RFA Unplugged

Archive for December, 2009

Apple Apps Blocked In China

Apple appears to have blocked iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store, according to news reports. This would make Apple the latest U.S. technology company to censor its services in China. It is  also another skirmish between Chinese officials desperate to keep control of information in the country and rapidly advancing [...]

China To Restore Xinjiang Access

As Chinese Internet users are complaining about increased curbs, Chinese authorities announced they would be restoring online access and lift a ban on text messages and international calls in Xinjiang. The move comes  months after deadly ethnic unrest prompted a communications shutdown. AFP quoted the official Xinhua news agency, which cited the regional government saying it had restored access [...]

2009 News Not All Bad, but Sometimes Odd

Russian soccer fans were instructed to drink whisky on a trip to Wales for a World Cup qualifier match to ward off the H1N1 virus. In Japan, candidates stopped shaking hands. In Italy an inventor devised an electronic holy water dispenser.

Mekong Diaries: Day 43

Today we fly to Vientiane, and find it a quaint and quiet little town next to the Mekong. Along the river in the center of town earthworks and machinery are transforming the shoreline.

Mekong Diaries: Day 42

It’s hot and humid and the crowds have thinned; it could be because of the economic crisis that has hit local people really hard as rice and petrol process have spiraled upwards.

Mekong Diaries: Day 41

It is time for Team B to fly back to Phnom Penh for the last day of the Water Festival. After a sleepless night, we wake up suffering an internal revolt clearly due to last nights BBQ.

Hmong Forced Back To Laos

  In the latest blow to refugee seekers in Asia thousands of Thai military with batons and riot shields today began forcibly repatriating some 4000 Hmong from a border camp in Thailand back to Laos. Thailand chose to ignore protests from U.N. refugee officials, international rights groups, and the United States. RFA quoted Col. Thana Charuvat, [...]

Family of UK Man Facing Execution In China Plead For Mercy

A mentally ill man who appeared to be duped into carrying the drugs with the promise of a pop star career at the age of 53 should be receiving mental health treatment not a ritual killing to satisfy a current fear and pay back a grotesque and monumental historical wrong.

Mekong Diaries: Day 40

Team A in the midst of the Water Festival (Cambodia)… Team B meeting villagers living near the proposed Ban Kum dam (Thailand).

Mekong Diaries: Day 39

Team A prepares for the Water Festival in Phnom Penh… Team B meets Grandma Hai..