2 February 2009

Stories from 2 February 2009

Bulgaria: Deaths in Police Custody

  2 February 2009

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

  2 February 2009

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.

Turkey: Prime Minister Storms out of Davos Hearing

  2 February 2009

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.

“Obama” gets a tummy ache while visiting Manila

  2 February 2009

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

  2 February 2009

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.

China: Shoe Hurled at Premier Wen Sparks Fury

  2 February 2009

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.

Palestine: BBC Rally in Gaza

  2 February 2009

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

  2 February 2009

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

  2 February 2009

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...

Bangladesh: Blogging Chobi Mela V

  2 February 2009

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

  2 February 2009

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.