Stories from 13 February 2009
India: The Pink Underwear Resistance
In some parts of India, celebrating Valentine's Day could be considered harmful to women's and couple's health, as Morality Police decide to hunt down couples and women that may be holding hands or in pubs. The Pink Chaddi campaign is a step towards demonstrating that women can and will take matters into their own hands to make sure the situation changes.
Bangladesh: Books By Bloggers
The history of Bangla blogging is relatively short. It was December 2005 when the first Bangla blogging platform was born. But soon more platforms came up and open source development in Bangla input systems eased Bangla computing across the globe and brought more people in blogging. The most encouraging aspect...
India: The Satyam Fraud
Sans Serif comments: “It is remarkable how easily an even larger media circus has allowed ‘India’s Biggest Corporate Fraud’ to slip into ‘India’s Biggest Coverup’ in one month flat.”
Mexico: New Phishing Scam Through Email
A new phishing scam is making its rounds through many Mexicans’ email accounts and Zacateks [es] warns readers what to look for.
Mexico: Cartel Violence Affecting Phoenix
The drug cartel violence in Mexico is affecting the city of Phoenix, Arizona, which is now the world city with the second most kidnappings. Latina Lista writes that the US government should move to address the situation in Mexico.
Egypt: Bloggers Rally Against Sexual Predators
Sexual harassment makes the headlines of Egyptian blogs once again after a blogger was harassed on the street by a group of young men, high on hash. Marwa Rakha reviews reactions from the blogs, who are urging the blogger not to drop charges and fight for the rights of women and children attacked by sexual predators.
Iran: A letter to the Baha’i community
ZaneIrani writes that a group of academics, writers, artists, journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world wrote a letter to the Baha’i community to say that they are ashamed of 150 years of oppression against Baha'is in Iran.
Guatemala: Open-Source Software Saturdays
Open-Source Software Saturdays is an initiative in Guatemala to help with the preparations for the Software Installation Festival across Latin America planned for April 25 writes G10 [es].
Sri Lanka: Tamil Politics
Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews discusses the future of Tamil politics: “Tamil political discourse has to rediscover the heritage of Tamil progressivism.”
Bangladesh: International Telecom Policy
Rohan Samarajiva at LIRNEasia comments on the failing international telecom policy of Bangladesh, “illegal termination could not be controlled without bringing down international termination rates.”
China: CCTV under fire
On the night of February 9, part of China Central Television (CCTV) Tower caught fire when a squad was shooting fireworks to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The fire has reportedly killed one fireman, injured seven other people, and destroyed billions of yuan in broadcast facilities. Speculators have widely noticed the...
Azerbaijan: Plouffe donates speaker's fee
Following the recent controversy surrounding a visit by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe to Azerbaijan, Blogger Interrupted says that his $50,000 speaking fee has been donated to the National Democratic Institute.
Nigeria: Giving poets a space in national discussion
An initiative in Nigeria to give poets a role in national dialogue: Infocentrix Concept Publishing, ICP is set out to give voice to poets to participate in National discussion.
Nigeria: Coach Annoys Super Eagles Fans
Why are Super Eagle's fans annoyed with their national team coach Amodu Shuaibu? Nigeria’s Football Fans Blog has the details.
New Zimbabwe Has Arrived, But…
MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in Wednesday as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in a historic move to establish a government of national unity after years of political, economic and social crises. The swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to pave way for the revival of the economy and bring about rule of law and genuine democratic changes. Following this historic move, we decided to look at the voices, analyses and mood of Zimbabweans in the blogosphere.
Chile: Bachelet's Visit to Cuba
Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has planned a trip to Cuba to improve relations after 37 years. La Pollera [es] writes about some of the criticism that has headed her way because of that decision.
Japan: Google Japan and PayPerPost
Motohiko Tokuriki at Tokuriki.com posts a long discussion [ja] of the recent PayPerPost incident at Google Japan. Tokuriki writes that while he does not agree with the PayPerPost approach, there is nonetheless a distinction to be made between the PayPerPost strategy in which funding is openly acknowledged, and the strategy...
Kyrgyzstan: The internet cha-cha-cha
The Kyrgyzstan NGO community is going to fight legislators’ efforts at regulating the internet on the joint conference, reports Elena.
Kazakhstan: Legislative reforms ahead of OSCE chairmanship
Arman reports on the most recent developments in the legislative background of the Kazakhstani political system.
Kazakhstan: Nationalisation, devaluation and what next?
Ben reports that the Kazakh government first took over majority shares in BTA and Alliance Bank via its holding company Samruk-Kazyna and then proceeded to devalue the tenge by around 20%.
Kazakhstan: Opposition Insists on Government’s Resignation
Adam Kesher informs the readers that the opposition in Kazakhstan calls recent economic measures of the authorities “inadequate” and repeatedly urges for resignation of the government.
