2 July 2009

Stories from 2 July 2009

Iran: “Rigged Election,Recount Scam”

Free Lantern writes that “Iranian authorities have published photos of a partial recount on national news agency, the photos are a good confirmation of the rigged election. In these photos the ballots are not even folded! A paper ballot cannot normally go into the ballot box without being folded.” Watch...

Maldives: Drug Dependence Problem

  2 July 2009

Mohamed Nasheed discusses the problem of drug abuse and drug dependency in Maldives and ways to tackle this. It is estimated that almost 10% of the total 300,000 population in Maldives take drugs.

Georgia: Managed democracy criticized

Social Science in the Caucasus sums up a recent talk given in Tbilisi about the state of democracy in Georgia. The blog says that democratization pushed from outside has exacerbated polarization and conflict in local politics.

Haiti: Preval Party Wins Senate Seats

  2 July 2009

Repeating Islands notes that “preliminary results from last week’s run-off elections in Haiti indicate that President René Preval’s party won five of 11 contests to fill open Senate seats”, but adds that “there have been…threats from other senators to block the seating…because of the extremely low voter turnout in the...

Trinidad & Tobago: This and That

  2 July 2009

Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch comments on news coming out of Trinidad and Tobago – including a vote of no confidence in the Attorney General and the Prime Minister's refusal to apologize for “insensitive remarks he made on the murder of a 10 year old girl.”

Caribbean: On the Honduran Coup

  2 July 2009

Writing at Havana Times, Guillermo Fernandez Ampie examines the Honduran coup d’état, while Repeating Islands reports that “heads of state throughout the Caribbean region have expresses their condemnation of the military coup in Honduras that has removed President Manuel Zelaya from office.”

India: High Court Rule Legalizes Homosexuality

  2 July 2009

Sanjukta Basu at Desicritics informs that today morning the Delhi High Court legalized homosexuality in India in a ruling in favor of a petition, which challenged the constitutionality of Section 377 of Indian Penal Code. The code criminalizes all acts of oral and anal sex between individuals irrespective of age...

Sri Lanka: Eye-witness Account From An IDP Camp

  2 July 2009

Groundviews publishes an eye-witness account from an IDP camp in Sri Lanka describing the conditions of the refugees in a post-war situation. Separation of family members, no freedom of movement, corruption, bad hygiene conditions, diseases and epidemic are some of the problems cited in that report.

Mexico: The Zapatista “Brand” and Tourism in Chiapas

  2 July 2009

The Mex Files notes that the state of Chiapas, Mexico receives 4 million tourists per year; 25% mention that they were drawn by the Zapatista rebels, which are best identified by their spokesperson Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente, also known as Subcomandante Marcos.