· July, 2013

Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2013

Racist Slur As A Brand Name

  31 July 2013

Abdul Halik writes about reactions to a brand of dates marketed in Sri Lanka which sounds like a well-known and highly derogatory term referring to Muslims. The blogger analyses the situation in the context of the recent rise of racism and hate speech against Muslims in Sri Lanka from a...

INFOGRAPHIC: Singapore Waste Statistics

  28 July 2013

According to Singapore's National Environment Agency, every person in Singapore generated 1,370 kg of waste in 2012. About 60 percent of the waste were recycled and 40 percent were disposed in incinerators and landfills

African Fabric Kimono Belt Supports Mothers in Earthquake Disaster Area

  25 July 2013

A group of Japanese mothers in Sendai city is producing special kimono belts with fairly-traded African fabrics. Yumi Nakano, who organizes the fundraising [ja] by requesting a donation in exchange for the belts, hopes to encourage more people to enjoy the traditional Japanese kimono and help support the mothers of the...

Data Visualization: Electric Japan

  15 July 2013

Electrical Japan [ja], a website by researcher Asanobu Kitamoto [ja] lets you explore electric power plants and energy consumption in Japan through data-visualization. The color of the dots represents the type of power plant, for example fossil-fuel plants are red and hydroelectric plants are blue. The size of the dot represents the amount of power generated....

Riau, Indonesia: ‘Ground Zero’ of Southeast Asia Haze

  15 July 2013

The deadly haze which swept Singapore and some parts of Malaysia this year was caused by the forest fires in Riau, Indonesia. Naturally, it attracted significant mainstream media attention but there was scant reporting on the situation of Riau citizens who have tremendously suffered and are still suffering from the impact of both the haze and forest fires.

Trinidad & Tobago's Media Association Pulls a 180 in Press Freedom Debacle

  14 July 2013

The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago has retracted its original statement about political interference having a part to play in the alleged reassignment of key reporters in the Guardian's newsroom, leaving some bloggers wondering if the whole affair was a storm in a teacup…or if the public is not being told the whole story.

Barclays’ Decision Threatens Somalia Peace

  14 July 2013

Laure Hammond explains how a recent decision by Barclays Bank to close the accounts of 250 money transfer organisations working around the world will have a particularly severe effect on Somalia’s efforts to emerge from two decades of conflict.

Garment Factory Map in Cambodia

  13 July 2013

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights has launched a map of garment factories in Cambodia. The map provides details of each factory including location, nationality of the owner, and number of employees. There are at least 558 garment factories in Cambodia which produce and supply garments to major international brands...

Caring For The Migrant Workers in Maldives

  12 July 2013

Amira at Mindblur comments: The population of the Maldives is a little over 300,000 people and we employee over 100,000 expatriate workers mainly in menial jobs in the construction industry, as housemaids, cleaners, helpers in various places, etc. This high proportion of the population would mean the Government should put...