Stories from 18 March 2011
Japan: YouTube to Reunite Earthquake Victims through Video
YouTube has opened the shousoku channel to help reunite people missing or lost after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan with their loved ones. In the channel, videos recorded at shelters show people inquiring for information of friends and family.
Nepal: No To Sri Lankan Political Refugees
Seven activists from Sri Lankan opposition parties applied for political refuge in Nepal but the Nepali government declined their requests. Bhumika Ghimire wonders whether Nepal should have acted differently.
Haiti: Aristide's Return “Something Big”?
Haitian bloggers discuss the return of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide on the eve of the country's controversial election run-off.
Bhutan: A Helping Hand For Japan
A Helping Hand is an initiative taken up by individuals, both Bhutanese and the Japanese community working and residing in Bhutan to build a platform for people from wall walks of life to help donate whatever they can for the earthquake and tsunami victims of Japan. More details are at...
Bangladesh: Negative News On Japan By Media
Shahjahan Siraj is disappointed with the Bangladeshi and Western media who reported mainly the negative news on Japan after the devastating earthquake and Tsunami.
Syria: Protests Across the Country, 6 Reported Killed in Dara'a
Syria is the latest country to join the wave of erupting protests across the Middle East. While previous calls for protests on 5 February failed, a renewed call to take to the streets on 15 March managed to bring several hundred people to the streets in multiple cities including the capital, Damascus, and Aleppo. Today, in the southern city of Dara'a, 6 protesters have reportedly been killed.
Cuba: No Affiliation
“I say am an independent citizen, a free electron, and that my political platform is limited to demanding the decriminalization of differences of opinion”: Still, Generation Y is acutely aware “that we are far from achieving these goals.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: ARC Interview
Repeating Islands interviews Holly Bynoe and Nadia Huggins about their new magazine “focusing on works by contemporary artists practicing in the Caribbean and its diaspora.”
Cuba: Refusing Exile
Uncommon Sense says that for newly-released political prisoners like Linares and Biscet who refused to accept forced exile as a condition of their freedom, “the dictatorship is reserving the right to return them to prison whenever it wants — a real concern considering their expressed interest in returning to their...
Libya: Gaddafi Calls For Ceasefire as No-Fly Zone Begins (Video)
Tweeps react to the Gaddafi government's call for a ceasefire in response to the UN Security Council-imposed no-fly zone over Libya. Some see the fact that fighting continues around the country as another one of Gaddafi's lies, while others see it as proof a no-fly zone won't work.
India: Blocking And Unblocking Of Typepad, Mobango, Clickatell And Other Sites
Medianama has updates on reports that some ISPs in India appeared to have blocked access to certain sites, including blogging site TypePad, bulk SMS site ClickATell.com, Mauj Telecom owned mobile apps site Mobango and others.
Africa: African food in the US
Khadidjha visits a Senegalese restaurant in Boston, USA: “I ordered Attieke which is a dish that is native to the country of Cote D’ivoire. Attieke is a dish make out of skinned and grounded cassava. The cassava is broken up to make it look like a grain. Its always eaten...
Nigeria: Monitoring Elections Using ReVoDa
Monitoring Nigerian General Elections (2011) using ReVoDa Mobile Apps: “ReVoDa allows voters to report as independent citizen observers from their respective Polling Units across Nigeria, having registered to map their mobile number, name and polling unit number to specific locations.”
Argentina: Controversy Over Mario Vargas Llosa Attending Book Fair
The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, has been invited to inaugurate the 37th International Book Fair in Buenos Aires. The invitation has sparked a debate among those who celebrate it and those who criticize the author's political stances and his recent comments related to Argentina.
South Sudan: On Vigilante Justice
Maggies blogs about vigilante justice in Juba, South Sudan: “In my experience as a Juba resident for the past year and a half, vigilante justice and citizen’s arrests, confused and often abusive and arbitrary policing, and a general lack of rule of law are par for the course in what...
South Africa: Black Queer South Africans Online
Free Gender is a blog by a group of 14 young Black Queer South Africans, living in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The group was started by Funeka Soldaat in 2008.
Tanzania: Getting honest about rural water supply
Tanzanians must get honest about rural water supply: “It's Maji [Water] Week, so a good time for some more analysis of key water supply issues. Several times this blog has presented arguments that the main challenges in rural water supply are political rather than technical or even administrative.”
Malawi: Fashion Police Blog
Fashion Police blog from Blantyre, Malawi: “Coz we do fashion on a budget in Blantyre, Malawi (however, some people need to be fined!)”
India: Furore In Parliament Over New Set Of Wikileaks
The latest round of India Cables from Wikileaks has led to a furore in the Indian Parliament with the opposition demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister. Netizens have been discussing them with much animation, their reactions ranging from disgust to sarcasm and even a bit of humor.
Lebanon: Is Politics a Social Media Taboo?
Are Lebanese bloggers politically apathetic? Bloggers react to a Global Voices article that claimed a rally organised by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Sunday 13 March was "snubbed" by bloggers.
Paraguay: Netizens Discuss Indigenous Issues on Facebook
Netizens share information and discuss indigenous issues in a Facebook group called “Por una vida digna para los indígenas del Paraguay” [es] (For a dignified life for the indigenous people of Paraguay), as journalist Sofía Masi reports in Despierta…Paraguay [es]
