Global Quickies: Free Speech, Witchdoctors, and Nepalese Women Conquering Summits
SAUDI ARABIA
The second round of lashes for Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger convicted of blasphemy, has been postponed on medical grounds. Also, authorities publicly beheaded a woman in the holy city of Mecca.
TURKEY
Court orders ban on accessing online news portals which feature Charlie Hebdo’s depiction of the prophet Muhammad. Also on Wednesday, Turkish police stopped and searched trucks leaving the printing press of the Turkish secular newspaper Cumhuriyet after it had announced that it would distribute a four-page selection of the latest issue in an act of solidarity.”
FRANCE
“The French comedian Dieudonné has been arrested for a Facebook post from Monday in which he wrote, “Tonight, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly,” mashing up the popular “Je suis Charlie” slogan with a reference to the gunman who took hostages at a kosher grocery store in Paris last Friday.”
FRANCE
“Twenty-six mosques around France have been subject to attacks by firebombs, gunfire, pig heads, and grenades as Muslims are targeted with violence in the wake of the Paris attacks.”
EGYPT
“A student has been sentenced to three years in prison for announcing on Facebook that he was an atheist and thereby ‘insulting Islam’.”
TANZANIA
“Tanzania has banned witchdoctors in a move intended to stop attacks on people with albinism. Home Affairs Minister Mathias Chikawe said there would be a nationwide operation to “arrest them and take them to court” if they continued to work.”
PAKISTAN
Police say a 52-year-old Muslim man arrested for blasphemy was killed by gunmen after being released from jail.
NEPAL
“A Nepalese climbing team has become the first female team to conquer the highest mountains on all seven continents. “
AFRICA
Genoveva Anonma, a soccer player from Equatorial Guinea, speaks out about the humiliation of having to take off her clothes in front of officials to prove she is a woman after her excellent performance at the 2008 African Women’s Championship.
MOZAMBIQUE
“The number of people killed after drinking a “poisoned” homemade beer in Mozambique has risen to 69, state radio has reported. The beer, usually made from millet, may have been contaminated with crocodile bile, a health official said.”
SAUDI ARABIA
“Saudi cleric bans snowmen. He also pointed out that making images of humans and animals — anything with a “soul” — is strictly off-limits.”
Featured image: “Shailee and Diki climbing towards summit as the day breaks” from the Seven Summit Women Team website
From Canada…
In the researchers’ defense, I totally predicted more scandals about involuntary experimentation on ndn kids
It should be noted that Dieudonné is a Nazi sympathizer. In fact, we should have a discussion about the connection between Islamic theocracies and white supremacists. David Duke has a show on Press TV.
Yeah, Dieudonné seems like a real asshat.
Yeah, we need to do more research before formulating opinions.
Oh, I had fun not five minutes ago pointing that out when someone posted a PressTV thing about Indians on Facebook. Sorry, but I am not your tu quoque.
Jon, what has the link you posted got to do with Dieudonne? Was that a separate point or am I missing something again? (like how to get e acute out of this keyboard in the dark…)