Stories from 26 May 2006
Bermuda: Breaking news: gay rights amendment defeated
Bermudan MP Renee Webb's private member's bill proposing the amendment of the Human Rights Code to include sexual orientation has just been defeated in the House of Assembly, reports Christian S. Dunleavy. “The Bill was defeated in committee, therefore there was no formal vote in the House and therefore —...
East Timor: More Violence
Factions continue to fight with each other in East Timor . The blogger at Diligence, in his post titled Another Bad Day, mentions this incident that took place on Thursday, 25th May The UN released details of the casualties from an encounter between FDTL soldiers and the police after army...
Czech Republic: Trying to Fix a Gas Heater
Dana of My Czech Republic Blog reproduces an exasperating phone conversation about a heater that seemed to be broken.
Serbia & Montenegro: Belgrade Pictures
annabengan of Tirana-based annasblog posts photos from her recent trip to Belgrade: “We went to Serbia a week end to visit Belgrade. Cheap tickets from Tirana, leaving early Saturday morning and coming back late Monday night (May 1st).”
Romania: Sarmalele Reci
Romerican writes about a Romanian band called Sarmalele Reci: “Sarmale is a traditional Romanian dish. Basically, it’s rice, pork, and spice rolled into cabbage leaves and baked. We can haggle over recipe details another day. Sarmalele is the articulated plural form of sarmale, yet they are pronounced the same way....
Serbia & Montenegro: Kosovo Documentaries
Mat Savelli of Roma Roma notes two documentaries on Kosovo, one of which is a must-see: “Easily the best documentary produced on ex-Yugo that I have ever seen, the film covered the issue from a broader regional perspective, i.e. correctly.”
Ukraine: Books on Ukraine
Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine has started a Ukrainian book section of his blog: “[…] a list of good (or at least popular) reading material about Ukraine or involving Ukraine. The section includes a number of useful links and things for each book, and categorizes the books a number of...
Trinidad and Tobago: Government not promoting local technology
“The one thing that is being wasted in this country more than money is the minds of our young people,” argues aka_lol of Trinidad and Tobago's Initiative Against Crime. “There has never been a government in our history who promoted local technology beyond their lips…. This country will continue to...
Belarus: Russian Ambassador on Pipeline
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an interview with the Russian ambassador published in the Belarusian edition of a Russian paper: according to him, “Russia […] is firmly determined to take away the gas pipe (Beltransgaz) from Belarusans and have it under Gazprom’s control.”
Russia: Protest Over a Federal Police Unit in Chechnya
David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates an article about a recent protest in Grozny, where about 30 local residents accused of a federal police unit of human right violations and demanded its removal from Chechnya. Prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov wants the same, only for a different reason.
Jamaica: Family history and chicken soup
Geoffrey Philp reminisces about Struie, the small village in Westmoreland, Jamaica, where his mother grew up, and provides a “Jamaican-Miami” version of a traditional family recipe for cold-curing chicken soup.
Aruba: This week in politics
Aruba Girl summarises a busy week in Aruban politics: a member of parliament from the opposition AVP resigned, the justice minister said he would resign next year, and then the government announced that import duties on many goods would be doubled or tripled. “Now that … our national debt is...
Taiwan: Ten years of democracy
A post earlier this week commemorates what Politics from Taiwan blogger David sees as ten years of democracy on the island off China's eastern coast: “By my reckoning, today marks the 10th anniversary of Taiwan's democracy. On 20th May 1996 Lee Teng-hui gave this speech at his inauguration. The election...
China: Merchant life
A post today on Raymond Zhou's Not only movies blog looks at the lives of the largest group of foreigners in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou's expatriate community: African and Arab traders.
Barbados: Barbados Labour Party starts blog
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has started a blog, notes Titilayo; she wonders “how much of the impetus … came from the establishment and growing popularity of Barbados Free Press”. Meanwhile, Barbados Free Press itself compares the web presences of the country's three main political parties, and asks why the...
China: Photos of churches
For a country ruled by Communists, China has its fair share of churches—eleven in the Southern Chinese city of Guangzhou alone, as photoblogged today at Frances D'Ath's Supernaut: “Guangzhou is home to at least eleven notable historic churches, built between 1850 and the early 20th century, but of these, 石室圣心教堂...
Bermuda: Drag queen defies parade ban
“Local drag artist Mark Anderson joined Bermuda's Heritage Day parade [on Wednesday 24 May] despite a Government prohibition,” reports A Limey in Bermuda. “Good for him…. Mr. Anderson is a gay Bermudian and homosexuals are as much a part of Bermudian society as majorettes and the Bermuda Regiment.” Christian S....
Mongolia: Textile Export Drop
neweurasia reports that Mongolia's textile exports to the United States have suffered tremendously since quotas on textiles were lifted in 2005.
Taiwan: China threat growing
Although no clear timeline has been set by Beijing, an invasion of Taiwan is not a matter of ‘if,’ says political analyst-blogger Confidential Reporter at China Confidential, but when: “Notice we said ‘when,’ not if, because it is becoming increasingly clear that unless Taipei eventually, well, surrenders to Beijing, there...
Armenia: A1 Denied Frequency
Onnik Krikorian says that the popular A1 has been again denied a broadcast frequency, a decision Onnik says is “yet another blow to press freedom” in Armenia.
Mongolia: Windfall Profits Tax
Luke Distelhorst reports that Mongolia's controversial windfall profits tax on mining is now law and he carries the reaction from Ivanhoe Mines, a major investor in the country's mining sector.
