Stories about English from February, 2009
Armenia: 1 March Anniversary
Dispatches from Armenia comments on tomorrow's first anniversary of the post-election clashes which left eight opposition supporters and two policemen dead. The blog calls the incident a slaughter at the...
Azerbaijan: Sumgait
The Armenian Observer posts video from 21 years ago showing rioters in Sumgait during an anti-Armenian pogrom which left 26 ethnic Armenians and 6 Azeris dead.
Armenia: No dollars in Yerevan
Life in the Armenian Diaspora reports that panicked citizens have been converting their local currency so frantically that there are now no dollars to be found at exchanges in the...
Hong Kong: Budget report: university students on sale!
Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang made the budget speech for the fiscal year 2009-2010 at the Legislative Council on 25 of February. This is the first budget report...
Shiv Sena's Orkut Campaign: The Limits to Freedom of Expression in an Intolerant India
Introduction: Freedom of Expression in the Indian Blogosphere The Indian blogosphere is abuzz with discussions on freedom of expression after the Supreme Court refused to throw out Shiv Sena's defamation...
Azerbaijan: Popular website back — minus forum
After several days of closure, the popular semi-independent Azerbaijani news and discussion website, Day.az, is back. However, raising additional questions about its brief disappearance, the site's forum — known for its open and somewhat democratic discussion — is not.
USA: Activists Incensed after Fatal Shooting by Police
Several people recorded mobile phone videos of a police officer shooting and killing a young man named Oscar Grant on a train platform in Oakland, California, on January 1. Since then, citizen media have been central in the ensuing campaigns for justice.
Israel: Battling Cancer
Daughter of Cancer from Israel describes the suffering her 56-year-old mother is going through battling brain cancer.
Video: Community Radios Fill the Information Gap
In a highly globalized and digitalized world, sometimes we may forget that in many regions of the world, not even electricity is available, and the possibility of using internet as an alternative information source is still a distant dream. It is in locations like Guatemala, Chad and India that community radio rises as the alternative for native communities to speak about their concerns, hear news and stories, receive information and all this in their native languages.
Bangladesh: Why The BDR Massacre?
Shada Kalo analyzes the motives behind the BDR (Border guards) mutiny in Bangladesh and discusses the intelligence and negotiation failures as the horror of massacre of army officers by the...
GCC: Currency Dilemma for Arab Gulf Consumers
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) hopes to achieve a monetary union, with a common currency, by 2010. Bloggers from the region, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, debate the merits of the union and more importantly what name they want for their new currency.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Aggravation Nation
Trinidadian blogger Now is Wow Too is finding the U.S.A. “an unfortunate source of aggravation”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Living for Carnival
This Beach Called Life suspects that Trinidad Carnival may have a positive impact on longevity.
Bermuda: Budget Response
From Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes comments on the opposition's response to the government's 2009-10 Budget.
Uganda: Fire destroys Owino Market
A massive fire gutted Kampala's Owino Market early Wednesday morning, seriously injuring five people and destroying thousands of stalls. As many as 25,000 traders, mostly women, are estimated to have suffered losses.
Bangladesh: Massacre Cannot be Justified
“What do you call it when a group of ‘disgruntled’ BDR soldiers [Bangladesh border guards] started their expression of grievances by open-firing on the commissioned army officers? Mutiny? Rebellion? Revolt?...
Guyana: The Ripple Effect
The far-ranging effects of the CL Financial failure have now reached Guyana. One blogger has been assiduously following the latest developments...
Jamaica: Passion
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Phlip republishes text from a lecture he gave about the importance of pursuing your passions.
India: Environmental Scholars On a Very Cool Mission
About two weeks ago, I read in Tom Friedman's column in the New York Times about two young scholars from the U.S who were on a very impressive mission in...
Armenia: 1 March post-election clash anniversary
As the opposition prepares to mark the 1 March post-election clashes which left at least 10 dead, The Armenian Observer says tensions are increasing in the capital, Yerevan. Meanwhile, writing...
Armenia: Dollar Panic
The Armenian Observer reports that many in the country are rushing to change their local currency into dollars and limits have been introduced at currency exchanges.
