25 October 2009

Stories from 25 October 2009

Morocco: A Lenient Sentence

In September, we learned about Zineb Chtit, the young Moroccan girl who was severely beaten while working as a maid. Last week, it was announced that Zineb's attacker Nawal Houmin, the wife of the couple who had hired her, was to be punished for the crime with a sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a $13,000 fine. Jillian C. York shares reactions from the blogoma.

25 October 2009

Lebanon Ups the Ante in the Hummus War

As many as 300 Lebanese chefs gathered yesterday in Beirut to make the largest ever plate of hummus in an attempt to claim the reigns in ownership of the popular chick pea dip. The new world record is part of an ongoing campaign in Lebanon to reaffirm the country's claim to a number of dishes being produced in Israel - with the ownership of hummus being one of the main quarrels.

25 October 2009

Uruguay: Following Tabaré Vásquez

Uruguay's election is scheduled for October 25 and Juan Cruz Díaz of Americas Quarterly [es] wonders who will lead the country after outgoing President Tabaré Vásquez, who Díaz writes “was...

25 October 2009

Thailand: Local elections

Andy links to two blog posts which provide commentaries on local elections in Thailand. The first post highlights the prevalence of vote buying in communities while the other post sees...

25 October 2009

Myanmar: Gay slang

Writing for New Mandala, Violet Cho and Dave Gilbert observe that “Gay people in Burma are resisting homophobia and marginalisation through the creative use of new communication codes.”

25 October 2009

Jordan: Serious about +18

Jordanian Ola Eliwat, from Cinnamon Zone, notes:'Seriously, when you receive an email titled “+18″, does anyone in his right mind seriously believe that someone who's under 18 will go, “Oh,...

25 October 2009

China: Relics of the Old Summer Palace

Back in the news again is Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, whose destruction still remains a sensitive topic in China. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it was later sacked by British...

25 October 2009