· July, 2012

Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2012

Guyana: Linden Protests

  31 July 2012

Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships” meted out to the citizen of that mining community.

China: Bizarre Power Triangle – Sina, the Government and Netizens

  31 July 2012

Ever since the advent of Internet in China, the Chinese government has either tried to embrace it or control it. The upsurge of social media in the country has introduced two other characters into the story-Chinese netizens and leading Internet company Sina. Find out more about this often bizarre power triangle.

Philippines: New Mining Policy Stirs Debate

  31 July 2012

Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's new Executive Order 79 on mining has drawn criticism from environmentalists, church people, peasant groups, and various other sectors. The Philippines has one of the largest mineral deposits in the world

Pakistan: The business Of Ramadan

  30 July 2012

Samra Muslim at Pak Tea House writes that the month of Ramadan is not important for religious reasons but it is the month of business all around creating a lot of commotion in the economy of Pakistan.

Argentina: Evita's Face on New Banknote

  30 July 2012

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the death of Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita), President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner unveiled a new banknote with Evita's image, replacing Julio Roca on $100 bills. On social networks, some defend the change and others criticize it.

East Asia: Flourishing Illegal Trade in ‘Captive Bred’ Exotic Birds

  28 July 2012

According to a July 2012 report from the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC), many endangered birds that are sold as captive bred have actually been caught in the wild and smuggled out of their original habitats under cruel conditions. An ID registration scheme for captive bred parrots introduced in Taiwan enables clear identification of legally saleable birds to try and combat this problem.

Russia: Paving Political Potholes

Say the word "roads" to most Russians, and you are likely to end up with a half-hour discussion. Throughout history, Russia has been infamous for its bad road quality. However, now the city of Yekaterinburg seems to have come up with a solution to the problem, by making bureaucrats get down to work.

Russia: The Killing of Krutov

The June 29 murder of Svetloyarsk Raion administration head Nikolay Krutov was a blip on that day’s news. It was not unprecedented, but unraveling why the crime was committed (and what it means) is anything but straightforward.

Paraguay: Citizens Reject Rio Tinto's Aluminium Smelter Project

  25 July 2012

The blog Interparaguay [es] shares several videos on a project headed by Río Tinto Alcan to build an aluminium smelter in Paraguay. In the last video, Mercedes Canese, Vice Minister of Mining and Energy during Fernando Lugo's government, answers some questions about the project and its impact on the environment.

Spain: King's Controversial Son-in-law Gets Salary in Millions

  23 July 2012

Amid austerity cuts, the Duke of Palma and son-in-law of the King of Spain Iñaki Urdangarín's new salary has caused a scandal in the country. Urdangarín will receive a 1.5 million euro salary as well as 1.2 million euro in-kind this year, after renewing his contract with the telecommunications company Telefónica. Urdangarín is also currently being investigated for misappropriating public funds, for which he could be sentenced up to 18 years in prison.

Zambia: New Minimum Wage Pits Employers Against Government

  21 July 2012

The Statutory Instrument stipulating the minimum wage payable to domestic servants, shop workers and other general workers is arguably one of the most controversial policies of the 10 months old Patriotic Front (PF) government. This issue has divided Zambian netizens on citizen media and social network sites, those for and those against it, in equal measure.

Russia: Yaroslavl Court Bans LiveJournal

Earlier this week, a Yaroslavl court responded to a request from local police and ordered Internet provider Netis Telekom to shut off access to a handful of websites, including Russia's most popular blogging platform, LiveJournal. As a result, roughly 6,000 subscribers have lost all LJ access.