Stories from 5 July 2006
Belarus: “Cultural Exchange” With Taiwan
LJ user oldmah has asked (BEL) his online friend from Taiwan to write the words “Belarus” and “Zhyve Belarus” in Chinese script. (The latter means “Long live Belarus” and was the trademark slogan of this year's protests in Minsk.) The results of this “cultural exchange” are posted on oldmah‘s blog.
Belarus: 300 Polish Scholarships Not Enough
EM of TOL's Belarus Blog writes that 300 Belarusian students will receive scholarships to attend Polish universities this year, but – a lot more could (and should, according to the blogger) be done by the EU: “Why is it so hard to find an extra 100,000 Euros and actually provide...
Poland: Play to be Staged in Tehran
An Iranian director has finally been allowed to stage a play by “one of Poland’s best contemporary writers,” the beatroot reports: “Now I get why it will be a great play to put on in Tehran. Dictatorship, false idols, weaklings who think they are heroes…”
Czech Republic: New Driving Laws
My Czech Republic Blog reports on the new driving laws, badly needed in the country with “one of the worst accident rates in Europe.”
India: South Asian diaspora and speculative fiction
Samit Basu on South Asian diaspora and speculative fiction. “Many of the world’s most successful writers of Indian origin live outside the subcontinent yet set their books there, and many critics feel this harms the authenticity of their work. A lot of the criticism stems from the fact that a...
India: Crafts
Paavani on crafts, craftmanship and increasing its relevance in the contemporary world.
Nepal: Constitution, India and the way forward
The balance of power in Nepal. Nepali Netbook points to the costs of capriciousness. “In any other place, such an act would have been the gravest admission of incompetence by a newly ascendant political class. But, then, few countries have averaged a constitution a decade without figuring out a clear...
Bangladesh: Energy Crisis
Drishtipat Group Blog on a response to the energy crisis in Bangladesh, that may have the answer. “Iqbal Quadir mostly known among the connoisseurs on global economy as the founder of Grameen Phone establishment has teamed up with the renowned inventor Dean Kamen to venture in to producing a high...
Bangladesh: Muslim in America
Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying on being a Muslim Immigrant in America. “Even though I have spent most of my life in America I still carry the weight of being an immigrant and a Muslim in post 9/11 America. After 9/11 my loyalties were subject to question. Suddenly...
Argentina: A Toothless Press
Ian Mount accuses the Argentine press of toothlessness in its coverage of popular ruling president, Nestor Kirchner.
Fresh Ideas, New Option, Global Vision: The Brunei Times
A second newspaper, called The Brunei Times has finally been launched on Friday, 30th June, 2006, and debuted the next day, with a motto of “Fresh ideas, New options and Global vision”. The launch marks the end of Borneo Bulletin's long time monopoly being the sole English newspaper and months...
African Union: Leaders criticized
Eddie Cross, guest-blogging at Zimpundit, lays into the leaders who met at the African Union summit in Banjul, Gambia, July 1-2. “We have the spectacle of the Heads of State rejecting the Democracy Charter, refusing to face up to the genocidal activities of the government of the Sudan and complete...
Indonesia: Indonesian Proverbs
Jenny's Journies blog introduces couple of popular Indonesian proverbs and links to a page where the reader can get a longer list.
Malaysia: Questions for the Foreign Minister
Lucia Lai is taking the Malaysian Foreign Minister to task for not practising domestically the ideas he is preaching internationally. “wah!! can go overseas to have an interfaith dialogue while right here in our own homeland there are so many people objecting to the interfaith commission (IFC). IFC will be...
Zimbabwe: Effects of inflation
Sokwanele analyses the effects of inflation in Zimbabwe, using the example of a schoolteacher with children and a modest salary.
Uganda: Entebbe jet video
Video Journalist Africa shoots some video of an ancient-looking jet aircraft at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, which local people say is the Air France jet whose hijacking prompted the Israeli military raid and rescue operation there 30 years ago. But the tailplane appears to bear the faded letters: “Brit…”
Kenya: World Cup chance?
What An African Woman Thinks bemoans the disappearance of non-European teams from the World Cup, but calculates that Kenya has a good chance of both hosting and winning the tournament by 2054.
Indonesia: Defence Minister's Blog
Unspun is glad that the Indonesia's defence minister's blog is attracting global attention. The blogger links to couple of international blogs that are talking about the minister's blog. “At any rate I am glad that Juwono, if nothing else, is helping through his blog to help dispel an image that...
Uganda: Amnesty for Kony?
Yebo Gogo is ambivalent about the offer of amnesty being made to Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has already reported him to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant. But, writes Fontaine, it would be hard to dismiss such an...
D.R.Congo: History repeats itself
Black Looks has a long essay on the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the eve of general elections there, sparking debate in the comments section. The current situation can be traced back to the exploitation of the country's resources–especially mining–by King Leopold of Belgium beginning in 1882....
Culture and History Triumph Over Nationalism in the World Cup Lusosphere
As the World Cup heads into its emotion-packed finals, the Lusosphere is still pulsing around the diverse fates of the teams of Portuguese speaking countries. Brazil fell from its high pedestal and the noisy crash of coach Parreira and his fading stars is bouncing through the blogosphere as expected. Portugal's...
