Stories from 3 October 2005
Armenia: Dispatch from the Music Scene
Oneworld Multimedia reports that Bambir's latest concert in Yerevan was excellent, and that despite their popularity with locals and foreigners alike, the band has yet to become popular with Diasporan Armenians.
Poland: Poland's Car-nage
PolBlog has a blogcast on the state of driving in Poland that comes in response to a number of recent high-profile auto accidents.
Russia: Backstage at the Bolshoi
The Bolshoi Theatre's old stage is closed for renovations until 2008, but before it shut its doors, Cyber-Generation went backstage to record the occasion.
Armenia: Yerevan Zoo in Bad Shape
Notes from Hareinik says that the Yerevan zoo should be shut down.
Armenia: First Hostel in the Caucasus
Life in Armenia reports on the opening of the first hostel in the Caucasus.
Kazakhstan: neweurasia Kazakhstan launches
neweurasia has launched its Kazakhstan blog where attacks on the press are discussed in the latest post.
El Salvador: Mother Nature's double blow
Tim's El Salvador Blog continues to cover the volcanic activity and flooding taking place in El Salvador.
Azerbaijan: Weekly Election Report
Marianna Gurtovnik has her latest weekly summary of Azerbaijan election news at neweurasia.
Barbados: Violence and Media Coverage
This, That, & Whatever insightfully compares last week's violence in Barbados with what got all the media attention.
Argentina: 400 Years of Don Quixote
Buenos Aires, City of Faded Elegance posts about the 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote and points readers to 400 Windmills, “a group blog dedicated to discussing Don Quixote.”
Argentina: Perspectives on Homosexuality in Media
Andrés Duque translates an article from Argentina about CNN reporter Anderson Cooper. Duque claims the article was factually wrong when saying that Cooper is openly gay.
Liberia: Campaign trail
Black Star Journal comments on why campaigning for the forthcoming Liberian general elections on Oct. 11 is concentrated in and around the capital, Monrovia.
Sudan: Surprise at State Dept. report
The U.S. government has decided that Sudan is making progress on preventing sexual violence against women, reports Darfur-based aid worker Sleepless in Sudan, concluding that the State Dept. can't have read a recent United Nations report on the subject.
Uganda: Troops mass near border
Following reports that thousands of Ugandan troops are amassed near the country's border with the D.R. of Congo, Uganda-CAN urges the government of Uganda and the United Nations to delay attacks on a group of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters there, pending negotiations.
Zimbabwe: Senate elections
Zimpundit comments that the 66 Mugabe-nominated candidates for the forthcoming senate elections might as well be appointees, now that the government has done away with primaries.
South Africa: Chemical weapons program
Abiola at del.icio.us tags a profile by the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative of South Africa's chemical weapons program, which began in the early 1980s under the code-name “Project Coast”.
Japan: Geisha Watch
Sushi and Sensibility has a two-part interview with Sheridan Prasso, author of The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls & Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient.
North Korea: Fake beating video?
At NKZone, Seoul-based professor Andrei Lankov airs his doubts about the authenticity of recently blogged video footage, apparently showing North Korean border guards beating a returning defector.
South Korea: River reborn in Seoul
Kurashi picks up on the reopening of a long-lost urban river in Seoul, the Chongye Stream.
Indonesia: Where democratic minds meet
A. Fatih Syuhud is in a low mood following the Bali bombings, but finds the energy to recommend a blog recently added to his directory: Paras Indonesia. “Where democratic minds meet.”
China: Taishi village standoff
ESWN posts a detailed chronology and background resource with photos for anyone interested in the Taishi village campaign to remove their elected chief.
