Obama.
Turkey: Prime Minister Storms out of Davos Hearing
A funny thing happened at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off the stage after a verbal scuffle with Israeli President Shimon Peres. The initial incident stemmed from Prime Minister Erdogan not being allowed enough time to respond to Peres' comments on the current war in Gaza. Reactions from the Turkish blogosphere have been varied: some gave the Prime Minister a "hero's welcome" when he returned to the country, some wonder how this will effect Turkey's foreign and domestic policies, and some just think that it was bad behavior.
Bulgaria, U.S.: Sofia Mayor's Harvard Visit Cancelled
Veni Markovski writes about the cancellation of Sofia mayor's visit to John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard – here and here: “I feel relieved that my country will not be exposed by the rabidly gay-bashing Bulgarian politician!”
“Obama” gets a tummy ache while visiting Manila
A Philippine TV ad features the lookalikes of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and United States President Barack Obama. The star of the ad, Indonesia's Ilham Anas, is now a celebrity because of his "similarity" to Obama.
Caucasus: Creative Commons
The Creative Commons blog reports that significant progress has been made in adapting and translating the licensing system for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Supported by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, an online discussion on the three drafts is now open for all to join.
Serbia: Pescanik's Web Site Down, Radio Broadcast Disrupted, Editor's Car Destroyed
A few days ago, Serbian web site www.pescanik.net was hacked and the weekly radio broadcast of the same name was disrupted. Also, the car of Svetlana Lukic, one of two Pescanik's editors, was destroyed. Sinisa Boljanovic translates some of the reactions that have appeared in the Serbian blogosphere.
China: Shoe Hurled at Premier Wen Sparks Fury
A shoe is thrown at another leader, this time the Chinese Premier in Cambridge, Britain. Furious responses and condemnation were hurled back to the thrower, a word fight is going on on YouTube. But any news in domestic media in China? Sorry, it is harmonic to afford the unwelcome shoe.
India: Twitter Or Ushahidi, Which One Is Better?
Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics blog tries to find out which mobile citizen reporting tool will be better to cover the upcoming Indian elections – Twitter or Ushahidi?
Kuwait: A Grandfather's Wish
Kuwaiti Dr Naif Al Mutawa has a son. Read on to see what name his father picked for his newest grandson.
Libya: Lessons of a Dying Cat
From Libya, From the Rock mourns the death of her cat in this post.
Kuwait: UAE Snow a Wonder
q8life, from Kuwait, describes the recent snowfall in Ras Al Khaymah, UAE, as a “wonder of the 8th kind.”
Palestine: BBC Rally in Gaza
Moments in Gaza reports about a rally in Gaza against the BBC. “So … people are homeless, hungry and in hospitals all around Gaza. Asking for humanitarian help for them is…”biased” ? So much for bloody objectivity! What shame,” notes Gaza Moments.
Pakistan: Insurgency In Swat
Abdullah Saad provides an insight into the insurgency in Swat, an administrative district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Bailouts Begin
The global financial crisis hit home in the Caribbean last Friday when it was announced that regional giant CL Financial, a conglomerate that was reputedly responsible for creating as much as 25% of Trinidad and Tobago's GDP with interests ranging from life insurance to methanol production, was in crisis. As the government scrambled to save the day with a bailout, bloggers were already commenting on the potential impact of the massive financial faux pas...
Sri Lanka: An Open Letter To Hillary Clinton
Vinod Joseph at Desicritics writes an open letter to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Sri Lankan issue.
Egyptian Bloggers and Journalists in the Hot Seat
Egyptian blogger, Zeinobia wrote a series of posts about bloggers and journalists who are either behind bars, sued, or fined. Marwa Rakha takes a closer look at the situation in Egypt concerning bloggers and journalists.
Israel: Dealing with the Aftermath of Operation Cast Lead
After Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire and pulled out of Gaza, the fire is far from stopping. As Hamas is expected to accept the Egyptian negotiated terms for the year-long ceasefire today (Monday, February 2), bloggers are still discussing the many issues and topics around Israel's actions in Gaza.
Bangladesh: Blogging Chobi Mela V
Sabhanaz Rashid Diya at Meeting the Voices of Freedom blogs about Chobi Mela V, a revered international festival of photography currently taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
“Media as Global Diplomat” Summit – Join Webcast and Chat
UPDATE: LIVE CHAT IN SESSION NOW. An event on Tuesday morning in Washington D.C. (Tuesday evening Asia time) called "Media as Global Diplomat", organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace and ITVS, will explore "how the United States can best use media to reinvigorate its public diplomacy strategy and international influence in order to strengthen efforts to build a more peaceful world". Watch the live webcast and join a live chat with Global Voices bloggers.
