Stories from 1 April 2009
Jamaica: G20 Priorities
Jamaica Salt thinks that “the vulnerability of JA’s economy” will probably be “very low down on the list of priorities” at the G20 summit.
Causes and Consequences of the Coup in Madagascar
After the power transfer that took place on March 17th in Madagascar, unrest is still growing strong in the island nation. 15,000 protested against the coup Saturday for the sixth consecutive day and have been tear-gassed by armed forces for three days straight. Sunday, civil protesters were shot at and wounded by police forces, resulting in 34 wounded and a few unaccounted for. Lova Rakotomalala reviews the political and economic causes of the power struggle and the consequences of the coup for the Malagasy people.
Palestine: The Politics of Health
Louisa Waugh writes at the New Internationalist's Gaza Blog: “Last week the Hamas Government took a political decision that will change the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people inside Gaza.” Read about the new policy concerning healthcare here.
Palestine: Farmers Shot At
In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra reports: “The farmers told us that during their harvesting on the field yesterday and the day before that, they had been shot at and were obliged to stop working and leave… to be shot at as one ploughs their lentils on their fields.....
Palestine: New Gazan Blogger
In Gaza a new blogger introduces himself: “Hello, my name is Omar Ghraieb and I am proud to be Palestinian. I currently live in Gaza which I am sure alot of you have heard of…I want to share with you what I have witnessed, seen, lived, felt, done and went...
Palestine: The Story of Ahmad
Ayman Quader in Gaza writes: “It was an ordinary morning December 2008. Children were playing and having fun. They were digging between the rocks to get some space for their childhood. This is the story of Ahmad , a little boy without sin who was killed on that morning.”
Egypt: Schizophrenia Towards Israel
Mo-ha-med, an Egyptian blogger who is based in Ramallah, outlines the schizophrenia he feels Egypt has towards Israel: “We can summarise this attitude as follows: economic and political accords, smiling handshakes on the one hand, with constant expressions of dislike, defiance and distrust on the other.”
Palestine: Children's Festival in Gaza
Laila El-Haddad reports that a Children's Festival will be held in Gaza from 5 to 9 April.
Palestine: The Spirit of Resistance
In Gaza, activist Eva Bartlett writes: “Less than two months have passed since the end of Israel’s grisly war on Gaza…Yet Palestinians are trying to move on, again, while dealing with a siege…”
Qatar: A Snow City in the Desert?
The Qatar Visitor blog reports today: “The Qatar Supreme Desert Development Council is planning its most ambitious project yet – a snow city to be located in the heart of the Qatar Desert…as the snow will be generated via solar-nuclear energy the project will actually run best in the searing...
Ukraine: Presidential Election Rescheduled
Ukrainiana reports: “In a long anticipated anti-Yushchenko vote, the Verkhovna Rada rescheduled the presidential election to October 25, 2009, almost three months earlier than the previous date, January 17, 2010.” On Twitter, Petro Rondiak adds: “[…] Yushchenko to fight date in constitutional court. […]”
South Korea: Worst-Case Scenario on missile crisis
Lee Byong-chul from Ohmynews looks into the recent conflict between North and South Korea over missile launch. Lee thinks it's time for South Korea to prepare for the worst case scenario in inter-Korean relations.
South Korea: Internet Real Name System
Matt from Gust of popular feelings reviews the Internet Real Name System at the time when Google decided to adopt the practice in Korea youtube.
Japan: A food tale
Greenz.jp, a bilingual internet media source “dedicated to promoting a green economy and a sustainable society”, presents the illustrated book Tabemonogatari (たべものがたり, lit. A food tale). The book is part of the project Think the Earth and it explains the importance of food and many allied and concerning issues through...
Guatemala: The Poor State of the Buses
The poor state of buses in the Zona 21 area of Guatemala City was the reason for a group of passengers protested and were forced to find another mode of transportation [es] during the morning rush hour.
Argentina: Suggestion from Walter the Taxi Driver
Layne Mosler of Go Where the Taxista Takes You receives a a restaurant suggestion from “Walter” a taxi driver from Buenos Aires, Argentina who had been shot while changing a tire and who had only recently returned to work.
Ecuador: The Pawkar Raymi Celebration
The celebration of Pawkar Raymi is filled with flowers and fruit [es] as described by Angel Gualan at the San Lucas parish in Loja, Ecuador.
Russia: Soviet Artifacts
Photos of some ubiquitous but now pretty much extinct Soviet objects – by LJ user azamat-tseboev (text is in Russian).
