18 February 2009

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...

18 February 2009

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...

18 February 2009

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.

18 February 2009

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...

18 February 2009

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.

18 February 2009

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".

18 February 2009

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...

18 February 2009

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...

18 February 2009

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.

18 February 2009

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!...

18 February 2009

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.”

18 February 2009