Stories from 2 December 2008
Azerbaijan: Seven Beauties
Sheki, Azerbaijan says that a recent performance of Seven Beauties by Qara Qarayev managed to convey the richness of the Soviet-era Azerbaijani composer's work. The blogger adds that attending the ballet was one of those “moments in life when a person feels proud of belonging to this or other country/nation.”
Barbados: Appearances Matter
Barbados Free Press believes “that judges should not mix socially with politicians for the simple yet profound reason that to do so takes away from the appearance that the judiciary is independent from the political branch of government.”
DRC: Cartoons satirize Congolese politics
It's been just one month since Congolese President Joseph Kabila named a new government in an effort to quell mounting criticism over his inability to quell rebel violence in the east, and many bloggers remain skeptical about the country's future. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Cote d'Ivoire: Ivorian blogger wins BOB
Congratulations Blog de Yoro[Fr], winner of the 2008 BOB award for Best Francophone Blog.
Cameroon's rich and powerful
Cameroonian blogger Le blog du Prési… lists Cameroon's rich and powerful. Average profile: an octogenarian currently or formerly in government, who is likely to have seen the inside of a prison cell.
Pakistan: Riots in Karachi continues
Dr. Awab at Teeth Maestro is following the recent ethnic riots in Karachi which is being downplayed by media. An entry from his Tweeter account on December 1: “2 individuals shot dead around bait-ul-mukarram mosque area in Gulshan in a case of random shooting.#Karachi”.
Thailand: Airport crisis hurting ordinary persons
The airport chaos is hurting Thailand’s tourism industry, even the economy of its neighbors. But it must be pointed out that ordinary persons, Thais and foreigners, are suffering more. Tourists are stranded; Bangkok residents are losing their jobs, especially those who are working in the airports.
Iran: Five million dollars for filtering
According to several news site including Roozonline, Mahmoud Salarkia,a senior Iranian justice official, said that five million dollars (five billion tomans) are invested to develop new tools for filtering in Iran.
India: Mumbai Limps Back To Life
IdeaSmith at Desicritics travels across Mumbai and finds that the city is slowly coming back to life after the trauma of the Mumbai terror attacks. The blogger also posts pictures of different parts of the city.
D.R. Congo: Journalist's murder highlights fragile democracy
While fighting continues in the North Kivu province of the DR Congo in spite of a well-publicised ceasefire, in the relatively peaceful neighboring province of South Kivu yet another journalist has been murdered.
Japan: World AIDS Day Series and the Red Walk
As a part of wAds (World Aids Day Series) [jp], the HIV/AIDS prevention and education campaign taking place between October and December, many people this year have again participated in the Red Walk in Tokyo. As blogger Koji describes at Koji no Shiiteki Nikki [Kojiの恣意的日記], on the 30th of November...
Armenia: World AIDS Day Observed
Yesterday marked the 20th World AIDS Day, and although the event was marked on a small scale in the Armenian capital, it was nevertheless observed in a country where such subjects as sexual health and alternative sub-cultures are usually considered somewhat taboo.
El Salvador: HIV and AIDS Statistics
Tim Muth publishes the latest statistics on HIV and AIDS in El Salvador.
Japan: Japanese man living in Mexico City Int'l Airport
Blogger que es que, a Japanese living in Guadalajara (Mexico), commented on news concerning Hiroshi Nohara [en], a Japanese man who has been living for months in the Benito Juarez International Airport of Mexico City. The blogger writes that they would like one day to experience Nohara's free style of...
Cuba: Latin American Film Festival in Havana
The 30th Annual Latin American Film Festival featuring 114 films in all, begins in Havana, Cuba according to Jorge García Sosa of Alo Cubano [es].
North Korea in Blogs
Information about North Korea is hard to come by. People interested in the country have to look to blogs and forum postings of recent travelers and North Korea watchers to get some inkling of the current state of the country. In this post we visit Kaesong city, check out a new university in Pyongyang and find out how pins featuring North Korean leaders inspires reverence among North Koreans, even when they are outside the country.
China: Creative mind of Chinese peasant
Mutant palm posted a video produced by Microwavefest on a barefoot robot designer, peasant Wu Yulu.
Bolivia: Néstor Taboada Terán Wins National Prize for Culture
Néstor Taboada Terán, historian and journalist, won the Bolivian National Prize for Culture [es] of 2008 writes Dario Manuel.
Serbia: Belgrade Photos
A few Belgrade and Serbia photo links: Balkan File shows “what Belgrade looks like off the tourist path” and writes about the city's stray dogs; A Yankee-in-Belgrade also posts a picture of two neighborhood strays; Belgraded links to Serbia and Belgrade sets by Flickr users tanjica, tigric, and 314dzi, as...
