Stories from 2 April 2011
Côte d'Ivoire: Who is in Control of RTI State Television?
Confusion surrounds the question of who is currently in control of the Radio Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), the Ivorian national television station.
India: Celebrating The Cricket World Cup Win
At the midnight of 2nd/3rd April 2011 many Indians are out on the streets of all the cities, towns and villages celebrating their team's winning of the Cricket World Cup 2011. Jaya Jha at Miles to go notices that the things that bring people together are mostly not the ones...
Pakistan: Resettling The Flood Affected
Chapati Mystery introduces the ‘Resettling the Indus’ project, which is an initiative of professionals from Pakistan dedicated to resettle the victims of last years devastating floods.
Bhutan: Memories Of Bangladesh
Dorji Wangchuk accompanied His Majesty the King of Bhutan on a tour to Bangladesh to attend its 40th Independence celebrations. The blogger shares his impressions on Bangladesh and the Bangladeshis.
Slovakia: The Roma People, “Livin’ On the Edge”
Tibor Blazko writes about the problems that Slovakia's Roma people are facing and translates some of the Slovak netizens' reactions to the news that an international NGO is planning to file a complaint with the European Commission regarding the country's failure to remove all forms of racial discrimination.
Sri Lanka: News Editor of Lankaenews Arrested
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka reports that Benett Rupasinghe, a senior Sri Lankan journalist and the News Editor of Lankaenews website, has been arrested on the 31st of March by Sri Lankan police. The office of the Lankaenews was burnt down last month by an “unknown group” of people.
Southeast Asia: Media Says Sorry Over ‘Insensitive’ Japan Posts
Singapore’s MediaCorp, Thailand’s The Nation, and Malaysia’s Berita Harian – all belonging to mainstream media in their respective countries – were forced to apologize to the public for publishing ‘insensitive’ articles about the Japan earthquake/tsunami disaster. Bloggers react
Japan: Plutonium, Our Reliable Friend
Professor Yuji Ankei posted on Youtube a rare version of the animated video called Mr. Pluto, our reliable friend – Story of plutonium (頼れる仲間プルト君——プルトニウム物語). The video, that was later withdrawn, was made in the 1990s by the Japanese Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation and “tries to convince younger...
Russia-Estonia: Renaming the Bronze Soldier
LJ user jurialhaz comments on [RUS] how Estonia has renamed the Tallinn Bronze Soldier monument – the object of the 2007 bilateral dispute with Russia – into “Monument to the soldiers of the Soviet army, who occupied Tallinn on 22 September 1944.”
Hungary: Speeding through new constitution
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum discusses why Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is speeding through with the adoption of a new constitution.
East Timor: Parliament to use Portuguese language
The East Timor Parliament announced that it will use the Portuguese language in plenary sessions at least once a month. A blogger reacts: “It would be like the Australian or United States or English legislatures publishing new laws in Japanese.”
Japan: Machine Civilization
Pinktentacle presented [en] the latest coreographed video by World Order, the performance group led by former martial artist Genki Sudo. The video is called Machine Civilization and is a message of hope for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. “The unprecedented disasters unfolding in Japan; earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear...
Japan: JPRI Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund
An Italian student at the University of San Francisco produced a video [ita, en] to help the victims of the Tohoku earthquake. In the video Caterina explains how to make donations through the JPRI Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
Burkina Faso: Mutinous Soldiers Ransack Mayor and Minister's Home
Grioo reports that the homes of the Chief of the army, the minister of interior and the mayor of Ouagadougou were pillaged by soldiers(fr) outraged at the condemnation of one of their own after the death of student Justin Zongo. The opposition is asking for Campaore to resign (fr) and Air France has...
Thailand: Songkran Festival website
The Thailand government has set up a website in preparation for the Songkran Festival 2011, a traditional New Year holiday in Thailand.
Indonesian Football Mired in Controversy
There is a leadership dispute in the Indonesian football association which has disappointed football players and fans. Netizens want leaders to settle the issue and focus instead on improving the quality of games for the benefit of the public.