Stories from 16 January 2008
Bosnia & Herzegovina: A Hostel Review
Bosnia Blog posts a review of one hostel in Sarajevo.
The Balkans: Mismanaged History
Greater Surbiton writes on the vanishing historical sites of the Balkans: “Travellers to the former Yugoslavia are advised to remember, that a beautiful historic building or town centre that you visit may, months later, no longer be there.”
Serbia: Kosovo – “A Balkan Taiwan”?
A Fistful of Euros writes about Kosovo: “So we’re going to end up with a Balkan Taiwan: a de facto state without a UN seat, recognized by some nations but not others.”
Burkina Faso: foreign, local and international incidents
Just a few weeks into the New Year and normally placid Ouagadougou observed its first sensational crime of 2008. A Lebanese man allegedly killed a local Burkinabé money changer during a business deal gone wrong.
Kenya: Dark cloud reveal silver lining
Mental Acrobatics writes about Kenya's 10th parliament: “Tuesday afternoon the dark cloud of an illegitimate presidency in Kenya revealed its silver lining. Democracy hit back hard as Kenya’s 10th parliament convened for the first time.”
Kenya: Live broadcast of parliament
Kenyan Pundit points to a site with a live broadcast of Kenyan Parliament: “Marsgroup Kenya should be showing live clips every 15 minutes. Site is a bit slow so be patient.”
Jamaica: Crime Analysis
“Just in case any Jamaican is scratching their head wondering where much of our crime comes from, it's not only from a poor economy and significant disparity”: Francis Wade explains…
Dominica: Walk the Talk
“As our Government takes a step closer to turning Dominica into an oil refinery for Hugo Chavez, it's worth remembering what they said in 2006″: Steve's Dominica reminds us…
Cuba: Gender Issues
Child of the Revolution reports that Cuba has given the green light to “Cuban transsexuals who want to undergo what is now described as sex-realignment surgery.”
Nigeria: Oil cremations
Akin writes, “Oil fires the people” in Nigeria: Anyone following the saga of Nigeria, its oil and its people would read the news gleaned from recent events and conclude that whilst Nigeria is blessed with oil, any contact between its people and the product always leads to an uncontrollable conflagration.
Bermuda: Thin Is In?
Breezeblog puts in his two cents’ worth on Apple‘s unveiling of the MacBook Air: “Looks great but $1,799?! Are you kidding? For now, I could live with the extra two pounds on a MacBook.”
Nigeria: Super Eagles Free Videos
Nigeria Football Fans Blog has free videos of the Nigerian national soccer team: “The super eagles of Nigeria is a team with so many good memories we can not afford to forget. Here I post an array of videos i know every fans of the eagles will love to watch.”
Tanzania: Slave Chamber
Ore visits a slave chamber in Zanzibar: “Slaves were hidden in here after trade in slaves was abolished. The cave is a dank pit, which appeared to spiral into the ground. After taking about 20 steps down, the daylight was already being subsumed by the underground darkness.”
Barbados: New Government Elected
As Barbados wakes up this morning to a new government, Keltruth Corp., Barbados Underground and Barbados Free Press congratulate the winning party, but note that “after the celebrations are over, it will be time to deliver on the promises.”
Introduction to Somali Blogosphere
The first roundup of Somali blogs, a small but steadily growing segment of the African blogsphere. Most Somali bloggers, predictably perhaps, are young, based outside Somalia and write in English.
Journalists Organize in Congo-Brazzaville
Two new associations for journalists [FR] were founded in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo in an effort to maintain quality and ethics in the profession.
A Haitian Blogger on the Next American President
Pascale, a Haitian living in Abu Dhabi who blogs at Natifnatal, wrote a post about the American presidential election from a “Third World” perspective. Given America's impact, the outcome of this election matters not just for U.S. voters, but people around the world. Can politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton help the US write a new chapter?
China: Internet Mop Culture
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a Tianya article on the Internet Mop culture behind the “Very yellow, very violent” affair.
Uzbekistan: Tesco Ban Uzbek Cotton
Craig Murray says that Tesco, a large British retail group, have banned Uzbek cotton from all products sold in their stores and instituted supply chain audits to ensure this is enforced.
Kazakhstan: Ulytau, an ethno-rock band, Goes West
Zhanna Prashkevich says that Kazakh ethno-rock band Ulytau, featuring a violin, a dombyra and an electric guitar, has landed a notable contract in Germany with the show-biz tycoons.
Tajikistan: Freezing Schools
Vadim reports that because of the cold classes in secondary schools were cancelled by teachers, but not by the Ministry of Education. At the same time, he opines that teachers should keep on working, as not going to school will not save students from getting cold-related diseases because most of...
