13 November 2009

Stories from 13 November 2009

Cambodia: Journalist charged with defamation

  13 November 2009

Ros Sokhet, a journalist well known in Cambodia for his contribution to the English language media, was arrested on October 30th and charged with defamation. The arrest generated a debate on alleged corruption in the media industry

Egypt: Celebrities sans Diplomacy

  13 November 2009

Bikya Masr reported two stories a couple of days apart about celebrity blunders and lack of tact. Beyonce was targeted in the first and Salma Hayek spoke out in the second. Marwa Rahka has the story.

Morocco: Aicha Ech Chenna Wins Opus Prize

  13 November 2009

In Morocco, women who get pregnant out of wedlock are often shunned from their communities. Activist and social worker Aicha Ech Chenna has been working for almost 25 years to help such mothers and their children. Now, her efforts are being rewarded.

Trinidad & Tobago: “Axe the Tax”!

  13 November 2009

From Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life clears the air on “the not-so-new property tax that has angered homeowners into an angry fireball. Citizens, despite cursing and more cursing, were about to resign themselves to paying the much higher property tax when, out of nowhere, a flagpole appeared.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Art or Ego?

  13 November 2009

“One thing that seems to me to distinguish good governance from bad is an understanding that cities and countries are built on communities, not on buildings”: Club Soda and Salt comments on Trinidad and Tobago's “latest white elephant”.

Liberia: Too Late for Flowers

  13 November 2009

Too Late for Flowers is a short story by Liberian writer Saah Millimono: “Theresa was in her seventies, lean, gray-headed, with a wrinkled face and almost toothless mouth when I moved into her house as a tenant. She had suffered a stroke that left her right leg crippled and her...

Liberia: From guns to notebooks

  13 November 2009

From bullets and guns to notebooks and pens in Liberia: “Waking up in the morning…with my uniforms…on my way to school, sitting in the classroom taking notes – is something that I really like doing every day.” These are of words of Matthew Jacobs, a former child soldier who fought...

Qatar: No one is above the law – really?

  13 November 2009

Doha bloggers bemused, incredulous and wistful by official remarks that no one in Qatar is above the law. A debate over the merits of that statement quickly evolves into a discussion on press freedom, as more clamor for a new law press law, free from any imprisonment penalties against journalists.

Egypt: One day before playing Algeria

  13 November 2009

Tension is building up over the decisive football match between Egypt and Algeria due to take place in Cairo on November 14. The encounter will determine which of the two teams will qualify to next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Some Egyptian bloggers enjoy a game with a twist.

Japan: I want my husband dead

  13 November 2009

Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英樹)comments on the topic of the week: the bizarre results of the predictive search function of some Japanese search engines. “If you enter the word otto (夫, husband) in the Google search bar, and then press space, a few phrases are shown. But at the head of the...

India: The State Of Mumbai Airport

  13 November 2009

“Mumbai airport has to be the worst that exists in any major city in the world. With two runways that crisscross each other, arrivals and departures are severely constrained,” comments Rajesh Jain at Emergic.

Japan: A message to Tatsuya Ichihashi

  13 November 2009

Naoki Motoyama (本山直樹), guest professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture, addresses [ja] a post to Tatsuya Ichihashi (市橋達也), the alleged murderer of Lindsay Hawker captured on Tuesday after having been on the run for almost two years. The blogger, who used to belong to the same karate club at Chiba School...

Japan: Hitler's “Mein Kampf”, the manga version

  13 November 2009

After more than 80 years since its first publication, Hitler's Mein Kampf has become a Manga comic. The 190 page volume, which sold some 45,000 copies in the first printing, tells in a very simple way the story of Adolf Hitler, from his childhood to his rise as the leader...