India: Dowry And The Boys

Nitisha Pandey at Youth Ki Awaaz discusses the current market rates for grooms in India and asks:

Does a boy’s parents’ give him good education only to get a handsome dowry?

Pakistan: Conflicting Reports in #SaveRimsha Blasphemy Case

The blasphemy law in Pakistan has been the focus of a heated debate yet again, after a minor christian girl named Rimsha was accused of blasphemy and was sent to jail. There have been a few conflicting reports about the case, and the most significant one being a picture of a girl being used, that has now become the face of the #SaveRimsha campaign.

Ukraine: Taras Polataiko's ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Project

Katherine Brooks of The Huffington Post and Natalia Antonova at the Guardian's Comment is Free write about Taras Polataiko's Sleeping Beauty project, which did open on Aug. 22 at the...

Macedonia: Demanding Triumphal Welcome for Paralympics Champion

Macedonian social media users are calling [mk] for a state-sponsored celebration for Olivera Nakovska-Bikova, who won a gold medal in shooting at the Paralympic Games finals in London, after setting...

Sri Lanka: The 3rd Annual #TweetupSL is Tomorrow

Indu Nanayakkara informs that the third edition of the annual meet of the Twitter users in Sri Lanka will take place on Saturday, September 1, 2012. Details are here.

Turkmenistan: Hip-Hop Key to Regime Survival

…[Turkmenistan's] young generation literally has got nothing to do. Which is why they love Hip Hop… But the government should not censor Hip Hop… for its own long-term survival. NewEurasia.net's...

‘Free’ Kyrgyzstan Marks Independence

…[D]espite being generally underdeveloped as a state, I am the freest of all other countries that were also born in 1991! Blogger Ilya Karimdjanov offers a ‘Monologue of Kyrgyzstan‘ [ru]...

Mali: Can Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Be Stopped?

The solution to the Mali crisis seems to be vanishing as time goes by. It has been five months now that the country has been divided into two parts. Julie Owono explores the current situation in the Sahel region.

Turkmenistan: Goodbye August, Month of Melons

August is the month of melons in Turkmenistan where expansive steppe lands yield some of the tastiest crop known to mankind. Turkmen Melon Day, celebrated since 1994, is one of the favourite public holidays in the country.

Russia: Moscow's Peculiar Illegal Parking Problem

Russian adventures and misadventures in parking could be a movie plot. But Russia’s parking problems are anything but comedy. It remains to be seen how vigorously the country will deal with illegal parking. If it succeeds, its methods could show what kind of transportation system and cities Russia will have, and even what kind of country it will be.

Bolivia: Consultation on Hold as TIPNIS Communities Reject Militarization

[…] the consultation process on the Bolivian government’s proposed highway through the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) has ground to a halt. Emily Achtenberg from NACLA blog Rebel Currents...

UK: Lion Spotted Is Actually Pet Cat Named Teddy Bear

United Kingdom police officers were busy last weekend with a major operation launched on the evening of Sunday August 26, following the apparent sighting of a lion in the English county of Essex. It was later revealed to have actually been a large domestic cat named 'Teddy Bear'.

Angola: Before Polls, Serious Questions Arise

On the eve of Angola’s elections, leader of the country’s largest opposition party was loud and clear to the media, stating the electoral process was the worst ever. Citizens report on lack of transparency around the electoral rolls, problems with polling staff assignments and lack of accredited observers.

Philippines: Facebook Photos Removed for International Day of the Disappeared

'Please take down your profile picture on August 30, Thursday, in solidarity with the friends and family of the missing, from the Martial Law days up to the present, who continue to seek justice.'

Thai MP Advice for Women to Marry Foreigners Stirs Controversy

Get a German husband. Get a Swedish husband. Get a Norwegian husband…All you need is a farang husband and their government will pay you to study. This was the advice...

Ukraine: Humorous Political Ad Sparks Online “Pussy Cat Riot”

After weeks of tensions caused by the adoption of the controversial Language Law and in the midst of an intense pre-election mudslinging period, Ukrainians are finally rewarded with the much-needed comic relief - which they have promptly transformed into something of an online political protest movement.

Colombia: Miners Flee from Killings and Attacks

In his blog “El que piensa gana”, [es] Juan Jose Hoyos talks about the precautions that miners, union leaders and others who oppose illegal mining or mining by multinational companies (like...

Combatting Cocaine Production in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru

Drug production and trafficking is a major issue in Latin America that governments are constantly trying to deal with. However, as the continent leaders gathered last April in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas fully agreed, the so far US-led war on drugs has failed in the Region. Peru, Colombia and Bolivia are the three largest illegal cocaine producing countries in the world. What are these Andean Countries doing to combat illegal drugs?

Kyrgyzstan: Facebook Post Spurs Row with Belarus

A photo uploaded on Facebook suggests that Janysh Bakiyev, the brother of the former Kyrgyzstani president ousted by 2010 protests, lives in Minsk. This has sparked an extradition request, the withdrawal of an ambassador and the storming of an embassy.

Controversial Tibet Theme Park Project Launched

Tibetan dissidents have described the USD 4.7 billion Chinese project as the “Disneyfication of Tibet.“ The park will first be used to shoot 'Princess Wencheng', a film about the niece of a Tang-dynasty emperor who married a Tibetan king.

Zambian National Football Team Coach Granted Permanent Residence

Zambia has had many expatriate national football team coaches, but Frenchman Herve Renard, who led the team in scooping the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012, enjoys special affection. In recognition of his success, the government has accorded him permanent residence but the decision has assumed political overtones.