Stories from 23 July 2010
Pakistan: Girls Harassed on Cell Phones
Mohammad Yusha at Chowrangi talks about a new menace in Pakistan – girls are being harassed on cell phones and an website listed cellphone numbers of some girls to aid that.
Indian Media – Misusing its freedom?
Rinaya, one of the winners of the “Indian Media – Misusing its freedom?” blog contest comments in her winning post: “The media needs to be self-regulatory & humanitarian in its approach to the way it treats news. Only then the concept of Free Press can be realized.”
Sri Lanka: Murali Became A Trending Topic In Twitter
Perambara reports that Sri Lankan star cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan became a trending topic in Twitter as Sri Lankan tweeps began congratulating the feat of claiming his 800th wicket in Test cricket on his retirement day.
Egypt: Liberals mourn the death of Dr. Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid
Dr. Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid, a prominent Egyptian scholar once accused of apostasy for his contemporary interpretation of Islam, has died on July 5, 2010. He was 66. Officials at the Cairo hospital where Abu Zeid had been receiving treatment for the past two weeks said he died Monday from a brain infection. Liberal Egyptian bloggers mourn his death.
Egypt: Niqab ban in France stirs controversy
The lower house of the Spanish Parliament is debating a proposal to prohibit the wearing of body-covering burqas and face-covering niqabs in all public spaces in Spain, and the French parliament just approved a ban on niqabs (face veils). Bloggers from across the Middle East react.
Haiti: How to Report
For foreign journalists wondering how to write about Haiti, Mediahacker has written a “handy guide”.
Lebanon: “Looks like Beirut” Award
Lebanon News: Under Rug Swept periodically awards the “Looks Like Beirut” Award “in recognition of the work done to keep the overused, worn-out, tired cliché “…looks like Beirut…” alive. It is awarded to Hull and East Riding here, a Weymouth resident here, and a resident of Strabane here.
Anguilla: role of ministers
“What is the function of a Minister in the Government of Anguilla?” asks Corruption-free Anguilla. “He is the policy maker, not the technician. He is the director of the play, not the actor on the stage.”
Trinidad and Tobago: sexy fashion
Artzpub. posts photos from an “over-sexy” street fashion show in Trinidad — part of the 2010 Erotic Art Week programme in Port of Spain — which was interrupted by the arrival of the police.
Haiti: heritage mission
Repeating Islands links to information about a recent World Heritage Centre mission to Haiti, aimed at helping conserve the country’s built heritage in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake.
Barbados: disillusioned by Crop Over
“Crop Over … is a festival which has morphed from a cultural expression of a people to a wukup, mash up, drink up party.” Barbados Underground says “culture” has been “squeezed out” of the national festival.
Jamaica: Sumfest report
Annie Paul reports on “Dancehall Night” at the 2010 Reggae Sumfest, which featured an appearance by the recently imprisoned performer Vybz Kartel, who “dressed as a prisoner complete with handcuffs which had to be unlocked before he could perform, a literal reference to his arrest and two-week detention by security...
Cuba: remembering Zapata Tamayo
Uncommon Sense argues that the recent release of Cuban dissidents was triggered by the death of activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo in early 2010, after a hunger strike. “Events of the past five months, culminating with the release of the 20 prisoners and the promised release of others, have proven that...
Cuba: Capitol stories
Generation Y writes that the historic Capitol building in Havana “has suffered the fate of the castigated” and hopes that it “will become — one day — the site of the Cuban parliament: a magnificent building that houses real debates.”
Death of the China Blog
Kaiser Kuo, Will Moss and Jeremy Goldkorn comment on the Chinese blog scene at Sinica podcast.
Taiwan: Foxconn and the shame of Taiwan
After 12 employees’ jump of buildings and one more jump in Chimei Innolux Corporation-a subsidiary company of Foxconn-on July 20, Chairman Terry (Tai-Ming) Gou was criticized by Taiwanese scholars as “the shame of Taiwan”, so he threatens to halt all investment in Taiwan. Blogger and book writer Kue-hsien Liao argues that...
Armenia: FrontlineSMS and health care for all
FrontlineSMS says that more than 50,000 alerts on health care service have been sent using its open source software by international development organization Oxfam. The post includes a video report.
China: Professional mourners
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated an article from the Beijing News on professional mourners who perform in funerals in Chongqing and Chengdu.
Brazil: How Could the Amazon Thrive in the 21st Century?
Lou Gold reacts to Andrew Revkin's post at the NY Times blog DotEarth on the future of the Amazon: “Can we really keep marketing the land, its products and services? Can the market really be the final arbiter? What are its limits? Perhaps only catastrophe can show them to us?...
Russia: Unknown People in Masks and Police Attack Environmentalists
From 20 to 40 young people in white masks attacked the camp of the defenders of the Khimki forest park [RUS], Igor Podgorny [RUS] and Novaya Gazeta [RUS] reported. The police intervention didn't help – instead several environmentalists and journalists were detained.
Russia: Anti-Religious Online Group Closed
“Antireligion” group in the social network “Vkontakte“, with more than 8000 members, had been closed and its content deleted, ru_antireligion reports [RUS]. Prosecutor's office, that was checking the group for extremism [RUS], recognized photos of t-shirts with slogans “Orthodoxy or Death” [EN] as “extremist” and obliged administration of “Vkontakte” to...
