6 December 2008

Stories from 6 December 2008

Latvia: Freedom of Speech Controversy

Prominent Latvians are outraged over the detention of a university lecturer at a seaside town of Ventspils by the security police. The economic crisis, a bank bailout, and the launched talks with the International Monetary Fund served as a backdrop for the arrest of Dmitrijs Smirnovs, who said this during a discussion at a provincial newspaper Ventas Balss: "The only thing that I can recommend is: first of all, do not save money in banks; second of all, do not save money in lats because right now it is very dangerous."

6 December 2008

Bangladesh, India: Photos On Positive Lives

Renowned Bangladeshi photo journalist Shahidul Alam reviews the works of Dayanita Singh, an award winning Indian photographer. Her works were displayed at “Positive Lives”, an exhibition on people’s responses to...

6 December 2008

Pakistan: Spare the Lamb for Eid-ul-Adha

Temporal at Baithak suggests some effective ways of sacrificing wealth for the poor during Eid-ul Adha instead of sacrificing animal (Qurbani) and wasting the meat: “We can think of many...

6 December 2008

Iran: Images from Iran

Pars Arts has done an interview with Tom Loughlin a Colorado-based artist whose portraits of Iranians in Iran are being shown in a groundbreaking and thought-provoking installation across the United...

6 December 2008

Iran:Disaster in Gaza

Edalatkhaneh, an Iranian blogger, has published[fa] a report on economic disaster in Gaza Strip. The blogger says Israel's economic sanctions have made life very difficult for people living in this...

6 December 2008

Latvia: Ruling party in trouble

Baltic comments on the potential for political crisis in Latvia, as news broke that Prime Minister Godmanis and his ruling LPP/LC party overstepped the legal threshold for campaign spending for...

6 December 2008

Malawi: 36-hour bus ride to Johannesburg

Boni Dulani describes his 36-hour bus ride from Mangochi, Malawi to Johannesburg, South Africa going through Mozambique and Zimbabwe. He concludes “despite all those challenges, there is a positive story...

6 December 2008

Vietnam: Christmas invasion

CitizeMekong uploads a video about the “Christmas invasion” in communist Vietnam. David in Ho Chi Minh notes that Christmas in Vietnam is “strictly the commercial free-for-all” with no mention of...

6 December 2008

Vietnam: New regulations on blogging

Vietnam authorities want to impose new regulations on internet use and blogging in Vietnam. The ministry officials said “The law will not interfere with bloggers’ privacy, but will help in...

6 December 2008