26 March 2011

Stories from 26 March 2011

India: Arms Yes, Bread No

  26 March 2011

Dheera Sujan at South Asia Wired comments on the news that India has become the world’s largest arms importer: “yes arms by all means, more arms. So we can have a few more millionaires and a few million more poor people.”

Pakistan: License To Kill

  26 March 2011

Talkhaba interviews Robert Anderson, an ex-undercover CIA operative, who opines that “the release of Davis in my opinion is just a green light for more killings and assassinations by the US government and the CIA in your country.”

Bhutan: A Blog On Arts And Poetry

  26 March 2011

Aurora at Writers Association of Bhutan introduces Bhutan Artography, a site dedicated to providing a platform to aspiring Bhutanese artists and photographers. Aurora is a female ethnic Bhutanese writer and a photographer who blogs at WordsWorthMillions.

Syria: Egyptian-American Tweep Accused of Spying

Egyptian-American Twitter user Muhammed Radwan (@battuta) was arrested in Syria and paraded on Syrian Television as a spy who is accused of allegedly visiting "Israel in secret and confessed to receiving money from abroad in exchange for sending photos and videos about Syria." His arrest is expected to unleash the wrath of the Egyptian cyberspace against the Assad regime.

Argentina: 35 Years After the Coup d'état

  26 March 2011

35 years after the coup d'état in Argentina, on March 24, 1976, various activities took place across the country. Argentinean bloggers reacted to the fact that the day is now a national holiday, and shared their thoughts and feelings about what the day means for the country.

Kenya: Zingua Kingozi: Political Search Engine

  26 March 2011

Zindua Kiongozi is a political search engine in Kenya: “Aspiring politicians-young and old- now have a platform from which they can shape their message to an online audience of supporters. Kenyan citizens in turn have a location to which they can turn their curiosity and inquisition.”

Libya: Where is Eman Al Obeidy?

"Where is Eman Al Obeidy?" has become a pressing question, after a distraught Libyan woman burst into a Tripoli hotel full of foreign journalists, telling then that scars and bruises on her face and body has been inflicted by 15 Muammar Gaddafi's militia, who arrested her at a checkpoint for two days, where they gang raped her.

Myanmar: Post-Earthquake Stories from Aid Workers

  26 March 2011

Myanmar is still reeling from a 6.8 earthquake which hit the country two days ago. Our Myanmar-based author translates interviews and stories of residents and aid workers who witnessed the extent of the quake damage in northeast Myanmar

Syria: Protesters Demolish Symbols of Regime

In Syria, the faces of President Bashar al-Assad and his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, are regularly seen on billboards, buildings, and in the form of statues. Visitors to the country are often surprised by the prevalence of such images, while Syrians have grown used to them as a daily feature of life. Yesterday, a number of videos surfaced in which protesters tear down the symbols of the regime: posters and statues of the ruling family.

Puerto Rico: 2010 Census figures

  26 March 2011

Doctoral student and blogger Deepak Lamba-Nieves is starting to analyze the latest release of 2010 Census figures for Puerto Rico:  “Although the main story has been the population loss registered from 2000 to 2010 in the island as a whole (- 2.2%), the municipal-level figures provide a more complex landscape...

Puerto Rico: Unique traditions

  26 March 2011

The team of #EnProfundo have posted their 41st podcast titled: “Unique and Innovative Traditions” [es]. They talk about a recently launched political candidate, the earthquake in Japan, and a new culinary product in Puerto Rico, among other topics.

Brazil: The Cost of Financing Culture

  26 March 2011

Recent news that the Brazilian Ministry of Culture has authorized famous singer Maria Bethânia to raise R$ 1.3 million tax free (Brazilian reais - approximately US$ 777,000) to create a poetry blog, has aroused the anger of bloggers, Twitter users and other cultural activists.

Brazil: Critical Mass, a month later

  26 March 2011

One month after “a reckless madman ran over a group of cyclists in Porto Alegre”, during the Critical Mass event, Brazilian blogger and journalist Cristina Rodrigues writes [pt] about some concrete developments in the city, as a result of the social movement that has been created.

Libya: Gaddafi's Crimes Mount in Misrata

Amid the stories of destruction and the mounting death toll, Libyan netizens are waking up this morning to news of a liberated Zintan and the pushing back of Gaddafi's forces from Ajdabiya. Meanwhile, the world continues to watch as more evidence of horror and atrocities come out from Misrata, which was continuously pounded throughout the night by Gaddafi's forces.