Stories from 15 June 2007
China: Zhongshan court decides case under Hong Kong law
In settling a contract dispute between a Hong Kong company and a local counterpart, the Intermediate Court of Zhongshan City in Guangdong Province settled the case according to Hong Kong law. Chinese Law Prof blog asked whether similar practice had happened before.
WITNESS/Global Voices Human Rights Video Hub wins One World Media award
Yesterday evening (June 14), the WITNESS/Global Voices Human Rights Video Hub pilot took the award for best New Media project at the One World Media Awards in London. As former Video Hub editor Sameer Padania writes in an e-mail this morning: "I know people say this all the time, but the award really does belong to the brave, committed, talented people on the ground - bloggers, human rights advocates, journalists, lawyers, filmmakers, citizens - who fought to bring these stories to light, and without whom we genuinely would have had nothing to say or show." (Visit this page to see the full list of winners).
Tajikistan: Iranian Investment
Vadim reports on why Iran invests in Tajikistan.
Central Asia: Literature in Translation
Birds’ Books uses Uzbek author Hamid Ismailov's The Railway, one of the rare contemporary Central Asian novels translated into English, as a jumping off point for a discussion of Central Asian literature, language, translation, and the impact of modernism and the Soviet Union on Central Asia.
Afghanistan: Charms of Bamiyan
Kabul Diary writes on a visit to Bamiyan and the charm of the people who live there.
Afghanistan: Unintended Consequence
Joshua Foust says that one of the positive unintended consequences of the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan is an improvement in the condition of homosexuals.
China: English Wikipedia Unblocked
DANWEI confirmed a nationwide unblocking of English Wikipedia. The Chinese version is still blocked.
China: No customer service in Google
Zuola visited Google's office in Beijing to cliam back his Adsense money. He took video and recorded the conversation with the receptionist. Chonghead has translated his video transcript.
Kyrgyzstan: Manas Curriculum
Bonnie Boyd discusses the inclusion of Kyrgyzstan's national epic into the national curriculum. The epic, Manas, is nearly half a million verses long and tells the deeds of the hero Manas and his descendants to secure Kyrgyz independence.
Kazakhstan: Loss of Soviet Architecture
At neweurasia, Daniel reports on the destruction of historical Soviet architecture in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Congo-Brazzaville: Misgivings about upcoming legislative elections
Demain Le Congo-Brazzaville has major misgivings about the upcoming legislative election, scheduled for June 24th. For months Demain has been calling on President Denis Sassou Nguesso, without success, to establish an independent electoral commission to prevent the irregularities that have plagued past contests.
