Stories from 3 August 2006
Moldova, Russia: Transdniestria
Edward Lucas, the Economist's Central and East European correspondent, writes about Transdniestria and ICDISS (International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty), a mysterious entity that has recently published a seemingly fake “treatise about Transdniestria’s claim to independence.”
Russia: Yukos’ Real Value
Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert examines Yukos’ real value: “So Yukos is valued anywhere between $17.7bn and $35bn, depending on whom you believe. Yukos’ debts stand at $18.26bn, meaning that the company is only technically insolvent if the lowest figure is taken as correct. Unsurprisingly, this figure...
Russia: Potato 2007 in Moscow
Copydude writes that Russia will be hosting Potato 2007 – even though it “imports potato chips from over 15 countries.”
Serbia: “Is Karadzic Worth the Loss of Kosovo?”
Balkan Ghost of Finding Karadzic posts a translation of a column in a Croatian paper: “What Will Serbia Get in Exchange for Kosovo?”
Fiji: RakshaBandan Festival
Babasiga blog has a post on the celebration of RakshaBandhan in Fiji. The festival is popular in India and it celebrates the love between brothers and sisters. It was introduced in Fiji by Indians who were brought to Fiji in the 19th century by the colonial rulers. The blogger says...
Singapore: Librarians and Wikipedia
Rambling Librarian in Singapore discusses the use of Wikipedia as a resource by librarians. “Some librarians feel that a resource like Wikipedia should not be cited as part of an answer to a customer (in response to their information enquiry). I'm not saying their concerns have no basis. I'm just...
Indonesia: Political Party Launched
Indoensia Matters blogs the launch of a new left wing political party in Indonesia. “A main focus of Papernas is the struggle against “imperialism”, by which is seemingly meant the strength and influence of international capital in Indonesia, and the roles of organisations like the IMF and World Bank.”
Malaysia: No to Internet Censorship
Malaysian politician and blogger Lim Kit Siang has this suggestion for the Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after the Prime Minster supported a call by his Information Minister to control the internet in order to stop rumours.
Ethiopian blogs focus on Somali tension
Ethiopia’s bloggers kept a nervous eye on their country’s southern border with Somalia over the past two weeks as rumblings of renewed conflict got ever louder. The growing tension received next to no coverage in the mainstream media who focused most of their international coverage on southern Lebanon. But the...
DRC: White Candidate in Presidential Election
Fleur d'Afrique points to an article about Pierre-Jacques Chalupa, a white candidate in Sunday's presidential election and writes (Fr): “Apparently, there was also a white candidate in the elections. I thought it was a joke! As the article says, it is hilarious that nobody is reacting but when it comes...
Cuba: More media critiques
Fausta Wertz parses the statement about Fidel Castro's condition appearing today in the Cuban news daily Granma and critiques statements from other media outlets, including the BBC: “On Tuesday I was saying this was Fidel's Yasser moment. So far, it continues to be.”
Cuba: Critiqing the MSM
The indefatigable Babalu Blog continues posting its critiques of what it views as the mainstream media's pandering to Castro, and Babalu's editor, Valentín “El Barbaro” Prieto is the subject of an article in the Palm Beach Post.
Cuba: Castro's sister says her brother is alive
Several news outlets and blogs, including The Latin Americanist and Ya No Mas, have published reports stating that Fidel Castro's sister, Juanita, who lives in exile in Miami, has affirmed that her brother is alive.
Cuba: Foreign journalists barred
Cuba Libre Digital (ES) and Ya No Mas (ES) have published a report stating that “at least six” foreign journalist have been barred from entering Cuba. According to the report, the journalist are from Peru, Chile and the US, and were stopped at José Martí airport in Havana.
Iran: A Tourist Government
Jomhour says before becoming President, Ahmadinejad criticised former Ministers’ “un necessary” trips. The blogger says after one year as President, Ahmadinejad got all records for travelling abroad or to provinces. Jomhour considers too much money wasted on Ahmadinejad's trips where he repeats same useless things in provinces [Fa]. The blogger...
India: Soft drinks
Amardeep in Sepia Mutiny discusses on the controversy over the pesticide content in Indian soft drinks. He accuses the authorities for the delay in setting the standards and suspects foul play.
Sri Lanka: escalating violence
Jayadeva Uyangoda in Focus Lanka analyzes the current escalating violence between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE. The government is accusing LTTE for the recent killings of innocent civilians while it is refuting its involvement. His suggestions to settle the country’s ethno-political armed conflict include establishing of an international verification commission to investigate the charges against LTTE.
China: Two tales of a boy's death
On July 16, well-known and outspoken political commentary writer Liao Zusheng's (廖祖笙) son Liao Mengjun (廖梦君) is surreptitiously called from summer vacation back to his school to pick up his junior high graduation certificate and, according to one account, within minutes after arriving is found dead on the pavement next...
Bangladesh: social justice
Pamela, a British expatriate at Dhaka Diary experiences the heartless beating of a young man (alleged of a crime) by an unruly mob. Dhaka has seen more such incidents of mob lynching in recent days.
India: Mobile internet
IT entrepreneur Rajesh Jain at Emergic lists six reasons why the trend of mobile Internet should take-off in India.
Pakistan: promote tourism on the net
Shirazi at Light Within comments that Pakistan is falling behind in promoting tourism because local tour operators as well as the authority rarely keep their presence on the web. Websites containing tourism services along with other meaningful and current information about every possible destination should augment tourism in Pakistan and in a few other South Asian countries.
