Stories from 18 March 2008
Cuba: 55
Uncommon Sense and Child of the Revolution blog about “the fifth anniversary of what has become known as Cuba's own Black Spring…”
Cuba: Absence of Ads
Circles Robinson says that “Cuba’s policy to live without commercial advertising is clearly one of the things that make it different.”
Barbados: Jewish History
Gallimaufry is interested to find that Barbados has unearthed another piece of its Jewish history.
Bermuda: Sunshine Week
Vexed Bermoothes, Politics.bm and Breezeblog all blog about Sunshine Week in Bermuda – and no, it's not what you think.
Bermuda: Citizen Media
Breezeblog keeps track of the annual State of the News Media Report from the Project For Excellence in Journalism and says: “The report notes the nature of news reporting on the net is changing significantly thanks to the influence of ‘citizen media'”.
Armenia: Cultural Protest
Unzipped comments on an open letter signed by a five individuals prominent in their cultural fields including expressing their concern with the political situation in Armenia. The signatories suggest holding new parliamentary elections in Armenia to defuse tensions following the 19 February presidential election and the current state of emergency.
Afghanistan: Women's Day in the Unrest Country
March the Eighth was the International Women's Day, a global celebration of the unsung heroes who make society function. Afghan bloggers noted it was happening, but placed the long struggle for women's rights in a rather historical context. Mohammed Khairy laments, In my country, Afghanistan, women are always marching and...
Kyrgyzstan: Alternative Trials Indicate General Disappointment
The Azamat Report writes that the people of Aksy (southern Kyrgyzstan) are holding alternative court trials in relation to the killing of 6 people during the demonstration on March 17, 2002, when the police opened fire at unarmed demonstrators. This worrying tendency shows that people are losing trust in everything...
Kazakhstan: South Korean Kookmin Buys Kazakh Bank
Adam Kesher reports that one of the major Kazakh banks is to be acquired by South Korea’s largest private bank. This is a third such deal in Kazakhstan, by which local banks hope for additional liquidity and foreign banks eye future dividends.
Tajikistan: Public Discontent Comes to Protests
Vadim reports that people in the eastern part of Tajikistan have taken to the streets in protest against arbitrariness of the law enforcement authorities.
Kyrgyzstan: Maternal Leaves Extended
GenderStan reports that the Kygyzstani parliament has extended maternal leaves to three years, and notes that from the woman’s point of view, it can turn into an employment issue, as employers are not generally happy about hiring young women because of the pregnancy risk.
Afghanistan: “The Afghan Star” Fever
Hadi1121 reports that Afghanistan now suffers from a new kind of fever, “The Afghan Star” fever. This is an “American Idol” type show run by Tolo Television, where contestants sing and mobile phone owners vote them to the top.
Nicaragua: One Year Anniversary for Community Portal
The blog community portal Nicaragua y Su Blog [es] celebrates one year of highlighting new and existing blogs throughout the country.
Thailand: Karaoke Killings
Bangkok Pundit and The Lost Boy comment on the murder case where a man disturbed by the bad karaoke singing of his neighbors killed them all.
Honduras: More Football Violence
Honduras News provides the latest news of those arrested after the disturbances at the Olimpia – Motagua football match, where two fans were killed.
Honduras: Mobile Theater in the Communities
The Secretariat of Culture, Art and Sports in Honduras is sponsoring a Mobile Theater, where young actors are able to travel to different communities role playing different scenarios that Hondurans face on a daily basis, writes Julia Gómez of Un Souvenir [es].
Ecuador: The Beginning of Holy Week
Holy Week has begun throughout Latin America and La Voz de Guamote [es] writes about some of the festivities in Ecuador.
Thailand: Countries on Tibet
Jotman collects official statements and reactions of various countries on the happening in Tibet.
Estonia, Russia: Review of Edward Lucas’ Book
Itching for Eestimaa reviews The New Cold War by Edward Lucas.
Hungary: Budapest Airport
Pestiside writes on what it takes to reach Budapest Airport.
Moldova, Russia: Transnistria
Public Policy Watch – Politici Publice in Moldova writes about the conditions on which Russia is ready to help Moldova sort out the Transnistrian conflict: “Russia requires Moldova to do just one more thing: to prepare a declaration of neutrality and invite US, EU, OSCE, Russia and Ukraine to co-sign...
