· November, 2009

Stories about Governance from November, 2009

India: Corruption Is The Hindrance

  30 November 2009

“India needs to be made free of corruption before it can become developed. But the entire existing Indian governance ecosystem will prevent this from happening,” opines Rajesh Jain at Emergic.

Trinidad & Tobago: Numb from CHOGM

  30 November 2009

This Beach Called Life features a press ad that was taken out by “a group who knows Trinidad and Tobago better than any foreign or local politician”, adding in a follow-up post: “The only thing that CHOGM did for citizens of this country was to send the fed up level...

Saudi Arabia: Citizens’ Fury At Flood Deaths

  30 November 2009

Saudi Arabia's second largest city, Jeddah, was struck by heavy floods last week, and the death toll has risen to more than 100 people. Poor infrastructure and mismanagement of city works construction have been blamed, and thousands have joined a Facebook group criticising the authorities.

Singapore: Is It a City or Country?

  30 November 2009

Is Singapore a city or a country? This question seems silly since Singapore is globally recognized as an independent state. But for Singapore Law Minister K. Shanmugam, Singapore should be treated as a city. This remark triggered a debate in the blogosphere.

Egypt: A fine line between patriotism and chauvinism

  28 November 2009

The November 14 football match between Egypt and Algeria has turned into an ugly war and it got worse after Egypt's defeat on November 18 in Sudan. From the fury of Egyptian President's son to that of renowned actors and actresses, media figures, writers, and Facebook users, anger has blinded common sense. Marwa Rakha looks at a new initiative to put out the fire.

China: Law or Justice?

  28 November 2009

According to Chongqing Evening News, by November 15th 2905 suspects had been arrested during a massive crackdown on gangs in the municipality of Chongqing, a major city with 30 million population and provincial status. The campaign was unprecedented both in its scope and its depth as it brought down a large number of government officials including...

Nepal: Machine Readable Passport

  27 November 2009

“I wouldn’t want to cancel my trips due to the the failure of the government to issue passport,” says Xnepali while discussing whether the Nepali government will be able to meet the deadline of producing machine readable passports (MRP) for the Nepalis within four months (April 1, 2010).

Russia: Website Administrator Faces Trial on Libelling

RuNet Echo  26 November 2009

Alexander Batalov, a former administrator of the official Web site for the town of Irbit, faces libel charges for anonymous comments left by someone else on the site. Batalov is accused of allowing unapropriate comments online and, if found guilty, will be required to pay $8,000 penalty. The full story...