Stories from 19 August 2008
Olympic Hijab Style
British blog Hijab Style shares photographs of Olympians who wear hijab, including Bahrain's Ruqaya al Ghasra and Yemen's Waseelah Fadhl Saad.
Kazakhstan: Olympic Blogwatch
The Beijing Olympics have moved political debates in the Kazakh blogosphere to the background. Alim Atenbek is upset with the uniform of the Kazakhstani team [ru]: Officials always want to make a buck on everything, and the Olympiad is not an exclusion. The government allocated 68 milion tenge for 226...
Mongolia: For second time, oil prices rise for Mongolians
RML reports that, as in the rest of the world, the cost of petroleum products in Mongolia, which buys gasoline from from Russia, is rising steadily.
Kazakhstan: British ex-premier’s son served Kazakh oilmen
Zhanna Zhukova reviews allegations that Sir Mark Thatcher, son of the British ex-prime-minister Margaret Thatcher, was hired by a private Kazakh oil company to lobby for its interests and to enhance Kazakhstan’s image abroad.
Kyrgyzstan: Uzbek language TV channels are at a risk of closure in Kyrgyzstan
Tolkun writes about the new language regulations for broadcast mass media in Kyrgyzstan and its possible effects on Uzbek language media of the country.
Tajikistan: Charity in the name of Olympic champion
Vadim reports that a Tajik businessman decided to establish a fund in the name of first Tajik Olympic medalist.
Tajikistan: First Olympic Medal Ever
Vadim reports that a Tajik judoka secured for Tajikistan its first Olympic medal.
Kyrgyzstan: Incident in the Prison
Elena publishes official information about the incident in a prison where 2 prison officials were killed by convicts in Kyrgyzstan.
Morocco: An American Experience
Hicham, who just returned from a teacher training in the United States, shares his experience living in America.
Morocco: Bus Crash Kills 8, Injures 40
The View From Fez shares the sad story of a recent bus crash in Morocco in which 8 passengers were killed, and forty more were injured.
Kyrgyzstan: Senators, Breakfast and Weapons
Patrick Frost reviews the visit U.S. of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and four other senators to Kyrgyzstan.
Afghanistan: Political Opposition Rally in Badakshan
Azar Balkhi reports on another rally of the emerging political opposition in Afghanistan that unites around Dr. Pedram, the leader of National Congress Party of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Towards a Critical Situation
Nasim Fekrat opines that ecurity situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly in the recent days after the Taliban insurgents’ rocket attack on Kabul airport.
Afghanistan: Remembering The Bravest American Woman
Azar Balkhi publishes a remembrance post devoted to Nicole Dial, an American woman aid worker, one of three western females who were gunned down by the Talibans in Afganistan on August 13th.
China: Liu Xiang is after all still a hero
“There are heroes in this world, but there are no supermen. And the hero is not necessarily the person who wins the gold medal.” My1510‘s Rose Luqiu looks at the psychology of Liu's withdrawal, both from the perspective of athlete and audience: Liu Xiang and the Media, translated by Roland...
Hong Kong: Fireman
Recently two Fire fighters died in a fire accident, a fireman blogger pointed out that the fire teams have been suffering from inadequate facilities and staffs back up that puts their life at risk.
Dominican Republic: Overview of Twitter
Claudia Chez of My 2 K Cents [es] provides an overview of the 231 Dominican users of Twitter. Approximately 45% have their own blogs or other personal pages.
Call for video journalists for You Tube Contest
You Tube's Citizen News channel has released a video promo for an upcoming citizen journalism contest. They will be receiving videos of less than 3 minutes in length, in English, of a video profile about someone in your community you believe should be known by the rest of the world. The prizes and other information will be released in September.
Japan: Bathhouse Culture
Verena from Pingmag has written a feature about Japanese bathhouse culture.
Japan: Intangible Cultural Heritage
Ampontan blogs about the nomination of 14 cultural expressions by the Agency of Cultural Affair as Intangible Cultural Heritage. One of the items is chakkirako.
Japan: Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th
James from Japan Probe has a sum-up on the demonstration at Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War.