Stories from 22 March 2009
Ukraine: Ternopil Regional Council Election
Regional council election in the western Ukrainian region of Ternopil took place on March 15, following much political drama and resulting in the victory of an ultra-nationalist party and poor performance of the prime minister's bloc. Below are views of several Ukrainian bloggers on the possible reasons for such an outcome.
Russia: Dealing with demographic decline
Eternal Remont reports on how Russia tries to lure back emigrants to avert the country's seemingly unavoidable demographic decline.
Czechoslovakia: Tiresome narratives of Prague '68
Dr. Sean's Diary reviews the second episode of BBC 2's series The Lost World of Communism, dealing with communist Czechoslovakia, and finds it rather basic and tiresome.
India's First Digital Elections
The world's largest democracy, India, goes to elections starting April 16, 2009. The month long general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha will be held in five phases on April 16, April 22, April 23, April 30, May 7 and May 13, and the results will be announced on May 16. In the first post of Global Voices special coverage on the Indian Elections 2009 we highlight the use of internet and mobile technologies in the election campaign.
Brazil: The snake blogger
Amazonian blogger Altino Machado [pt] received an impromptu visitor last week: a snake came to see what he was blogging about. Check the pictures out.
Ukraine: West turns its back on Kiev?
Kiev Ukraine News Blog re-posts a Newsweek piece, which argues that the United States and the European Union are turning their backs on Ukraine, reverting the celebratory politics of an increasingly distant Orange revolution.
Russia: Opposition waking up to realities?
The Ivanov Report departs from its principle of not commenting on Russia's democratic opposition, which he feels refuses the realities of Russian politics for futile protest. As Boris Nemtsov and other opposition leaders are now seeking public office, a change in the opposition's attitude to politics might be discerned.
Latvia: Nothing special, just crisis…
Baltic reflects on the economic crisis in Latvia, departing from the slogan “Nothing special, just crisis” – a phrase uttered by the country's former finance minister, showing what many Latvians consider an alienated political élite.
Angola: Pope is greeted by the largest crowd of his African tour
The climax of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Angola was an open-air mass this Sunday, when nearly million people from various Angolan provinces and other African countries came to Luanda to hear the mass in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda. Bloggers report on the Pope's remarks during his first pilgrimage to Africa, and also on the facelift Angola was given to receive Benedict XVI.
Egypt: Arab Youth on a Presidential Mission
Egypt's first online radio - Radio Horytna - invites youth to apply for the position of President for any Arab country of their choice. Egyptian bloggers comment on the initiative in this post.
Bangladesh: 1971 Genocide video
Mash at Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying posts a rare video footage of the massacre by Pakistan army in a village near Dhaka, Bangladesh in late November of 1971. More such videos can be found at the Bangladesh Genocide Archive.
Malaysia unveils its second stimulus plan
Malaysia’s first stimulus plan last year was inadequate. So the government unveiled a second stimulus program this month. What are the reactions of Malaysian bloggers?
Hong Kong: Vindication of June 4 in Question
2009 is the 20th anniversary of June 4 Tiananmen Massacre. If there were reincarnation, people who had been killed then would be twenty years old this year. Some of them would probably become university students, who are usually regarded as conscience of the society. Sadly this year, at least two...
Uzbekistan: Enemy of the Internet
Yelena writes that Uzbekistan was called an ‘enemy of the Internet’ in recently published survey by Reporters Without Borders.
Kyrgyzstan: The Opposition’s Smoking Gun
Kyrgyz opposition figure Alikbek Djekshenkulov’s prize pistol is at the center of a murder trial, reports Elena.
Kyrgyzstan: Who Died in the Burnt Car?
A high-ranking Kyrgyzstani official has may have died in a horrible car wreck, reports Elena.
Kazakhstan: Underdog Billionaires
Slavasay reports that this year’s list of billionaires in the Forbes journal features only four representatives of Kazakhstan.
Kyrgyzstan: Annual ‘Tulip’ Protests
Michael Hancock argues about the reasons of popular dissatisfaction with the authorities in Kyrgyzstan, where street protests have already become a tradition.
Tajikistan: A Slow Collapse or Not.
Joshua Foust writes about Tajikistan’s social and economic problems, which have worsened dramatically against the bachground of the global economic crisis.
Afghanistan: Buzkashi National Game
Nasim Fekrat tells about Buzkashi (“goat grabbing”), the national sport of Afghanistan.
Korea: Two American Journalists are detained in North Korea.
Two American Journalists – a Korean American and Chinese American – are detained in North Korea after they tried to report on North Korean issues (It is known that they were interested in female North Korean defectors). Three days behind, the South Korean media started talking about this incident in...
