Some quick links that grabbed my attention in the past week, important and/or interesting:
Audience response to the use of the world 'prostitute' in BBC's reporting: The audience offer feedback on the use of the word 'prostitute' in the recent Ipswich murders. How about that for editorial transparency, full marks for the BBC.Lawyers Demand Release of Chinese Muslims: Uighur prisoners who were held to get Chinese support for the war in Iraq, and though found not guilty, they're still held because no one is willing to receive them and the Chinese will execute them if handed to. You would expect Muslim countries to come forward, particularly Turkey, but no.
Carter: Israeli apartheid 'worse': Getting out of the preferred line of the Israeli Lobby in US is dangerous. Carter feels the heat for saying what he thinks is right, but in a strange way, saying that Palestinians have rights as well is seen as antisemitism.Aljazeera report on Egyptian bloggers - تقرير الجزيرة عن حرية المدونات والتعذيب: Aljazeere reports on the case of an imprisoned blogger in Egypt and the wider impact Egyptian bloggers are having on politics and the society at large (Arabic)
Gender bias 'increases poverty': How gender bias in families limits women's input into the decision making and increases poverty.
Why are Jews at Iran's 'Holocaust ' conference? who were the Jews in Iran's Holocaust conference!
Another 'Lost Tribe' returns to Israel: Another Israeli lost tribe, this time in found in India ... fascinating
Insurgency benefits Kashmir wildlife: Because of the insurgency in Kashmir, the general population had to hand in their weapons which is resulted in wildlife flourishing ... interesting
Timeline - Ethiopia vs Somalia: A quick, simplified, timeline of the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia since independence (but actually it goes back couple of centuries, and the West has always been firmly behind Ethiopia for religious reasons of course but this this time is only for the last.
Marrying across Somalia's caste lines: Yes, Somalia has what resembles the cast system in India, very small though. In the past 2-3 decades, this has been undergoing change because of the Somalis learning more about and practicing Islam. The BBC report here that UIC has forced through a marriage ... great stuff.