Stories from 2 October 2006
Senegal: Illegal Immigration
On illegal African immigration Senegal Diaw (Fr) writes that “the reasons that push young, able men to risk death to come to Europe…are many and complex, and are not necessarily linked to [Senegal's] poverty,” but are rather a product of a country that is not advancing fast enough, whose youth...
Regionalism and Dissent Mark the Start of Run-off in Brazil
More than 125 million Brazilians went to the polls Sunday to vote for president and to select governors for all 26 states and the Federal District, as well as all 513 Federal Deputies of the lower house and 27 of Brazil's 81 Senate seats. By the end of the day,...
China: golden and chemical moon cakes
October 6 will be the mid autumn festival, Hung Huang tells her readers why she hates moon cakes.
Bahamas: Culture as “light fare”
A Jamaican newspaper article about the pan-Caribbean arts festival Carifesta confirms Nicolette Bethel's view that Caribbean governments fail to take culture seriously.
China: in memory of Traditional Chinese cartoonist
The Chinese cartoonist Liao Bingxiong passed away on 22 September 2006. ESWN translates an articles from the Southern people weekly about the end of traditional Chinese Cartoon style with some typical Liao's political cartoons.
Japan: no girl allowed
JP in Japundit reports that the new Abe Cabinet announces that the Japanese Imperial law needs to be revised in order to “ensure a stable male-line succession of emperors.” Although the public poll shows that 63 percent of Japanese favor revision of the Imperial House Law, with 72 percent supporting...
Japan: English education
Debito reports that the new Japanese Cabinet opposes primary school English education. The new education minister Ibuki believes that Japanese language ability is going down and they should work on their mother tongue than foreign languages.
Tajikistan: Boycotted Vote
Alexander Sadikov reports on the decision of Tajikistan's three most powerful opposition parties to sit out the upcoming presidential election and the decision of four smaller ones to field candidates though it is obvious the current president will be reelected. The decision of these four parties to compete, he says,...
Armenia: Yezidi Wedding
Onnik Krikorian has photos of an Yezidi wedding in Armenia.
Kazakhstan: The Truth About Nomads
KZBlog has a detailed post about Nomad, currently appearing in theaters in Kazakhstan. The movie, as the blogger explains, is based on one part of a larger book telling the story of the creation of the Kazakh nation.
Tajikistan: Gold Teeth
Candide says that the news that Tajikistan's president is going after gold teeth in the country, while seemingly a quirky decision, is a very bad sign for the country.
Armenia: Corruption
Burnell at Blogrel is happy that salaries for state employees are rising in Armenia because the costs of corruption have been on the rise recently.
Mongolia: Education in Flux
Alexa writes that Mongolia's education system is expanding for the first time so that students will be able to start at younger ages.
Trinidad & Tobago: Power to the . . . who??
“The alarming thing about this document is the amount of extra power it concentrates in a president's hands,” writes Jeremy Taylor, reviewing the scary new draft constitution being proposed by the Trinidad & Tobago government.
Barbados: Marketing to US tourists
Barbados Free Press asks why Barbados’ efforts to market to American tourists are failing; Linda Thompkins provides an answer.
Trinidad & Tobago: Carifesta post–mortem
Jeremy Taylor assesses Carifesta, the pan-Caribbean arts festival which ended in Trinidad on Oct 1.
Post Coup Developments in Thailand
The latest in Thailand is the swearing in of the new prime minister, retired General Surayud Chulanond. General Sonthi's Council For National Security – CNS (formerly known as Council for Demorcratic Reform) is still active and will continue to advise the new prime minister Agam's Gecko says Gen. Sonthi vows...
Jamaica: Belonging
“I love being honked at by people I barely know. I enjoy feeling that I belong to something even when the guy selling newspapers, and the one hawking hub-caps, and the nearby gardener all ask me for school-fee money for their kids,” writes Francis Wade of the daily interactions that...
Jamaica: Finding a balance
Geoffrey Philp touches upon the complicated relationship Jamaicans have with the land, and how it influences the country's ability to find a balance between “economic progress and a healthy ecology”.
Russia: Georgia Crisis
Alex Harrowell writes on the Russian-Georgian conflict for A Fistful Of Euros.
Bulgaria: Tripoli Six Update
Declan Butler posts an update on the Tripoli Six case and links to blogs involved in the campaign to free five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor facing execution in Libya.
