19 April 2007

Stories from 19 April 2007

Colombia: The disappointing debate on paramilitarism in Antioquia

Yesterday finally the long awaited “debate” on paramilitarism in Antioquia department, where President Álvaro Uribe was born and was Governor from 1995 to 1997, was held at the Colombian congress. There was a lot of interest on the topic, because opposition senator and former M-19 guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro had said he would reveal a list of 2,000 figures allegedly involved with paramilitarism.

19 April 2007

Russia: Listening In On the Police; St. Pete Rally

Garry Kasparov’s aide, LJ user abstract2001, has posted recordings of the walkie-talkie conversations of riot police officers deployed for the opposition’s Dissenters’ Marches in Moscow on April 14 and in St. Petersburg on April 15. Also, below are some links to photos and text from the rally in St. Petersburg, which ended with the riot police attacking peaceful protesters.

19 April 2007

India: Starry Weddings and News

DesiDabba comments on the media frenzy over a star-studded wedding. “The emphasis seems to be more on generating news than reporting news. Agreed that the marriage in first family of...

19 April 2007

Nepal: The Maoist Attitude

United We Blog! has a sharp-worded post on the attitude of the Maoists. The post evokes an interesting discussion in the comments space. “Because of its confusing stand, the Maoist...

19 April 2007

Water Shortage in Conakry

la plume plus describes the catastrophic effects a long-term shortage of clean water is having on hygiene and human health in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

19 April 2007

Bangladesh: Liberation and India

The 3rd World View on a young Indian politician's remarks over India's role in Bangladesh's liberation. “But hey something is missing from the picture. They have wiped out the context...

19 April 2007

Sri Lanka: Business of News

cerno writes with cynicism and honesty about the business of news. “Unsteady blurry shots of dull buildings become reverting. A true high for the news junkies. The get out of...

19 April 2007

Sarkozy on French Minorities

Patrick Lozès looks back at French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's history of controversial public statements about Africans and Berbers (Fr). He wonders if, given unprecedented levels of voter registration among...

19 April 2007

A Guadeloupean Family Heads Back to Africa

Regardailleurs writes about a Guadeloupean family that decided to abandon the privileges of French citizenship and “repatriate” to Benin (Fr), land of their ancestors, after centuries of exile.

19 April 2007

Congo's Rainforest for Sale

Citing an article in the Guardian, Forum Realiance writes that since 2002, American and European companies have been buying up the rights to the Congo's virgin rainforests (Fr), paying less...

19 April 2007

Ukraine: Kyiv Developments

Foreign Notes and Ukrainiana run brief summaries of the recent developments in Ukraine; Abdymok.net posts a picture of riot police near the Central Election Committee: it may appear that Kyiv...

19 April 2007