Stories from 20 May 2009
Madagascar: Protester Freed, Journalists Demonstrate Against Censorship
The Malagasy online community was relieved to hear the news that Razily, a protester who was arrested in late March, was seen in public and he seems well and about. While much is still unknown about the circumstances of Razily's release, many bloggers hope that this event signifies the beginning of a return to normalcy with respect to the conduct of the country's security forces.
India: Election Analysis
Law and Other Things posts some contrasting interpretation of the results of the recently concluded parliamentary elections in India.
Bangladesh: WiMax And Internet Service
ME, Myself, and My Country discusses about the latest developments in the WiMax and Internet services in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka: Concern For The IDPs
Musings from Toronto comments: “Whether the pro-LTTE diaspora's fear of the Sri Lankan Government is ludicrous or otherwise; their concern for the displaced civilians is certainly one I support.”
Maldives: The First Free Parliamentary Election
The Maldives has witnessed significant political changes in the last five years: introduction of political parties in 2005; ratification of an amended constitution in August 2008; and the first multi-party election held in October 2008 which brought a democratic government. Hence, the parliamentary election held on May 9 was crucial as the new parliament will be entrusted with the task of passing key laws that will be a milestone in the country’s transition to democracy.
Bhutan: The Net Generation
Dorji Wangchuk was surprised to see TV and internet savvy Bhutanese kids doing well in international knowledge in a quiz competition but lacking knowledge of their country's culture and history.
Malawi: Bingu wa Mutharika Leading
Bingu wa Mutharika is leading in the presidential election in Malawi: “Partial Electoral Commission (EC) results announced at 10:30am today show Bingu wa Mutharika, presidential candidate for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the May 19 elections, leading against hottest contender John Tembo.”
Zambia: Support a Zambian filmmaker in an online film contest
Support a Zambian filmmaker in an online film contest: “Zambian filmmaker Chansa Tembo has been named a finalist in the U.S. Embassy’s inaugural Democracy Video Challenge online film contest. Mr. Tembo will compete with two other African filmmakers for the chance to win an all-expenses trip to Washington, DC, New...
Jordan: The Pope's Visit to the Middle East
Jordanian Ali Dahmash assesses the Pope's visit to the Middle East in this post.
Saudi Arabia: Tweetup Planned for June 4
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is gearing up for its second Tweetup, which aims to bring together people located in the Saudi capital who use Twitter to socialise and meet face to face. The segregated event, will be held on June 4, from 8.30pm to 10pm. More details are available here.
Cuba: Blossoming Blogosphere
“A lot has changed in the ‘Made in Cuba’ blogosphere,” reports Generation Y, for whom there is “no greater happiness than to see the rise of so many plural, different and free spaces.”
Dominica: Brain Drain
“When are we going to realize that knowledge is a wealth-creating asset to our country’s development?”: Dominica Weekly is concerned about the island's brain drain.
Jamaica: Big Money?
“It is a sign of the times, showing how Jamaica’s economy is suffering, devalued you could say”: Jamaica Salt says that the country's new 5,000 dollar bank note is “not much to celebrate”.
Cuba, U.S.A.: In Solidarity
Blog for Cuba and El Cafe Cubano support Cuba Solidarity Day.
Jamaica: Thief!
“Some police, no wonder why the crime rate in Jamaica is so high. When you call them you can't get an answer and when they do finally arrive…they are basically of no use”: Stunner recounts the details of an attempted robbery.
Guyana: R.I.P.
“An era has quietly passed and hardly anyone has paid any notice”: Imran Khan pays his last respects to the Guyanese tradition of broadcasting death announcements.
Zambia: HIV discrimination trial postponed
The HIV discrimination case that was going to be live-blogged from the High Court in Zambia has been postponed: “So the judge has spoken and postponed the trial until 15 July 2009. She says that she doesn’t have any dates available until then. This is unfortunate given that both of...
Azerbaijan: Respect
Fighting windmills? Take a pill comments on the system of Hormet or “respect” in Azerbaijan. In a post which defines how corruption and connections work in the countries of the South Caucasus, the blog gives just one example of how a system meant to show respect to some means those...
Wrong definition of Lao in Webster's dictionary
According to Webster's dictionary, Laos is the “thai language of the Lao people.” This is wrong. Blogger JRM writes that Lao is the “official language of the country of Laos”
Indonesia: Army plane crash
An Indonesian army plane carrying more than 100 passengers crashed in East Java. Twitter user ari197 comments: “Indonesian soldier is dying not because of war but because of old device/weapons/planes/ships.”
Taiwan: Minister encounters protest at WHA
Some Taiwanese students protested against the Taiwanese Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) who is attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva. The students claimed he was selling out Taiwan by allowing the use of the designation Chinese Taipei at the WHA. The View from Taiwan looks at how the...
