Stories from 18 February 2009
China: Religious demography and house churches
Last November (21-22, Nov 2008), the China State Council Development Research Center organized a seminar on “Christianity and Social Harmony — Special Session on House Church”. This is the first...
Afghanistan: The Unlamented Death
Colla says that the death of Taliban commander Mullah Ghulam Dastagir last night in an airstrike in the northwestern province of Afghanistan brings to a bloody end a saga which...
Kazakhstan: Three years after the assassination
Zhanna Zhukova writes that it has been 3 years since brutal assassination of the democratic politician in Kazakhstan, and reports on the recent actions of the opposition in this regard.
Uzbekistan: The dollar's crazy dance
U.S. Dollar to make Uzbekistan Sum feel nervous and doubles fears to face devaluation in future, Musafirbek reports.
Kazakhstan: Grand External Debt
Askhat writes about the size of the Kazakhstan’s consolidated external debt.
Kazakhstan: Singles unlucky in Pattaya Open
Dina reviews the performance of Kazakhstani tennis players in the Pattaya Open tournament.
Kazakhstan: Ban on Scientology Church
KZBlog reports that the public prosecutor of Karaganda oblast is seeking to close its Scientology Center on charges that they cause physical and psychological harm to people.
Afghanistan: ANSF to the Rescue
Joshua Foust notes that during the Wednesday suicide bombers attack in Kabul, most of the terrorists were stopped by the Afghan police were able to put an end to the...
Tajikistan: Water, dams, and Central Asia.
Elina Galperin says that Tajikistan has a very important resource – large reserves of fresh water – but lacks energy resources, “and this is where the conflicts begin”.
Tajikistan: A perilous state
Peter Marton analyzes the recent International Crisis Group's report on Tajikistan, a country widely believed to be a failing state.
Guadeloupe: Escalating tensions lead to violence
After weeks of largely peaceful protests in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, things took a violent turn on Monday, as police and demonstrators clashed in Guadeloupe's largest city, Pointe-à-Pitre. Workers are protesting skyrocketing unemployment and the rising costs of basic necessities, many of which are imported from France.
Cambodia: Pushing for a more organic future
Bloggers at CAAI News Media and Khmer Stars feature a Phnom Penh Post article on the slow food movement that ran on February 10, 2009. The article discusses Slow Food's...
Japan: Transgender Man to Receive Compensation As a Male. Surprised?
The Okayama District Court has ruled that calculations of estimated lost earnings for a transgender man suffering severe aftereffects from a traffic accident be based on average wages for an adult male, even though he is registered as a woman in the national family registry. Bloggers reflect on gender identity and sexual identity, income disparities between men and women, and the country's recent "onee boom".
Cambodia: Reactions as Duch opens Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, stands trial today at the UN-supported Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal in Phnom Penh for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Duch headed the infamous...
Kazakhstan: A Kazakh Video Tube
On St. Valentine’s Day, February 14, a Kazakh video hosting project Kaztube.kz came to life. Dozens of videos with congratulations from celebrities and government officials had been uploaded for the...
China: Chemical Additives in Mengniu Milk Prohibited
ESWN translated excerpt Of Fang Zhouzi's interview on Mengniu's Telunsu milk regarding the recent prohibition of chemical additives, (OMP) and IGF-1, by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and...
Costa Rica: Twitter and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Users of the Twitter in Costa Rica have been tuning in to the local version of the television program “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” With the tag #qqsm, they have been microblogging about the program, chatting and discussing the questions and even seeking answers to the questions that stump them.
Costa Rica: Epsy Campbell Seeks Nomination
Epsy Campbell announced her intention to seek the nomination of her political party Partido Acción Ciudadana for the Costa Rican presidential elections and Marco Blanco of ¡Que Clío nos guarde!...
Peru: Blogging From Lower Income Sectors of Society
Dego of Nadie Lee Lo Que Escribo [es] writes about the use of internet especially among the youth in the Peruvian capital of Lima, and about how most access the...
Argentina: Justice for Daniel Jadra
The family of Daniel Jadra has a blog calling for justice [es] in his unsolved murder. Jadra was killed in a robbery attempt in Nequén.
Ukraine: Notes on the Crisis
Greetings from Kyiv posts some observations about the crisis: “I see an increase of elderly people begging and wandering the streets with bags of their belongings.”
