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July 5th, 2008

Colombia: Hostage Rescue Raises Concerns

Juliana Rincón Parra · 15:11

After the rescue dubbed as “perfect” by liberated former Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was rescued by the Colombian army on Wednesday July 2nd along with 14 other hostages being held captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for up to 10 years in some cases. The Colombian community has been voicing concerns about the repercussions the rescue might have, and what interests might have been behind it. 0 comments · »»

July 4th, 2008

Iran: Death Penalty for Blogging?

Hamid Tehrani · 14:14

lingua → pt · mk · fr · de · mg

On Wednesday, Iranian members of parliament voted to discuss a draft bill that seeks to "toughen punishment for disturbing mental security in society." The text of the bill would add, "establishing websites and weblogs promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy," to the list of crimes punishable by death. 5 comments · »»

Colombia: Íngrid Betancourt and Other Hostages Rescued

Carlos Raúl van der Weyden Velásquez · 07:59

lingua → es

Colombian bloggers praise the government for the military operation that rescued 15 hostages held by the FARC, all without a single shot being fired. This has proven to be yet another blow to the guerrilla group. Others analyze the media coverage provided to the event saying that Betancourt's rescue overshadowed the other 14 hostages. 5 comments · »»

July 3rd, 2008

Bahrain: Bloggers’ Code of Ethics Against Sectarianism

Ayesha Saldanha · 17:25

lingua → mk · ar

With the political divide in Bahrain usually framed in sectarian terms, blogger Mahmood Al Yousif has posted a code of ethics aimed at stopping the propagation of hate online. 0 comments · »»

July 2nd, 2008

Ukraine: Grassroots Activism

Veronica Khokhlova · 22:49

lingua → fr

Many Ukrainians, fed up with a culture of lawlessness that is flourishing in their country, are becoming increasingly involved in grassroots activism. One of the latest rallies - Velonayizd ("Bicycle Attack") - took place in Kyiv on June 21, when nearly 500 cyclists, bikers and pedestrians gathered in front of the municipal police headquarters for a Critical Mass-type event, prompted by the recent deaths of at least two cyclists and the authorities' failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. 2 comments · »»

Taiwan: Conflict over Diaoyutai Islands

Portnoy · 20:03

lingua → fr

On June 11, a Taiwanese recreational fishing boat United(聯合號) sank following a collision with a Japanese coastguard vessel 11km off the disputed Diaoyutai(釣魚台) (Japan: Senkaku) islands, an island chain simultaneously claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China. Passengers and crew on the sinking boat were picked up by Japan. Shortly after, ... 4 comments · »»

June 28th, 2008

Israel: Sarkozy Security Scare at Airport

Maya Norton · 10:22

lingua → es · fr · it

As French President Nicholas Sarkozy departed Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport, shots rang out. A quick assessment revealed that one of the Israeli members of Sarkozy's security detail had turned his weapon on himself, apparently committing suicide. The victim, whose name has not been revealed at his family's request, was in his ... 2 comments · »»

Kuwait: Video Games, Newspapers and Female Bloggers

Abdullatif AlOmar · 08:18

lingua → pt

Who should regulate the video gaming scene in Kuwait? This and many other questions are on the minds of Kuwaiti bloggers in this round up. Forzaq8 speaks of laws dealing with video games and who he thinks should regulate them. He writes: Politics shouldn’t interfere in games , i ... 0 comments · »»

Links about Politics

July 6th, 2008

Copydude comments on the US Missile Defence Shield, Poland and Lithuania.

Author Tom de Waal guest-blogs about changing Russian-Azeri relations at The Oil and the Glory as Russian President Medvedev heads for Baku.

Mmd Russia Blog draws attention to a recent report on the Krasnodar region and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

July 5th, 2008

Russian Cyberspace posts an update about a Russian blogger on trial and internet censorship.

Unzipped comments on recent statements made by newly-elected Russian president Dmitry Medvedev as well as the Council of Europe and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reaffirming the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The blog asks its readers somewhat rhetorically if the statements represent the failure of Armenian foreign policy.

July 4th, 2008

Anegdote reports that Croatia's Feral Tribune “is no more.”

Buffalo Expat writes about Ukraine's demographics, migrant labor and xenophobia.