Stories about Economics & Business from April, 2014
The Kremlin’s Internet Annexation
For some reason, lawmakers in Russia today continue to add new powers to the state’s censorship utility-belt, as though the current panoply of Internet controls weren’t enough.
A ‘Stressful’ Taxicab System in Cameroon
Ghanaian blogger Kuukuwa writes about her experience with the taxicab system in Cameroon: There are no taxi stations, so taxi drivers move around town all day looking for passengers. And, mind you, this is a shared taxi system. Depot (“dropping” in Ghanaian English), where one person hires a taxi isn’t...
Collaborative Economy Visionaries Gather at OuiShare Fest 2014 in Paris
The OuiShare Fest 2014 will gather thousands of activists for a conference on collaborative economy from May 5 -7 in Paris, France. The objective of the festival is to exchange on a common vision of an economy relying on horizontal networks and communities. Here is a video presenting the festival:
So You Need to Get Around Madagascar?
Public transportation can be a challenge in Madagascar. The country's road infrastructure is antiquated and underdeveloped and overcrowded buses and minivans are often the only option.
Former Malaysian PM Blames Boeing for MH370 Disaster
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wanted Boeing to take responsibility for the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight MH370. He wrote in his blog: Boeing built this aircraft. Boeing must explain how all these means of tracking the plane can be disabled, can fail. Either Boeing technology is poor...
Trinidad & Tobago: Green Business
ICT Pulse puts forward six suggestions to make offices greener.
Pure Grenada
What comes to mind when an unexposed individual envisions the Isle of Spice? Grenada’s brand, though it fuels patriotism, isn’t targeted at Grenadians. We already know what our country has to offer. Nisha writes about about the re-branding of Grenada‘s tourism product.
A Peek at Hong Kong's Collaborative Sharing Economy
Different initiatives in Hong Kong connect people with others to help fix household items, give away unwanted goods and borrow a book.
Grenada, Antigua: Life Lessons
Kara Stevens, blogging at Groundation Grenada, shares five lessons about finances and life from Lessons her “Superhero Antiguan Grandpa”.
So Long, Mr. Durov, and Thanks for All the Fish
After more than a year of rumors, the stockholders of Russia’s largest online social network, Vkontakte, have finally fired founder and CEO Pavel Durov.
French Economist Piketty Links Inequality to Instability of Democracies
French economist and Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics, Thomas Piketty recently published a book called “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” that has generated quite a buzz among fellow economists and political leaders. Piketty's central thesis is that inequality is not an accident, but one of the consequences of the excess of capitalism. Piketty...
East Timorese Protect Land Rights Against Australian Cement Plant Deal
The announcement of a new cement plant project by an Australian company in Baucau, northeast of East Timor, has led local community groups to set up a non-governmental organization “to protect and preserve the communities’ rights to their culture, development and traditional land rights.” According to the community organization, Kapeliwa, the government...
VIDEO: Judging Boyfriends by Their Housing in Hong Kong
In this funny video, the mother in a viral video reacts differently to her daughter's boyfriend depending on where he says he lives.
Turning Faecal Waste Into Business Opportunities
Clean Team Ghana organised a Twitter chat using the hashtag #WasteOpportunities to discuss the business potential of faecal waste.
Cameroonian Bloggers ‘Are the Future, and We Are Writing That Future Now’
An interview with Florian Ngimbis, president of the Cameroonian Bloggers Association, about language, the country's poor Internet penetration and more.
Bad News & Worse News for Russian Internet Users
A Russian initiative to expand regulation over bloggers is still just a bill in the legislature, but it’s already harming the country's Internet freedom.
Censorship by Litigation in Russia?
Earlier this month, VKontakte minority shareholder United Capital Partners (UCP), filed a complaint against Durov for breach of VKontakte fiduciary duty for creating the secure messenger Telegram.
In Bangladesh, Cycling to Break Free of Dhaka's Notorious Traffic
Dhaka is one of the most unlivable cities in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and its extreme traffic congestion contributes a lot to this fame.
Historical Overview of Cambodia's Land and Housing Problem
Hallam Goad analyzed the problems and issues that plagued Cambodia's urban development in the past two decades: Phnom Penh has followed the clichéd patterns of newly emerging nations almost to the letter with the urban poor shouldering many of the downsides. What few people recognise is that most of it...
Trinidad & Tobago: Lack of Accountability
The main issue now arising in relation to the Beetham Water Recycling Project…is the complete failure of our country’s system of Public Financial Management. Afra Raymond takes on the government's “unpardonable failure to account for that mammoth sum of Public Money.”
Extending bridges between Miami and Havana
During this interview, Jorge De Armas speaks about recent event in Miami directed to building bridges between Cuba and the United States after more than 50 years of conflict.
