Stories about Development from April, 2008
Africa: Sleeping giants
Bankelele wonders whether Africa has to reform or develop: “Rwanda is on the fast path to being an ICT powerhouse. They may get there, but we have the beach, undersea cable etc. – all we have to do is wait to benefit from them. Uganda and Sudan have oil –...
Mozambique: On unemployment and the government responsibility
Basilio Muhate [pt] expatiates on the high unemployment rates in Mozambique and the role government play in it. “Bureaucracy also causes many problems in the labor market, mainly because of decisions that are not consistent with reality and real economy, where public spending (government spending) is often determined by political...
Kyrgyzstan: An Anxious April
A next to last week of April started from the unexpected fall of temperature. A lot of bloggers posted the photographs of the frozen greenery and the trees under snow. Yanagi presented the beautiful photos of the leaves under snow in her blog. red_ptero called [ru] this fall of temperature...
Caribbean: Food Shortages
“If music be the food of love, play on”, wrote Shakespeare, who could not possibly have anticipated the global food crisis the world is facing today. Rising food prices are a hot topic with bloggers the world over – and the Caribbean is no different. The “music” coming out of...
Armenia: Art School Online
Kyle’s Journey in Armenia, a Peace Corps Blog, proudly announces the launch of an Internet site for the Koghb Art School. The move is not only part of work to help gain the school exposure, but also part of a project to make rural communities self-sustainable.
Haiti: Ideas on Development
Haitian blogger kiskeácity examines the concept of “measuring development as if people mattered more than places.”
Bahamas: Educational Responsibility
“Remember, everyone we can save is one less who will have an opportunity to participate in crime”: Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit says that education is a collective responsibility.
Slovakia: Hotel Kyjev
The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia writes about plans to demolish Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava: “Though I agree that buildings like the Hotel Kyjev are part of Slovakia’s history, I disagree that they are part of true Slovak culture. Are the communist principles, good or bad, embodied in socialist-realism...
Russia: Moscow and NYC
Two-Zero explains why Moscow is not “the new New York.”
Lithuania: Bicycles in Vilnius
Babel in Vilnius writes on how to turn Vilnius into a bicycle-friendly city.
Nicaragua: Ranking on UNDP Human Development Index
Nicaragua currently is listed 110 out of 154 countries in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index. Isabel Valdez González of McDonald [es] wonders why the government does not take concrete steps to change this and compares its situation to its neighbor Costa Rica.
Southeast Asia: Rice and food price crisis
The Southeast Asian region, home to several emerging and developing economies, is also struggling to cope with the global food price crisis. Bloggers discuss the impact of the crisis in the region.
St. Lucia: Inflation
Blogging from St. Lucia, Looshan Ramblings notes that “Oil is set to go up again. If the trend continues the first casualties of this spiraling inflation are the poor nations of the developing world.”
Afghanistan: Learning from PRTs
Josh Foust opines on the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan and takes a critical view on their effectiveness.
PangeaDay: Videos to change the world on May 10th
On May 10th 2008 at 18:00 GMT, 24 films will be broadcast during a 4 hour event. What makes this different is that this event, PangeaDay will be broadcast from six locations worldwide in seven different languages worldwide to be viewed through internet, television or cellphones with one unique purpose: to make each other know about the lives of others and focus on what makes us similar, instead of what makes us different and let us work together towards peace.
Vietnam: Motorcycle car park
The Final Word in Saigon blogs about the motorcycle car park from the center of town near the now infamous golden triangle.
Barbados: Economic Storm?
“The issue of the rising cost of living will no doubt remain firmly at the top of the national agenda in the coming weeks and months ahead,” writes Barbados Underground, as he blogs about the island's economic challenges.
Macau: No More Casino?
The Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho claimed that the government would suspend the development of gambling industry. Lang qing felt that such claim was just political slogan as most of the Casino projects had been approved and the gambling industry would continue to double or triple its growth in the...
China: City Control Team
Ceng ying commented that the city control team acted like an anti-government propaganda team when they rid the street vendors out of the city [zh].
Kyrgyzstan: Pictures from the trip to the country's northern parts
The Azamat Report made a visit to Naryn, a mountaneous region on the north of Kyrgyzstan, and now posts pictures of the road tripping.
Kazakhstan: Almaty Traffic Jam Photo
Ehot posts a photo of traffic jam, which is already a regular phenomenon in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan and the region's business hub.