1 February 2008

Stories from 1 February 2008

Bolivia: The Festival of Alasitas

The festival of Alasitas features a diminuative and jolly character called Ekeko, who is said to bring abundance and prosperity. This event is based in the city of La Paz, but it's popularity has spread to other cities like El Alto. There, some new bloggers write about this custom, and how important it is to maintain these traditions from generation to generation.

1 February 2008

Serbia: Smokers’ Paradise

Serbia marked the National No Smoking Day on Jan. 31, but, as one Serbian blogger noted, "Serbia is the paradise and El Dorado for smokers." Sinisa Boljanovic translates two bloggers' views on the situation with smoking in Serbia.

1 February 2008

Palestine: Rousing Speech

Leila Abu Saba posts a statement by Israeli activist, Shulamit Aloni, read at the Saturday Gaza protest, which she described as a rousing speech.

1 February 2008

Jordan: Price Hike

“Thank you, Jordanian government, for removing subsidies and hiking gas prices across the board. We’ll all be walking a little…stiffer…after next month,” writes An American in Jordan.

1 February 2008

Armenia: Asylum

Unzipped raises the case of a 16-year old Armenian asylum seeker in the UK and asks if anyone can shed more light on the case.

1 February 2008

Armenia: Corrupt Justice

Nazarian, a blogger supporting the candidacy of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian in the 19 February election in Armenia, says justice is corrupt and cannot be taken seriously in Armenia. In...

1 February 2008

Chile: Asian Culture Blog

Vive Asia [es] is a new blog for Chileans to discover the Asian culture and was created by the National Congressional Library in Chile.

1 February 2008

Armenia: Political Satire

With the media becoming as polarized as society is ahead of the presidential election due to be held in Armenia on 19 February, The Armenian Observer posts a satirical cartoon...

1 February 2008

Armenia: Aryan Boycott

Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on the announcement by the ultra-nationalist Union of Armenian Aryans that they will not be supporting any candidate in the coming presidential election. The fact that...

1 February 2008