Stories about Health from July, 2011
Bahamas: Taking Precautions vs. Dengue
Womanish Words is shaken by her son's diagnosis of Dengue Fever, saying: “These are serious times. We all must take proper precautions. And we need to amp up the national response to the outbreak of Dengue Fever in Nassau. This thing is no joke.”
Russia: Summer Brings Death
Vadim Nikitin at Foreign Policy Association observes that death tolls in Russia seem to rise during the summer, from terrorism, accidents, disasters and other reasons.
Jamaica, Haiti: On Creole Language
“Well, I’ve always known that my views on Jamaican Creole or Patwa, the native language here, were contentious but sound”: Annie Paul is vindicated.
Haiti: Wikileaks & Fr. Jean-Juste
“Father Gerry Jean-Juste, a Haitian priest, was a friend of…mine. For those who follow Haitian politics, the rest of the Father Gerry story is known”: Now, Dying in Haiti republishes Wikileaks cables that “[reveal] how the Haitian Interim Government and the US Embassy were very involved with the fate of...
Russia: Beer Considered Alcohol
Kyle Keeton of Windows to Russia turns attention to a new Russian law that finally defines beer as alcohol in the country.
Armenia: Corruption
With Armenia ranking 123 out of 178 countries in a 2010 Transparency International report measuring corruption, Life in the Caucasus, a blog maintained by a Peace Corps volunteer in the country, notes that bribery take place at all levels of society and in every sphere of life.
North Korean Defectors Living in South Korea
Robert Neff of Marmot's Hole blog wrote about the International Crisis Group's report about North Korean defectors living in South Korea (PDF). The report covers practical problems defectors face in education and health care and discrimination issues.
Cambodia: Prison overcrowding
Licadho reports about the prison overcrowding in Cambodia. It added that Cambodia's prison system is among the 25 most overcrowded in the world.
Malaysia's first yoga festival
Malaysia's first yoga festival was held last weekend in Sepang along the Straits of Malacca. It was attended by more than 250 participants.
Bangladesh: Incompetency And Negligence Of Doctors Go Unabated
A Bangladeshi journalist Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, shares a tragic personal experience – how his seven-month old daughter died because of incompetency and negligence of doctors in a private hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Czech Republic: Czechs Head European Marijuana Use
Tanja of Czechmate Diary reports that a recent EU-study reveals that Czechs have the most widespread marijuana use in the European Union.
Bhutan: Legalizing Abortion
“Abortion is not permitted in Bhutan because we are Buddhist, isn’t it more Buddhist to forgive a woman for her mistake and give her a new life instead of letting her die along with child, which we were trying to protect?” – comments Bhutanese blogger Passu.
Morocco: A Personal Tale of Protest
The Moroccan pro-democracy movement known as February 20, struggles to communicate with the public amid a government-led campaign to discredit it. The movement primarily uses the Internet to explain its position and ideas. But it is the personal account of its own militants that impacts the wider public more starkly. Here is the moving story of one activist, Younes Loukili.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Sex Education
The public reaction to Abeni‘s T-shirt, emblazoned with the words “Sex nice, but de AIDS ting…”, leads her to conclude “that HIV education has to overcome so many prejudices. The reluctance to talk about sex in a holistic way forces the young and not so young to accept myths as...
China: Adding shampoo into tofu
China Media Project highlights another food scandal. A tofu workshop in Lanzhou added chemicals and shampoo into Tofu to create a sticky texture.
South Korea: Skin Problems Occurred by Tear Gas Solution
More than seven thousand protesters clashed with the police on July 10 in a rally against unfair layoffs at Hanjin Heavy Industries. The Wiki Tree site consolidated photos of protesters who reported skin problems after exposure to tear gas solution the police fired at them.
Russia: Worries of wildfires
Two-Zero of Moscow Blog writes about the worries in Russia that last year's catastrophic wildfires will repeat themselves this year.
Poland: Smoking and the Effects of Smoking Ban
Polandian writes about what has changed and what hasn't since the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in Poland on Nov. 15, 2010.
Ukraine: Changes to Disability Laws
Odessablog writes about changes to Ukraine's legislation on the rights of people with disabilities and describes the current situation.
China: Exploding Watermelon Is Safe?
Local state media exposed that farmers in China's Jiangsu province are experiencing a problem with “exploding watermelons” due to the overuse of growth enhancing chemicals. The Ministry of Agriculture has recently asserted that the chemical growth enhancer for watermelon is safe, but Chinese netizens are doubtful.
India: Health Minister Stirs up Gay Sex Controversy
India's Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has stirred up controversy and angered the gay community and gay rights activists with his recent comments at a HIV/AIDS conference in New Delhi. He was widely quoted in mainstream media as having referred to homosexuality as "unnatural" and a "disease" that had come from the West.