· February, 2009

Stories about LANGUAGES from February, 2009

Uganda: Fire destroys Owino Market

  27 February 2009

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

  27 February 2009

“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? Uprising?” asks Kotha-Chilo. The blogger concludes the post with: “BDR soldiers – now I feel ‘disgruntled’ at your massacre. I...

Jamaica: Passion

  27 February 2009

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

  27 February 2009

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 India. Alexis Ringwald and Caroline Howe are touring the country in an electric/solar powered car to raise awareness about the...

Armenia: 1 March post-election clash anniversary

  27 February 2009

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 for the Frontline Club blog, Global Voices Online's Caucasus Editor comments on the release of two damning human rights reports...

Armenia: Dollar Panic

  27 February 2009

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.

Japan: Bloggers on the Nakagawa affair

  27 February 2009

Over a week has passed since now-infamous footage of Japan's former finance minister Shōichi Nakagawa stumbling through a 20 minute speech at the G7 meeting in Rome made world headlines and hit the top of YouTube charts. In this post I feature a handful of responses to the speech by Japanese bloggers.

Korea: Economic downturn and which companies have the best chances for survival.

  27 February 2009

While all of us hope the economic downturn is over soon, it seems that it’s a long term battle. Companies are cutting employees or decreasing their business scope. A netizen shares his experience of working at a Japanese company. Different business operation styles are introduced. 일본회사에서 근무하고 있습니다. 대기업에서 근무하다가 ...

Kazakhstan: Lomography

  27 February 2009

Ehot posts a collection of images taken in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the legendary Lomo camera, which gave name to the whole trend in photo art called lomography.

Bangladesh: Mutiny Is Over, But Question Remains

  27 February 2009

Yesterday it was a tensed day in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The 33-hour long mutiny and siege by aggrieved lower rank officers of paramilitary forces BDR ended as they surrendered their arms in the evening at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters. According to news paper reports seventeen BDR members...

Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 2)

  27 February 2009

Starting December 24th, the Alpha Blogger website called for people to nominate 1-3 blog entries written in 2008 that had affected them the most. Mid-term results were announced on January 16th, and voting was open until February 18th. The second half of this year's winners are featured in this post.

Lebanon: Christopher Hitchens’ Beirut Scuffle Sparks Debate

  27 February 2009

Former leftist turned conservative writer Christopher Hitchens ran into trouble in Beirut last week when he attempted to deface a poster/memorial of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), a Hezbollah ally. Versions of the event claim a heavily intoxicated Hitchens shouted obscenities at the party, ultimately resulting in an altercation with several SSNP members nearby. These allegations have sparked a debate across continents, writes Antoun Issa.

Nepal: Load Shedding Woes

  27 February 2009

For a country where there is an average daily power cut of 14 hours it is hard to carry on with normal life. Bibek Paudel discusses the challenges Nepal is facing and who are responsible for this.

Nepal: Strike Culture

  26 February 2009

Freedom In Bhutan discusses the strike cultures of Nepal and comments:”I wonder how illogical, non sensible and irresponsible have Nepalese grown to. I pray my countrymen Bhutanese will never call strike in any circumstances to put pressure on administration.”