Stories about Development from March, 2008
Cuba: Can You Hear me Now?
News that Cubans will now be allowed to buy cell phones has been met with differing reactions by Cuban bloggers…El Cafe Cubano: “Cubans on average earn about $20 a month...
Kazakhstan: Podcast Interview with Joanna Lillis
Adam Kesher meets Joanna Lillis, a journalist working in Kazakhstan for Eurasianet.Org and Al-Jazeera television. She’s been living in Kazakhstan for 3 years already, and they talk about her first...
Kuwait: Stop Demolishing Kuwait Facebook Group
Rampurple draws our attention to a new Facebook group named Stop Demolishing Kuwait's History.
Hong Kong: Revitalizing Tai O
The Hong Kong government has organized a competition for revitalizing a traditional fishing village, Tai O. Diumanpark pointed out that the word “revitalizing” is a cover up of “commercialization”, which,...
Colombia: Contest brings forth multimedia citizen journalists
Contest open for anyone, regardless of nationality, to write, show and create content telling the world about a very special place in Colombia most people wouldn´t normally be aware of. Bloggers and vloggers are already responding, here are examples from the Chocó and Antioquia regions.
Barbados: Archaic Laws
Barbados Free Press has heard of a woman “who was recently raped by her estranged husband – and our police say they are unable to lay charges because our laws...
Burkina Faso: Home of black bags, baobabs and cute kids?
This roundup will begin with some old business. From Stephen Davis of Voice in the Desert: His book Sophie and the Albino Camel is up for the Norfolk Shorts shortlist of books under 150 pages. While he won’t know the outcome until April 16, he did expound on why he loves writing short fiction.
Turkmenistan: Fewer Large Families
Maciula wonders if depopulation is a real problem as the Turkmenistan Chronicle suggests in a recent article, and compares the country’s population growth rate with that of neighbouring states.
China: Forbidden City
Lianyue refered to a suggestion made by a property developer on turning the “Forbidden City” into a residential development project in order to bring down the property price in Beijing...
Brazil: Haiti, Rio de Janeiro and the UN peacekeeping mission
Aloisio Milani [pt] is promoting an in-depth analysis of “the possibility and feasibility of the blue-helmets’ performance to become a doctrine of intervention by the Army in public safety in...
Turkmenistan: Deadly Highway
Abdulgamid writes about deadly condition of the longest and busiest motorway in Turkmenistan, Ashgabat-Mary-Turkmenabat. The road was built a few decades ago, and currently it’s not complying with any minimum...
Afghanistan: Why Grow Poppy
Joshua Foust analyzes approaches to the problem of opium production in Afghanistan, and says that addressing opium requires a vast, multi-dimensional approach, combining anti-corruption efforts, a massive influx of money,...
Poland, Ukraine: Euro 2012
20 East writes about Euro 2012, to be hosted by Poland and Ukraine: “As I live in Warsaw, I’ll worry more about the Polish side of things although one general...
Turkmenistan: The Country's Greatest Secret
Maciula reports on the announcement of the company chosen by President Berdymukhammedov to audit Turkmen gas reserves and wonders if the outcome of the audit will be made public.
Kazakhstan: 6% of .kz Domain Works
KZBlog reports that according to a media outlet's research, there are 16 431 domains that end in .kz, but of those only around 1 000 are actually functioning. Many of...
Liquid assets: Bloggers on World Water Day
It's known as the universal solvent, Adam's Ale, government juice, council pop, H2O, dihydrogen monoxide, hydrogen hydroxide, has a ton of different names in Arabic and yesterday (March 22) the world was called upon to pay it special attention. World Water Day 2008 marked the start of the fourth year of the UN International Decade for Action on Water that began in 2005, and to mark the occasion the bloggers weighed in with insights and commentary from various corners of the world.
Maldives: Living with contaminated groundwater
As the world observed World Water Day on March 22, issues concerning sanitation and access to safe water were discussed and debated in the media. This year’s theme for WWD...
Iraq: Five long years … most of them in tears
For me the whole story of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war can be summed up one post. One post that says nothing about the past five years but implies everything as well. We can talk about the lack of security, the number of deaths, the failure of the occupation, but all this talk has become as meaningless as glib phrases like "Collateral Damage." What really matters is how the war is affecting people's lives, writes Salam Adil.
Bahrain: Kindest People Ever
Sous, a Swedish woman living in Bahrain, wonders about the impact of development on Bahrainis. “Bahrainis … are the most kind people I have ever met. They are polite, educated,...
Lebanon: Solidere demolishes synagogue
“The last witnesses to Beirut's architectural heritage and to the once-thriving Lebanese Jewish community in Wadi Abu-Jmil fall to the bulldozers of Saad Hariri's Solidere,” writes Hanibaal.
Egypt: Face of the Future
“If you want to know the future of humanity, don’t look someplace new. Look someplace old: someplace where dynasties and empires have risen and fallen for thousands of years, someplace...
