Stories from 28 April 2009
Thailand: Southern militants launch attacks
Eleven attacks by separatists in southern Thailand were launched last Sunday. A blogger criticizes the lack of in-depth coverage by the local media
Indonesian minister thinks swine flu could be man-made
Indonesian Heath Minister Siti Fadilah Supari thinks it is possible that the swine flu could be man-made “to boost pharmaceutical companies’ profits.”
Cambodia: Road accidents
Road and traffic accidents have been increasing in Cambodia, especially in the capital city of Phnom Penh.
India: Showing The Middle Finger
Über Desi reports that according to “a new ruling by The Election Commission of India, voting officials in certain polling stations are now marking middle fingers with the purple ink, instead of index fingers.” This has sent vibes across many bloggers who are trying to analyze what the voters are...
Nepal: Politics of Energy
Nepali Perspectives comments on the failed power supply deal between India and Nepal: “Nepal’s.. interest will be best served by ensuring energy security and being self reliant in the matters of energy – from our own water resource.”
Fiji: New rule creates thousands of retirees
A recent government decree in Fiji orders all civil servants 55 years and older must retire Thursday, April 30. The new rules affect any person working within Fiji’s government, police force and prisons service. Previously, those workers would be employed until turning 60.
India: A Peek Into The Young Voters
Kamla Bhatt profiles an young voter from Trivandrum, Kerala to understand who the young voters of the Indian elections 2009 are and what are their issues.
India: Analysis Of Elections 2009 – Phase 2
Offstumped Campaign for Elections 2009 provides an analysis of the second phase of the Indian elections 2009.
Egypt: Stigmatized by AIDS
A group of Egyptian bloggers and independent media personalities are putting their hands together in support of the “Openness” initiative, which aims at anti-stigmatizing AIDS patients, and calls for integrating them in the society instead of alienating them further by educating people on how to deal with them to avoid getting infected, reports Marwa Rakha.
Egypt: Wandering Internet Trolls
Wandering Scarab posted an interesting note on the four types of Internet trolls: “creatures that wander into forums and blogs, with malicious intent to generally interrupt online discussions by flinging their excrement everywhere, and inciting others into responding emotionally.”
Indian Elections 2009: God and Country
The ongoing elections in India have exposed deep fractures in the country's religious landscape. Blogs are buzzing with allegations and counter allegations of religious persecutions in the land where you can find devotee of every major religion in the world. Persecution of Christians is a hot topic among Indian and foreign...
Egypt: Interviewing a Baha'i Assailant
Egyptian blogger Ibn Rushd interviewed one of the Baha'i assailants. Marwa Rakha translates the interview, in which the assailant admits to his role in the burning of six homes belonging to Baha'i families in the village of Shoraneya, from Arabic.
Armenia: Joke of the Day
Unzipped says joke of the day in Armenia is news that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) are now calling themselves an opposition political party. Having left the ruling coalition government yesterday in protest at talk of possible reconciliation between estranged neighbors Armenia and Turkey, the blog says that...
Caribbean: When Pigs Fly?
The idiom "when pigs fly" is not a popular one in the Caribbean these days as regional bloggers, like the rest of the world, keep a close eye on the Swine Flu threat.
The News of Bantu Mwaura's death shocks Kenyan bloggers
The news of Bantu Mwaura’s death have caught many with absolute shock. Bantu Mwaura, an award winning Kenyan performing artist, director, playwright, storyteller, poet and university lecturer is dead.
Morocco: AIDS, Money and Sex Toys
Morocco has a reputation of tolerance, and although this is mainly a young and fairly open society there are still instances of prejudices suffered by people infected with HIV/AIDS, and the stigma attached to the disease, writes Hisham, as his country marked a nationwide day of campaigning, information and screening on April 25.
Cuba: Right to Travel
“Hasn’t it been said already—by enough voices—that the requirement for permission to leave and enter Cuba has to be repealed?”: Generation Y wants to know “What more has to happen to stop them from hijacking this right from us?”
Bermuda, Turks & Caicos: Better Representation
Vexed Bermoothes is disappointed in his Premier's performance at the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas: “I wish he had stuck to working for Bermudians’ benefit rather than playing cheerleader for the discredited TCI administration.”
Trinidad & Tobago: What's Happening?
Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is not pleased with recent developments in his home country: “Have criminals become so hardened that they wage war on children now?”
St. Lucia: The Heat is On
Repeating Islands reports that the race for the prestigious position of the Oxford Professor of Poetry has become “decidedly unpoetic”.
St. Lucia: Ideas on the Strike
As members of the civil service take strike action in St. Lucia, Sun Rain Or… says: “It would be a welcome change is if St. Lucians found the time and impetus not to go back to inaction in between this and the next crisis.”
