30 May 2009

Stories from 30 May 2009

Iran: YouTube, Broadway music and the Election

Campaigners in the Iranian elections have used YouTube in different ways to promote their favorite candidate or discredit their opponents. Four candidates will be on the ballot for the presidency on June 12, including the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

30 May 2009

East Timor: Thoughts on Abortion A Few Days Before Law Approval

A heated debate about the provisions of a new draft penal code pertaining to abortion is taking place right now in East Timor. If the law is passed, abortion will become a crime and those who perform it will be punished with 2 to 8 years imprisonment, even in cases of incest or rape. The blogosphere reacts, Timorese women raising their voices and questioning why the more pressing issue of underage prostitution is not being debated instead.

30 May 2009

Afghanistan: Aid Money Used Badly

Colla reviews the first report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which noted that the military command overseeing $15bn in US military aid cannot be...

30 May 2009

Mongolia: Wiretapping to be discussed

Bilguun informs the readers that the Mongolian Parliament is to discuss possible changes to the Communications law, which includes legalizing wiretapping of mobile communication for law enforcement purposes.

30 May 2009

Kazakhstan: Special Report by BNE

Elina Galperin reviews the special report on Kazakhstan, which is especially interesting right now as the country is closely tied to world markets and is therefore struggling.

30 May 2009

Egypt: Cairo Refugee Film Festival

Integrating refugees in society is the aim of a film festival with a difference. Marwa Rakha learns about the Cairo Refugee Film Festival, being held from June 16 to 20 from the event's blog through a fellow blogger, and shares her findings in this post.

30 May 2009

Jordan: King Goes Undercover

Jordan's King Abdullah visited the Health Ministry's Patients’ Affairs Department in disguise to see what services were being offered to citizens seeking treatment. Naseem Tarawnah jots down his thoughts on...

30 May 2009