Stories from 21 December 2006
French Antilles: Retail is Principal Economic Sector
Says NewMedia (Fr), according to a recent investigation by the French government, retail is the principal economic sector in French overseas departments Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane: “Retail encompasses half the businesses but it is wholesale that generates the biggest revenue and highest margin rate (35%).”
Armenia: Dead Homeless
Onnik Krikorian writes about encountering the dead body of a homeless man while walking his son to school. He says that many homeless people die on the streets in Yerevan due to a lack of services to assist them.
Guyane: Forest In Danger from Gold Digging
Blada.com (Fr) points to a Mongabay.com english-speaking series on the French Guianese environment and says: “Illegal gold digging is threatening the forest, biodiversity and indigenous populations of French Guiana. The biggest European tropical forest is invaded by clandestine gold diggers.” The site also deplores that France –of which Guyane is...
Tajikistan: Voices from Tajikistan
Vadim rounds up the Tajik blogosphere.
Kyrgyzstan: Ala Kachuu
Tolkun Umaraliev writes on the practice of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, noting that the practice is common despite it being illegal. He says that officials are reluctant to do anything about it.
Kazakhstan: Controlling Nationalism
Sean Roberts analyzes efforts to control nationalism in Kazakhstan, efforts that have not been entirely successful.
Central Asia & Caucasus: 30 Years After Independence
neweurasia looks at Central Asia and the Caucasus 15 years from now in a series of posts addressing the fates of the various countries of the region.
Guadeloupe:Celebrating Chevallier de St-George
Guadeloupe Attitude is happy (Fr) a Guadeloupean school chose to rename itself after local historic figure Joseph Bologne a.k.a. Chevallier de St-George, the child of a white French planter and freed african slave woman who lived in the 18th century and conquered classical composing and military skill in both Europe...
Armenia: .AM Domains
The Armenian Economist asks why there are so few .am domains.
Armenia: Araz Petition
Christian Garbis reports on the Araz Petition, an online petition named after an Iranian teenager struck and killed by a speeding driver in Yerevan. The petition aims to pressure the government into making Armenia safe for pedestrians, which Garbis says involves addressing reckless driving and jaywalking.
Bangladesh: A divided nation
drishtipat on Bangladesh as a divided family, with parallels drawn on quarrels in slums and the blogosphere. “Well, we, 150 million people are divided into two groups in support of two families who are trying to somehow grab the ruling power of the country.”
Sri Lanka: Discrimination and those of the Indian Origin
Moju on workers in Sri Lanka of Indian origin being paid less than average and the troubling times for this ethnic community. “Their call on an indefinite strike to raise their daily wages to an amount of Rupees 300 from Rupees 135 per day is staged when elsewhere in the...
India: The glory of strikes
Random thoughts of a demented mind on enjoying a Bandh (strike) in West Bengal. “Postponing a bandh? What kind of lunacy is that? Don’t people understand that the bandh needed to be on 21st (Thursday), 22nd (Friday) so that with the weekend (23rd and 24th) and Christmas (25th) we would...
Pakistan: The return of the Expat
Metroblogging Islamabad on Pakistani expats returning to the city and not quite fitting in. “All they can do is complain and try to pose something they are not with their myopic perspective. If you look at foreigners, the ones who do not even belong to Pakistan, they always manage to...
Lithuania: Camerata Klaipeda
Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about the Lithuanian Camerata Klaipeda – “a very interesting little string orchestra” – and other music matters.
The Balkans: Reading List
South East Europe Online compiles a list of English-language books on the Balkans.
Estonia, Latvia: EU for Non-Citizens
Itching for Eestimaa reports that the Council of the European Union now permits non-citizen residents of Latvia and Estonia to travel in the EU without visas: “Hopefully those newcomers that couldn't make it in Estonia can press their luck elsewhere.”
Slovakia: “The Nature of the Regime”
Slovakia's Deleted By Tomorrow writes about “the nature of the regime”: “Bit by bit the poisonous stupidities are swelling, building up, gaining momentum and threaten not only the free development of Slovak society, but, what’s infinitely much worse, also my sanity and peace of mind. It’s the little things that...
Russia: Abramovich Leaves Chukotka
Billionaire and FC Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has resigned as governor of Chukotka, reports Russia Blog.
Arabisc: Moroccan Authorities Lack Humour, says Blogger
In Morocco, a newspaper is being sued for publishing an article on jokes which Moroccans enjoy. Blogger Hjiouij thinks its not discussing religious issues that the authorities object to in print but rather any attempt to ridicule Moroccan King Mohammed the Fifth. قبل دقائق خمس أعلنت التلفزة الرسمية أن الوزير...
Iran:Iranian President talks about Student Protest
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,Iranian president, wrote in his blog about student protest movement in AmirKabir University during his speech.In his blog,we read “when students with an absolute total freedom – without being worried – insulted the elected president of the people, I had a feeling of joy”.
