Stories from 4 August 2010
Armenia: Rock association or control?
Unzipped comments on a new “Rock Association” established by Armenia's blogging prime minister, Tigran Sargsyan. Although not doubting the genuine intentions of the senior official known for his love of the musical genre, the blog still concludes that the less than casual meeting didn't fit in with the spirit it...
Côte d’Ivoire: Former Olympique de Marseille Great Didier Wacouboué Passed Away
Twitter users les3points and Menilmuche are sadden by the passing of Ivorian football player and former great Olympique de Marseille defender Didier Wacouboué [Fr]. His rising career was interrupted when doctors detected a malfunction in his brain.
Pakistan: Gang Rape Of Nurse Causes Outrage
The gang rape of a trainee nurse by a medical officer at a government hospital has caused outrage in Pakistan. Bloggers discuss the need for better implementation of the work place harassment bill and demand actions to curb the increasing incidences of rape.
Sri Lanka: Profiting From Social Media Marketing
Rumbling Lankan discusses about the trend of social media marketing in Sri Lanka and how to profit from it.
Bangladesh: Bengali And Bangladeshi Nationalism
Dr Afsar Ali at Unheard Voices comments that “there is no contradiction between the Bengali and Bangladeshi nationalism as opposed to the pundits and the politicians wanted us to believe in.”
Bangladesh: The Future Of Religion Based Politics
An Ordinary Citizen discusses the future of religion based politics in Bangladesh in light of the Supreme Court verdict on the fifth amendment of the constitution, which reverted the country back to the 1972 secular constitution.
Sri Lanka: Western Media Bias Against Muslims
Dee at Ranting In Colombo comments on the bias of western media in portraying the Arab and Muslim world: “a head shawl doesn't mean you're conservative! There is a person underneath.”
Tweeting Kenya's Referendum 2010
Kenyans voted today in a referendum for a new constitution. Kenyan twitter users have been busy posting tweets related to the referendum using hashtags: #uchaguzi, #kenyadecides, #referendum and #kuweniserious.
Haiti: Preparing for Hurricanes
Wadner Pierre reports that “Gonaives, the third largest city in Haiti, is rushing to prepare for an expected highly active hurricane season.”
Puerto Rico: Condoning Corruption?
“My dad used to comment wryly, We're a ‘Don't confuse Me with the facts’ kind of people”: Gil the Jenius is convinced this is one reason that Puerto Ricans “are implicitly condoning corruption.”
Haiti: “President”?
“Hip-hop…is something of a pulpit…so it’s little wonder that…Haitian-American superstar Wyclef Jean, as a child of the Haitian diaspora [is] destined to return and lead his people out of bondage”: Dessalines’ Children and Repeating Islands blog about the singer's intention to run for the Haitian presidency.
Morocco: Fez Resident Wins UN Youth Award
A young man from Fez, Ilyas Bakouch, is the runner-up in the United Nations’ Millenium Development Goals’ World Summit Youth Awards, for his website, donativa.com, writes The View from Fez.
Cuba: No Smoking
Despite the fact that Generation Y is a non-smoker, she has been diagnosed with emphysema, prompting her to comment: “The resolution to protect those who don’t smoke is strict and very modern, but in practice it only worked for a couple of weeks…I feel like buying myself a dozen of...
Bolivia: Hacked Website of the Office of the Attorney General
The blogger from La Mala Palabra [es] notes that the website for the Bolivian Attorney General was hacked by a well-known Peruvian hacker, and regrets that the web security for government websites is still lacking.
Russia: Leader of Khimki Forest Defenders Detained
Yevgenia Chirikova, a civil rights activist and leader of the Khimki forest park defenders [EN] has been detained, infox.ru reported [EN]. More than 30 policemen came to detain her after she gave a press-conference in the Independent Press-Center.
Kenya's Referendum Live Updates
Kenyan citizens are voting today in a referendum on a new constitution. You can follow live updates on Kenyan websites and also get reports of incidents related to the referendum at uchaguzi.co.ke.
Russia: Violence, Drinks and Love on Airborne Forces Day
LJ user zyalt decided to take a walk with a photo camera around Gorky Park in Moscow on the Airborne Forces Day (August 3). Here is his photo report.
China: Aftershock – history or political allegory?
While the 2008 Sichuan earthquake has become a taboo in mainstream media because of the bean dregs school building construction scandal and the arrest of citizen investigator Tan Zhouren, the Tangshan Earthquake has been put on big screen on July 22, six days before the 34th anniversary of the biggest...
Philippines: Remembering the Abduction of Fr. Rudy Romano
A commemoration protest in the central Philippine city of Cebu leads In Between Columns to remember circumstances surrounding the abduction of human rights advocate Fr. Rudy Romano and fellow anti-dictatorship activist Levi Ybanez by military agents under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Philippines: Bloggers’ Insights on the Peasant Problem
Filipino bloggers joining a commercial tour to the mountain villages of the central Philippine Province of Cebu got a glimpse of the livelihood and insights into the problems confronting the peasants in the area.
Japan: Update on sumo scandal
Jake Adelstein reports [en] on the arrest of three yakuza members involved in the recent sumo scandal [en].
