Stories about Economics & Business from April, 2011
East Timor: Tourism potential
EngageMedia uploads a video which features the tourism potential of Dili, East Timor and the problems of the tourism sector in the country.
Chad: White Gold Opens Income Stream For Women
Franseca writes about white gold in Chad: “Shea nuts are indigenous to southern Chad, and have been traditionally pressed into a black oil to add to foods. While nutritious, it has an odor that many find unpleasant. Processing the Shea nuts into a white butter gives it all kinds of...
Serbia: Bloggers Discuss Plans to Erect Monument to Late Azeri President
One of Belgrade's nicest parks has recently got renovated - thanks, partially, to a donation of 2 million euros by the Azerbaijani government. The news that has been stirring controversy these past few weeks among Serbian bloggers is the condition for this gift: in return for the donation, a monument to Heydar Aliyev, the former president of Azerbaijan, will have to be erected in the park.
Cuba: Reflection on the Communist Party Congress
Blogger and journalist Elaine Díaz reflects [es]on the VI Congress of the Communist Party: “[…] The future Cuba should be built ‘by all and for the good of all’ from a horizontal and open relationship between the historical avant-garde that made possible the 1959 triumph and the new generation of...
Bahamas: Grasping at Straws?
Jerome Pinder at Weblog Bahamas explains why the new Straw Market “will be a test for The Bahamas Government.”
Bahamas: Shark Tales
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith shares some good and bad news about sharks.
Cuba: Bloggers Reflect on Reforms at Communist Party Congress
The sixth congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), which was recently held in Havana, may have marked a major turning point for the Cuban economic system, and for Cuban society at large. Bloggers in Cuba, and those who follow Cuba from other parts of the world, offered a diverse range of reactions.
Poland: Decrease of corruption
Michael Dembinski of W-wa Jeziorki notes that corruption in Poland continues to decrease in contrast to many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a recent article in The Economist.
Latvia: National news agency website hacked
Juris Kaža of Telecoms in Latvia draws attention to a recent hacker attach on the Latvian news agency LETA, closing down the website for several hours.
Russia: New round in the TNK-BP row
Streetwise Professor points to the parallel buyout of a partner in TNK-BP oil company by the Russian state oil company Rosneft and British Petroleum, with the abolition of a tax release, possibly resulting in decreased company value for the upcoming sale.
Serbia-EU: Belgrade at a crossroads
Ari Rusila's BalkanBlog argues that Serbia may find too many obstacles to continue its accession to the European Union, and instead might find other alternatives more appetizing.
Malaysia: Solar energy program
Gan Pei Ling writes about the prospects of the solar energy program in Malaysia.
Malaysia: “Stateless Children of Sabah”
Anne Baltazar writes about the situation of poor children in Sabah in Malaysia whose migrant parents came from Indonesia and Philippines.
Russia: Kidnapping of Ivan Kaspersky
Julia Ioffe of The Moscow Diaries (now hosted on Forbes.com) writes about the kidnapping of Ivan Kaspersky, the 19-year-old son of the founders of the Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab.
Madagascar: Here We Go Again with Land Grabbing, minus the Outrage
Tananews reports that the government of Madagascar leases out land for 50 or more years at prices as low as $15 per acre a year (fr) to Indian farmers (via the IndiaTimes). The blog wonders why such stories fail to stir up the same outrage at the national and international...
China: The Rich Are Fleeing
A new survey conducted in part with one of China's biggest banks suggests that large numbers of wealthy Chinese have over the past two years begun moving their assets overseas, and gaining foreign citizenship in the process. If China is so bad, some wonder, now having lost all this capital and talent, is it about to get even worse?
Portugal: Employment and Social Inclusion for the Physically Disabled
On the blog 52 Histórias (52 Stories) [pt], journalist Lúcia Crespo writes about Aristides Santos, a portuguese social entrepreneur who has been fighting against social exclusion through a business he created in 1995 to employ the physically disabled people.
Afghanistan: Opium production for 2011 set to rise
Nick Fielding reports that opium production in Afghanistan for 2011 is likely to increase, although overall cultivation for the entire country is expected to decrease slightly.
Azerbaijan: Talysh socks
The Labors of Other Men posts photographs of Talysh socks, traditional woolen footwear that can be ordered online in order to support community development in and around the southern Azerbaijani city of Lankaran.
Argentina: Bloggers Discuss Inflation
Inflation has long been a subject of controversy in Argentina, and as such is a recurring topic for discussion among bloggers. As an important political issue, it is expected to be one of the main themes debated during the presidential race next October.
India: Corruption Of The Middle Class
Manju categorizes the typical corruptions of the Indian Middle class people in which they engage in their lifetime willingly, for their own benefit.
