Stories about Development from October, 2007
Tanzania: IMF no longer viewed as an enemy
Tanzania Common Cents writes about Tanzania's relationship with IMF: “While it is true that over the years Tanzania has graduated in her relationship with IMF to the point of currently operating under a PSI and thus driving its own development agenda; and while its true that IMF policies have evolved...
Russia: Bloggers Discuss James Watson
James Watson, an American Nobel Prize-winning geneticist, provoked international outrage when The Sunday Times quoted him on race issues on Oct. 14. The news of the controversy produced a certain stir in the Russian-language blogosphere, too.
China: Heavy schooling fees and migrant workers
Yuan Guiren, Chinese Vice Education Minister, emphasized the equal education rights for the migrant workers’ children at the CPC press conference last Saturday. However, the tough reality makes some migrant parents worried if they can find an adequate school for their children next term.
Russia: Tatarstan
Window on Eurasia comments on Moscow's complex relationship with Tatarstan.
Russia: Mosques for Moscow Region's Muslims
Window on Eurasia writes about the lack of mosques for the growing Muslim population of the Moscow region and the reluctance of the governor to build new ones.
Armenia: Rally Against Poverty
Transitions Online's The Armenian Patchwork posts a photo story with accompanying text on a rally held in an outlying district of Yerevan to protest global poverty. The event was ironically held in an area known unofficially in Armenia as Bangladesh.
Africa: Coming to a donation box near you
Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman writes takes a critical look at Western philantrophy in Africa: “I am intrigued by the recent proliferation of web-based giving and I have been keeping a curious eye on sites such as Kiva.org and Heifer International, in an attempt to understand what is going...
Uganda: Poverty and Paris Hilton
Wednesday's Public Poverty Forum in Kampala had one blogger, Tumwijukue, asking, “Did they (re)define poverty? Did they speak of poverty of the mind? Or did they merely use the event as a networking opportunity and an excuse to miss work for the day, rushing to the organizer's table at the end of the forum for the Ushs. 50,000 delegates' allowance?”
Caucasus: Corruption Perceptions Index
Social Science in the Caucasus, the blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Center in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, looks at Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2007. The blog notes significant improvements in Georgia in the struggle against corruption, but no real progress in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenia: Going Underground
Zarchka at Life Around Me reports that new construction of an underpass in the center of the Armenian capital has hit a snag. Quite a big one, actually. To be precise, the Yerevan Metro. Oneworld Multimedia posts a video of some of the chaos that the construction has created for...
Central & Eastern Europe: “Human Capital”
Edward Lucas writes about “a lack of brainpower” in Eastern and Central Europe.
Egypt: New Age of Phone Greetings
With Eid finally wrapped up and out of the way, Egyptian blogger Tarek Amr (Ar) takes time off to study the history of greetings - from the age of problematic phone calls to the new age of Third Generation multi-media wireless phones.
Al Ain: No for Touristy Junk
“Why in the world would you want to take one of the few relatively undeveloped and beautiful places in Al Ain and put touristy junk up there?” complains Al Ain-based blogger BRN.
Dubai: Clean Streets?
Seabee from Dubai complains about the cleanliness of streets in this post.
Guyana, Brazil: Building a Bridge
Living Guyana posts photos of the progress that has been made on the construction of the bridge that will link Guyana and Brazil.
Nata Blog: A Blog From An African Village
One of the success stories of the power and reach of citizen media in Africa is definitely The Nata Village Blog. It is a blog from Nata village in Botswana.Nata is a village of about 5000 people located on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans, the largest salt pan in the world. The blog is a tool in the fight against the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in Nata village.
Barbados: Arresting the Spread of HIV-AIDS
Barbados Underground thinks that the powers-that-be have failed the country with regard to stemming the spread of HIV-AIDS.
Bahamas: Engaging the Americans
“Engaging the Americans, our most important trading partner and neighbour is a good thing,” writes Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com, on learning that the island's Prime Minister will address The Caribbean-Central American Action organisation at their Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin in December.
Dubai: Floating Bridge
“One of the biggest criticisms of Dubai has always been the traffic congestion, ask me about it as I lived there for six years. In an effort to reduce the traffic, Dubai, opened a floating bridge which connect the two sides of the creek – Deira and Bur Dubai,” writes...
Dubai: Impressing US TV Viewers
“I was impressed with the interview that CBS 60 Minutes reporter Steve Croft did with Dubai Emir Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. The interview and tour of Dubai aired Sunday on CBS TV’s 60 Minutes program which received huge viewership ratings,” writes Ray Hanania, who provides a link to the...
Egypt: Efficiency
Efficiency is not just a scientific term used by Mechanical Engineers. The Egyptian blogger Ahmed Tharwat (Ya Marakby) decided to apply it on society as well as Tarek Amr shows us in this post he has translated from Arabic.
