In the UAE, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai’s tweet about poor service in the UAE went viral. Across the world, tragedies in Sri Lanka and the Philippines were the biggest topics of discussion.
1. “This is not our level”
Shaikh Mohammad posted a picture taken by a secret shopper at an Emirates Post centre, criticising its poor service and declaring: “This is not our level, nor our service.”
[Facebook] Munir Barmare: Great leadership, thank you. These are small things, which matter most to the public anywhere in the world.
2. Sri Lanka Easter tragedy
As people across the world marked Easter, a series of bomb blasts in churches and high-end hotels in Sri Lanka led to the death of over 350 people, leaving the world in shock.
[Instagram] @pearl_action: We attended a vigil in New York for the victims of the #Easter Sunday #SriLankaBlasts. It featured moving music and readings by people from #Tamil, Sinhala Buddhist, Burgher and Muslim backgrounds. The vigil brought different ethnic and religious groups together. And, importantly, it did this without ignoring the Sinhala Buddhist nationalist context that enables violence and impunity against other communities on the island.
3. Philippines Earthquake
The Philippines was struck by two earthquakes measuring over 6.0 on the Richter scale, within a span of 48 hours, killing at least 16 people. Social media was filled with messages of people praying for safety for those in the country.
[Twitter] @_mnayeonpjm: A while ago, a strong earthquake holding 6.1 magnitude hit Philippines, my country and the most affected one is Pampanga, my home province. Keep safe, everyone!
4. Indian elections
The world’s biggest democratic elections continued to bring forth controversial stories. While one politician said opposition leader Rahul Gandhi should be tied to a bomb and sent to another country, another claimed cancer could be cured through traditional medicines made from cow excrement.
[Twitter] @Dr_Ezhilan: The deliberate silence of the medical community is responsible for these type of absurdities. More to come.
5. Imran khan’s faux pas
A video showing Pakistan President Imran Khan saying that Germany and Japan shared a border emerged on Twitter. The clip went viral, with people questioning how the highly-educated cricketer-turned-politician could make that mistake.
[Twitter] @FarhatullahB: The statement of Imran Khan about joint industrial projects set up along [the] “German-Japan border” before a distinguished gathering in a foreign country must find a place in record books. At home a monumental failure; abroad a comic embarrassment, is what IK has been.
