Stories from 9 January 2006
Burkina Faso
Missionary aid worker Keith of Under the Acacias writes about his return to Burkina Faso – survival, work, faith, national debt and radio.
Lake Victoria: falling water levels
African Water Journalists Blog points to a report in the Ugandan daily – the Monitor – on the falling water level in Lake Victoria. The result is less fish, less domestic water and an increase in water borne diseases like bilharzia.
African Women Blogging This Week
Heri ya Mwaka Mpya (Happy New Year in Kiswahili). The recent the jailing of a 56-year old English man in the UK for the sexual abuse of children in Africa is a good thing, Black Looks writes. She is however, concerned that the arrest of this vile individual remains an...
Cambodia: Year in Review
At Khmer440.com, Lord Playboy wraps up 2005 in Cambodia, including the millions of dollars of foreign aid pledged to prosecute Khmer Rouge in special tribunals (and not to development) and the fate of opponents to the government.
China, Korea, Japan: Bad Start
The Asia Pages observes that 2006 is starting off poorly for China-South Korea-Japan relations.
China: Biggest Cases in 2005
Chinese Law Prof Blog posts China Youth Daily‘s list of China's 10 biggest legal cases in 2005.
Taiwan: One China Revisited
the leaky pen explains his doubts about the U.S.'s one-China policy. “As support for the one-China policy, many pro-China folks in Taiwan and abroad like to use the argument that “since the rest of the world says that Taiwan is not a country, it isn't. Therefore, Taiwanese demands for recognition...
Vietnam: False and True
diacritic points us to a site that helps one tell fake from real stamps from French Indochina.
Syria: Resistance against Syrian regime
Ammer says that Khaddam’s call for popular resistance against the Assad regime, reiterated in several interviews he gave over the last few days, are serving to make some people question the wisdom behind calling for work stoppage at this stage. For most people at this stage might think that such...
Tunisia: Oil Prices
Tunisians are luckier than others because the government subsidizes a percentage of the fuel price to keep it lower for us, but the country won't be able to go on doing that forever, as prices soar even higher and demand continues to grow, Subzero Blue said.
Turkey: Bird Flu
After all that talk about maintaining the unity of the State against outside influences, if there were any moment for the state to exhibit its stately-ness it is now, Litmus said.
United Arab Emirates: No Water Day
Desertblog says that recently, residents of the Lakes, Meadows and Springs in Dubai could not receive water from their taps at home due to a DEWA fault. So, dwellers of the aquatic sounding, greenery filled developments were without water for a day, while sandy ‘old Dubai’ had no problems?
Jordan: Prisoners in jail without trial
Last week, the Jordanian human rights body reported that a third of all prisoners in Jordan have been jailed without formal charges or facing a trial, Sabbah said.
Egypt: Al Qaeda vs. the MB
What's the difference between Zawahiri (Al Qaeda second man) and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood MB's? According to Sandmonkey, the MB's don't use guns anymore, they left it to Zawahiri and those like him. Members that Muslim Brotherhood recruited and trained and now claim have defected.
Jordan: Literature prize
Nas won the ‘brilliancy prize‘ for his poem “This Thing Called Palestine” from the Andulasia Prize for Literature.
Palestine: Slingshot Hip Hop
umkahli writes; SlingShot Hip Hop is a documentary film that focuses on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel. It aims to spotlight alternative voices of resistance within the Palestinian struggle and explore the role their music plays within their social, political...
Trinidad and Tobago: Paper carnival
Richard Bolai posts photos of the results of Trinidadian Carnival artist Marlon Griffith's work at the Mino Paper Village Artist Residency in Japan. Griffith created carnival costumes and other objects out of washi, a variety of handmade paper.
Puerto Rico: Honoring Roberto Clemente
Gil the Jenius is seeking support for the retiring of the #21 worn by Puerto Rican baseball great Roberto Clemente.
Venezuela: Belafonte hearts Chavez
CaribPundit is disgusted that Jamaican-American performing legend and human rights campaigner Harry Belafonte supports Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. “Fer cryin’ out loud, Harry,” says CaribPundit in a post entitled “Just shut up and sing Day-O” (referring to the song for which Belafonte is best known), “ask Germany, Italy, France, the...
Bahamas: Hegemony
Nicolette Bethel decides against using the word “hegemony” in the title of her thoughtful essay on the notion of hegemony and the way it plays out in the Bahamas.
Iran: AirPlane Crash!
According to BBC several Revloutionary Guards leaders lost their lives in an airplane crash. (Persian)