· December, 2007

Stories about LANGUAGES from December, 2007

Lusosphere: Wishes and hopes for 2008

  31 December 2007

The new year is inevitably soon arriving and the Lusosphere is booming with posts about traditions, resolutions, wishes, and reflections. Here is a short roundup of Portuguese speaking blogs from Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Mozambique and Portugal - although countries far apart, they share the language and hopes for a better future.

Hong Kong: Top News in 2007 Blogosphere

  31 December 2007

As the year end is approaching, local blogger sidekick has her picks of "Top News in Hong Kong 2007 Blogosphere". She also calls for more comments and suggestions for the year end round up. Below is a translation of her selection:

Peru: Traveling and Photography

  31 December 2007

Luis Yupanqui Mesías of Peru Viajero [es] recounts some of the sites that he visited and photographed in 2007 and thanks his readers for accompanying him along the way.

Ethiopia: Queen of Sheba, Now Available in French

  30 December 2007

Francophone music blog Roots and Culture interviews Samuel Malher, a religious scholar from Strasbourg who has written the first unabridged French translation of the Kebra Negast, a sacred Ethiopian text. It describes the heritage of the Ethiopian monarchs, who trace their lineage to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and how the Ethiopians became God's new chosen people when the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Israel to Ethiopia.

Japan: Web visionary Umeda Mochio

  30 December 2007

While famous in Japan as a web visionary, Silicon Valley resident Umeda Mochio, president of Muse Associates, co-founder of Pacifica Fund and board member of the Japanese bookmarking and diary service Hatena, is little-known overseas. His recent book "Web Shinkaron" ("Theory of Web Evolution") sold 370,000 copies and become a national besteller in Japan. Umeda was recently interviewed by the Japanese magazine Central Review (Chuo koron), portions of which are introduced and translated in this post.

Cuba: The Divorce Rate

  30 December 2007

Regalado [es] writes about the divorce rate in Cuba, in which it is reported that 6 out of every 10 marriages end in divorce

China: Official Olympics channel's unveiling ceremony crashed

  29 December 2007

How did a couple's marital issues become today's top sports story? She's a prominent Beijing television broadcaster, he's one of Chinese sports news' top official faces for the Olympics; she just crashed his high-profile unveiling of China's new Olympics channel, and someone's put the video online.

Burkina Faso and the Hajj

  28 December 2007

QuophyBlogeur writes about the perils of Burkinabe muslims [FR] making the pilgrimage to Mecca: “Fortunately Allah is merciful enough to tolerate the late arrival of poor pilgrims at the mercy...