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14/05/2008 > CHINA
How not to get crushed to death in an earthquake
Crouching next to a car is far safer than staying inside it.
Following the death of over 14,800 people in the huge earthquake that devastated China on Monday, a Chinese web-user is circulating an email with pictures of quake ruins to illustrate where to hide, and more importantly, where not to. See the instructions, entitled "Where should you hide during an earthquake? Not where you were taught!"
The contributors
13/05/2008 > RUSSIA
Russia celebrates Nazi Germany – by accident
A bank inadvertedly advertises the Nazi code for a fellow fighter.
The end of WWII is celebrated on May 9 in Russia. Since Putin came to power, the event has become increasingly more inflated and commercial. But this year, it went a step too far, when eager party-goers put up Nazi symbols in place of Soviet war imagery. Read more...
The contributors
13/05/2008 > CHINA
Did toads predict the earthquake?
According
to recent estimates, the earthquake that hit China on Monday could leave 10,000
people dead.
Web users are saying that the catastrophe could have been avoided, if only they
had listened to the toads. Read more...
The contributors
12/05/2008 > BURMA
Bound and braced for the winds
One of our Burmese observes sent us this image, taken in the Irrawaddy Delta region a few days after the devastating Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma’s low-lying coastal regions on May 3. He explains why the bodies of these three children are bound together at the wrist - apparently to prevent them from being whipped away by the cyclone. Read more...
The contributors
08/05/2008 > WORLD
Price hikes leaving people hungry from Jakarta to Memphis
The world's worsening food crisis has finally made the headlines and grim forecasts for the endemic problem are causing widespread panic. We asked our Observers in Cameroon, Indonesia, Haiti and the USA to tell us how they're affected by the crunch. Read more...
The contributors
07/05/2008 > RUSSIA
"The West has a twisted vision of Russia"
Dimitri Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia's new president today. Evguenia Obitchkina, an international relations lecturer in Moscow, explains that the conflict between Russia and the West might have more to do with the hydrocarbon trade than human rights. Read more...
The contributors
05/05/2008 > INDIA
Flashing flashers
Tired of seeing people turn a blind eye on sexual assault and intimidation in India, one woman has decided to tackle the taboo subject head on. Her answer to a flasher is to snap a photo of him and post it online. And somebody has. Read her account...
The contributors
02/05/2008 > CUBA
Time Magazine honours our Observer in Cuba
Blogger
Yoani Sanchez, who's been commenting on Cuba for the Observers since its
launch, has been selected by Time Magazine as one of "the world's most
influential people". Fidel Castro, on
the other hand, didn't quite make it. Read more...
The contributors
01/05/2008 > LONDON
“Homophobic racist” looks hopeful as new London mayor
Image from voteforboris.co.uk (Ken Livingstone, left, Boris Johnson, right)
Londoners decide on a mayor for the capital today in the four-yearly local elections, and leading the polls is Conservative candidate Boris Johnson. This is the man quoted as saying "Out of my way, small car driven by ordinary person on modest income. Make way for the Nissan Murano!" Read more...
The contributors
29/04/2008 > CHINA - TIBET
First images of the convicted Tibetans
Thirty Tibetans accused of taking part in the riots last month have been convicted today with sentences ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment. One of our Observers has sent us the first images of the trial, made public by the state press agency Xinhua, just as the sentences were handed out. See the pictures.
The contributors
