The first thing I have noticed about South and Central Asia is that it is harder to find current event articles than for the Middle East. And once I find articles, they are vastly different in what news they are reporting. For the countries located in Central Asia, they have events that are more similar to the Middle East. The article I found about Afghanistan is more negative and brings news about a US soldier killed in an attack that has yet to be claimed. Two earlier attacks have been claimed by the Taliban. This article is very similar to the ones I would find when I had the Middle East as my region, that area of the world is full of militaristic conflict. In contrast, I found an article for India about a man that is in jail for his offensive tweets. India has minimal conflict militarily and I find it interesting to find an article about a man being arrested for his jokes. I also find it interesting to just compare the two regions and the events that go on there. Where the Middle East has more intense and deadly conflicts, India is arresting people for what they post on the internet. Also I find that fact that he was arrested really silly because obviously in the United States, we have the freedom of speech. I understand that making fun of ancient sculptures and temples brings offense to the natives, but I still believe that people are allowed to say what they want. I also think that his punishment is a little unnecessary, this man has been in jail since October just for posting something that he thought was a joke. It is very different to see how certain situations are handled in different countries, which results in the different events. In the United States we have the ability to express what we believe to a certain extent and I understand that it’s really different throughout the world, but I still think he shouldn’t be as harshly punished. These regional reports have really helped me see all the different events going on in different regions and why those events have occured.
