Stories from 9 June 2009
North Korea: Two American Journalists Sentenced to Hard Labor
News coming out of Pyongyang is not encouraging. After being accused of illegally crossing the border to North Korea, American Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. The bleak outcome is eliciting strong reaction online from those who support freedom of press and want North Korea to release the two journalists.
Nigeria: Wiwa v Shell: $15.5 million settlement
Sokari writes about Wiwa's case against Shell for human rights violation in Nigeria: “The case has been settled out of court with $10 million going to the 10 plaintiffs and $5 million being gifted to the Ogoni people.”
Africa: If it works in Africa, it will work anywhere
“If it works in Africa, it will work anywhere,” says White Africa in his post about Gmail Preview in Africa: “Google realized what slow connections were doing to people’s interaction with their email accounts. So, they sent in a team of engineers to work in cyber cafes in Ethiopia to...
South Africa: Amandla! News Diary to support community media
Brett writes about a new project to support community media in South Africa: “The Alternative Information Development Centre (AIDC) is working in partnership with the National Community Radio forum (NCRF) to produce a quarterly Amandla! News Diary. The Diary aims to support community media projects in South Africa…”
Pakistan: The Human Rights Commission Of Pakistan On IDPs
Teeth Mastro discusses about a recent report on the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan titled “A tragedy of errors and Cover-ups:The IDPs and outcome of military actions in FATA and Malakand Division”. The Human Rights Commission Of Pakistan published the report.
Bangladesh: Dharmarajika Monastery, Orphange and School in Dhaka
Uncultured.com helps the students of Dharmarajika Monastery, Orphange and School in Dhaka with geometry sets, school uniforms and course workbooks. Here is a photoblog describing the efforts.
Iran: ‘All copies of a journal were collected’
Golamhussein Karbaschi, a leading reformist campaigner in Iran's presidential election, twittered [fa] that all copies of Ettemad Meli, a reformist journal, were collected by the authorities because Mehdi Karoubi, a reformist candidate,accused President Ahmadinejad of being involved in financial scandals.
Caste Based Communities on Orkut Mirror India's Splintered Society
I have written before about Shiv Sena's militant approach towards Orkut communities critical of the party, its leader Bal Thakeray, or its Hindutva ideology. Caste-based communities on Orkut are another disturbing example of online communities mirroring the splintered nature of Indian society.
China: Green dam user comment
Rebecca MacKinnon from Rconversation followed up the WSJ story on China PC filter, Green Dam, and gave more background information about the application of the software locally. She also reminded that criticism on the filtering system should be consistent globally. ESWN translated user comments on the Green Dam.
Bahamas: War vs. Domestic Violence
“Bahamian women and children are fighting for their lives in a terrible ongoing war that mainstream culture calls domestic violence,” reports Womanish Words.
Cayman Islands: Native Tongue
Islas Bellas says “there has been a little bit of a debate going on and around about speaking English while in Cayman.”
Haiti: Fr. Jean-Juste Laid to Rest
“People were there from the USA, Canada, and all over the Caribbean – people of different religions and cultures”: Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre attends the funeral of Father Gerard Jean-Juste.
Cuba: Flamenco!
Havana Times blogs about flamenco dancing in Cuba.
Guyana: Respecting Your Elders
“Children and young adults have lost, for the most part, the sense of respect for their elders”: Guyanese blogger Imran Khan explains.
Iran: Ali Kalai, a blogger in jail
Ghomar Asheghaneh informs [fa] us that Ali Kalai, an Iranian blogger, has been in jail for one month in Tehran. He had already been jailed for the first time a few months ago for participating in a peaceful demonstration.
Iran:Ahmadinejad's blog was hacked
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's blog was hacked by one of Mir Hussein Mousavi's supporters. The hacker has published several ‘my vote is Mousavi’ slogan on Ahmadinejad's blog. Iranian Presidential election will be held on Friday and Mousavi is considered as Ahmadinejad's main challenger.
Iranian Election in Photos
The Iranian presidential election will be held on June 12. Only four men, out of more than 400 self-registered men and women, were given official approval by the Guardian Council for the candidacy. The sharp eyes of blogger-photographers have captured moments and scenes in the streets of Iran where people promote their favorite candidates.
Mexico: Mourning for the Children Who Died in Daycare Fire
Ana Maria Salazar is reporting from Hermosillo, Mexico where 43 children died in a fire at a day care facility. She writes about those who gathered at a mass to mourn this loss [es].She also asks, “how can this be avoided so that it won't happen again?”
Americas: Looking Forward to Central America Free Software Festival
The Central American Free Software Festival will take place on June 17-21 in Estelí, Nicaragua. This will be the first opportunity for many enthusiasts of open-source and free software from across Central America to come together to share experiences, promote their projects, establish common objectives, and to find ways to work together. The schedule of events include workshops, panels, and a “rapid-development” tournament for the creation of an application.
Global Voices Advocacy Wins Zemanta Blog Contest
Global Voices Advocacy won first prize in Zemanta's Blogging for a Cause competition today. More than 60 different websites were nominated, and the top 5 to receive the most votes from bloggers have each won $1200. Thanks for all the support!!
Peru: Teenage Web Programmer from Pisco
Juan Carlos Lujan of Sin Papel [es] profiles 19-year-old William Muro, a web programmer from Pisco, Peru, who is now making a living by designing applications for the iPhone.
