Stories from 3 March 2010
Uganda: Hundreds feared dead in landslide
A mudslide in eastern Uganda Monday evening left at least 80 people dead and over 300 missing. The mudslide, triggered by a day of heavy rain, has buried three villages in Bududa district and displaced more than 2000 people from their homes.
Azerbaijan: Dusty City
ANTV, an online citizen media site co-founded by imprisoned video blogging youth activist Emin Milli and recently awarded for its contribution to freedom of the press in the region, posts a video report on the chaotic urban development in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.
Palestine: Outrage At Israeli Announcement About Ibrahimi Mosque
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently announced his government’s intention to designate Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, both in the occupied West Bank, as Jewish heritage sites. The statement has led to outrage amongst Palestinians. Mays Dagher tells us more in this post.
Maldives: Selling Arts Online
Hilath is starting a service in which Maldivian artists’ works will be displayed in his blog (in thumbnail pictures) and the bids will be updated regularly. When the artist is satisfied with a price – the artwork will go to the highest bidder.
Sri Lanka: Rebuilding The Country
Devanesan Nesiah at Groundviews asks: “can we in Sri Lanka not find ways to bridge our much more modest but yet widening ethnic divides?”
Famous Pakistani Diaspora Celebrities
Sabeen Ahmad at Divanee lists 10 Pakistani diaspora celebrities who are becoming far more visible in American and European media.
India: Influence On The World History
“The world often views India as a country with huge poverty.” But was it always like this? “From 1st Century AD till 1250 AD, India had the world’s largest GDP.” Sumanth at Desicritics gives a run down on India's influence on the world history and economy.
Colombia: Transportation Strike from Pedestrian Eyes
Citizen videos record the situation lived these past three days of city-wide transportation strike that has Bogota paralyzed. Citizens have resorted to walking, riding bicycles, hitchhiking and climbing into the backs of pickup trucks that will take them closer to their places of work.
Bangladesh: Salty Tears
Photo blogger and journalist Monirul Alam highlights the threat of salinity and lack of drinking water in the Southwest coastal region of Bangladesh with his photo-essay.
Uganda: Anti-Lord's Resistance Army in Oklahoma
What has Oklahoma Senator got to do with Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army?: It has now been more than 100 hours since a team of young U.S. activists, inspired to help stop the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa, descended on the Oklahoma City office of Senator Tom Coburn (R)...
Malawi: 15 annoying things in Malawi
Victor's list of 15 annoying things in Malawi: “The frequent power failures by the Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM). One ends up buying countless bundles of candles or if you can afford purchase and run a generator!”
Russia: “Merry Gnome” Medvedev. Story of the Meme
The Russian blogosphere can create a significant political effect threatening the image of Russian government officials. It doesn't even require an actual news story with a critical approach to the government.
D.R. of Congo: Gifts for a new minister
What do new ministers receive from friends and relations in the D.R of Congo?: “Instead of sending cards, the new minister’s better off friends and relatives have brought gifts. Some bring whisky or champagne, others bring live chickens and goats (five, to date).”
Russia: Political Portal Launches Government Blog Ranking
Polit.ru, independent portal on Russian politics, launched a government blog ranking “goslyudi.ru” [RUS] (govpeople) so people can have better access to the blogs of politicians and monitor the issues discussed on those blogs.
Guyana: Death of a Language
Repeating Islands notes that “Berbice Dutch, a Dutch Creole spoken in part of Guyana, has been declared officially extinct.”
Georgia: Social Innovation Camp in the Caucasus
A web site for the first ever Social Innovation Camp in the South Caucasus has been set up at http://sic-caucasus.net. The event, aimed at promoting the use of social media to implement actual projects for civil society and activists in the region, will be held as part of the Social...
Dominica: Pick Up A Book
“The book is not only the door to other wonderful world[s], but it is the best teacher, university and source of wisdom”: Dominica Weekly extolls the benefits of reading.
Japan: No More JANJAN
The website JANJAN, one of the pioneers of citizen journalism in Japan, has announced that they will go on hiatus for an undetermined period of time [ja] due to the changing landscape of citizen journalism and falling advertisement revenue. JANJAN, which stands for “Japan Alternative News for Justices and New...
Barbados: Zimbabwe Beats Windies
The West Indies cricket team loses a 20/20 match to Zimbabwe, prompting Barbados-based B.C. Pires to comment: “It seems like West Indies cricket has an infinite capacity to prove that you should never say, ‘It couldn't possibly get worse'”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Water Police
As Trinidad and Tobago's water authority announces that it “will be calling the police to arrest citizens” suspected of wasting water, This Beach Called Life says: “What WASA did not say was if the police was also going to arrest the WASA officials who refused to fix leaks over the...
Azerbaijan: Murdered journalist remembered
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines remembers Elmar Huseynov, an outspoken journalist in Azerbaijan who was murdered in 2005. The blog says that five years later the case remains unsolved.
