Stories about English from April, 2009
China: Ongoing urbanization
With the Olympics long gone, the gentrification of Beijing neighborhoods continues. “Still, the signs go up, the schools and shops close down, and jobs, education and the prospect of permanent...
China: Mash-ups in history
With ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ as one of the more prominent examples, Jeff Wasserstrom at The China Beat delineates mash-up culture in China, and don't miss out on the Confucian...
Hong Kong: SexyPhotoGate uploader sentenced
Just over a year since photos of Edison Chen in bed with his Hong Kong celebrity friends appeared online, computer technician Sze Ho-chun has been found guilty of uploading the...
Israel: Gay Couples to Wed at Pride Parade
The Israeli website Go Gay [Hebrew] is seeking a gay and a lesbian couple to wed during Tel Aviv's 11th annual Pride Parade on June 12th, 2009. Tel Aviv Fever...
Israel: ‘Slumdog’ Star Films Movie About Palestinians and Israelis
Frieda Pinto, the female star of Slumdog Millionaires, is in Israel preparing for a film about the interconnected lives of Palestinian and Israeli women from the founding of Israel through...
Israel: Praying for War No More
Israeli blogger David Bogner of Treppenwitz reflects on the nation's Day of Remembrance. “Israel’s national anthem… is called ‘HaTikva’- literally, ‘The Hope’… The words speak about 2000 years of longing...
Israel: Teaching Compassion to Your Children
Hannah Katsman of A Mother in Israel offers advice on how to teach compassion to your children.
Israel: Arab and Jew Represent Israel at Eurovision Contest
Israeli Arab Mira Awad and Israeli Jew Avinoam Nini will represent Israel in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest with “There Must Be Another Way,” sung in Hebrew and Arabic. Awad's...
Pakistan: Pak Voices
Pak Voices is a crisis reporting tool for Pakistan based on the Ushahidi engine. The website is mapping the recent unrest in Karachi city. “Submitted incidents will appear online [pending...
Bangladesh: Summer Pickles
Its hot and humid in Bangladesh now and the perfect season for hot and sour pickles. Dhaka Dweller Shahnaz shares her recipes for Mango pickles and posts mouth watering pictures.
Georgia: Alternative Eurovision
Following the scandal surrounding Georgia's aborted attempt to enter a song mocking the former Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow, This is...
Azerbaijan: Police
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the continuing saga of Parviz Azimov, a youth activist recently expelled from his university. The blog notes that whereas the police usually concentrate...
Pakistan: This Is Not Islam
Pakistani blogger Faisal K. at Deadpan Thoughts questioned an enlightened scholar of Islam to confirm that what the Talibans are preaching is “hardly the Islam brought by the Quran and...
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.
The Conflict In Sri Lanka And The Indian Elections
Madhu at Indian Election 2009 blog comments: “Tamil Nadu elections have been hijacked by the conflict in Sri lanka, all the political parties raise this issue and only this issue.”...
Taiwan: Participating in the World Health Assembly
The news that Taiwan will be participating in the World Health Assembly under the name Chinese Taipei came from the island's president and is received simultaneously as humiliating, a major...
China: Growing climigration
At Absurdity, Allegory and China, Jim Gourley discusses the extent and severity of China's climigration problem, and the reasons there's yet to be seen meaningful change.
China: Year of the solar
Julian Wong at The Green Leap Forward scans the plans the “California of China” has to boost solar power projects this year and for the coming few.
China: Green stimulus omissions
Beijing has earmarked a substantial portion of its economic stimulus package for environmental protection; Charlie McElwee at the China Environmental Blog shows us just how far that money has gone.
Antigua & Barbuda, U.S.A.: Kincaid Honoured
Repeating Islands learns that Antigua-born author Jamaica Kincaid “is among the 231 new members chosen to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.”
Cuba: Path to the Future
“This little accessory hanging from the hip could well come to be all the newspapers we lack at the kiosks”: Cuba's Generation Y has faith in the potential of SMS...
