Stories from 19 January 2009
Bangladesh: Learning English
Kotha-Chhilo (something to say) thinks the politicians and cricketers of Bangladesh should take English language courses to express themselves freely to international media.
Sri Lanka: A Ceasefire?
Chandi Sinnathurai at Countercurrents.org writes about a possible ceasefire to be declared by Sri Lankan Government mediated by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
China: Obama and Chinese Emperors
Xujun Eberlein from Inside-Out China explains why Obama has reminded him of certain Chinese emperors.
Mongolia: Animals Elimination
Danzan Ravjaa writes that the Ulaanbaatar’s (capital city of Mongolia) Municipal Administration began a campaign to eliminate street dogs and reviews reactions of the society and reigious groups.
Kyrgyzstan: Withdrawal of the U.S. Airbase
Elena posted short chronology of the “withdrawals” of the American airbase “Manas” in Kyrgyzstan.
Japan: Battle of Search Engines 2008
Mokoto blogs about the 2008 annual result of search engines battle in Japan and observes some new development.
Afghanistan: Quibbling Over Terms
Joshua Foust reports that Afghanistan's foreign minister Spanta didn’t like that Hillary Clinton called his country a “narco-state” during her Congressional testimony.
China: Let's All Denounce Each Other!
The anti-smut campaign in China has resulted in websites denouncing each others on indecent, obscene and immoral content. (more from ESWN).
India: The Truth About Satyam Computers
Kamla Bhatt discusses the Satyam Computers scandal, India’s first big scale corporate fraud and raises some questions.
El Salvador: Irregularities on Election Day
Victor of Alta Hora de la Noche [es] provides some early reporting on the day's elections in El Salvador. He writes that there have been irregularities all across the country, including some polling places that did not allow observers and conducted the ballot counting behind closed doors.
El Salvador: Live Blogging Election Day
In El Salvador, the country is choosing mayors and congressional representatives and Fernando Marroquín of Chero07 [es] has been live blogging during election day.
Peru: Buying an Alligator Body Part by Body Part
Alligators are commonly consumed in the Peruvian Amazon region. De La Selva [es] writes about an experience in the market of Belén, where people gathered around the animal to purchase body part by body part.
Bolivia: Loyola Guzmán Supporting the “No” Vote
With a week to go before the Constitutional Referendum, Miguel Centellas of Pronto* profiles one unlikely opponent of the new document. Loyola Guzmán was a Constitutional delegate representing the government's MAS party, as well as a member of Che Guevara's guerrilla group. She is now coming out and supporting the...
Paraguay: Assassination of Martín Ocampos Páez
El Yacare [es] writes about the assassination of community radio director Martín Ocampos Páez in his house near the Horqueta district in Paraguay and that he has been threatened by narcotraffickers in that area.
Mexico: No Kissing in Public in Guanajuato
The government of Guanajuato, Mexico recently passed a law of “Good Conduct” which would fine and possibly imprison beggars, those who don't use pedestrian bridges, swearing, and even for those that kiss in public writes Jessica Uribe of Vivir México [es].
Uruguay: How the Changes in OLPC Will Affect the Country
Pablo Flores of the Plan Ceibal blog [es] writes about how the changes in the One Laptop Per Child project will affect Uruguay, which has been participating through the distribution of thousands of XO laptops to the country's children.
Paraguay: Time Calculations
Muna Annahas provides the details for “Paraguayan time” and how someone must account for this in their time calculations.
Ecuador: The Growth of the Blogosphere
Mi Diario Relativo [es] reflects on the growth of the Ecuadorian blogosphere over the past two years and sees that the number of blogs registered on Blogalaxia has grown by 400% during that time.
Ecuador: Correa Faces Pressure From Indigenous Groups
In Ecuador, President Rafael Correa is facing pressure from indigenous groups over his government's support of a new mining law. The coalition led by the National Confederation of Indigenous Nations (CONAIE) say that there was very little discussion and that it would violate the communities' sovereignty, as well as cause environmental contamination. Correa must decide how to face these mobilizations from groups that historically have been strong backers of his government.
Russia: Crisis, Lipstick and Feminism
Anna’s Out of Town News writes about the crisis and the “lipstick effect” in Russia, and about an online poll on what a feminist is, posted on the website of the Russian edition of Cosmopolitan.
Taiwan: Prepare for the Lunar New Year
The Lunar New Year is right at the corner. The Lunar New Year is an important holiday for family members and friends to get together in Taiwan. To prepare the food and the mood, people like to go shopping before the Lunar New Year. chensumi showed us what she saw...
