Stories from 15 March 2010
Kazakhstan: Government reshuffled
KZBlog reports on a number of large changes to the Ministries of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan: No gifts, no celebrations
KZBlog opines on the Kazakhstan president's recent speech, in which he condemned the gift-giving tradition among the bureacrats and warned against personal gifts to him on his looming 70th birthday this year.
Afghanistan: Attacks in Khost
Joshua Foust reviews the background of a recent suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan: Analyzing the extremists groups
Joshua Foust analyzes some questionable points from the SWJ essay about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan: Photo-project for youth
Afghan PenLog reports on the international photography trainings project for the young men and women of Aghanistan, which has taken place in Philadelphia and ended up with an exhibition.
Afghanistan: Talking with insurgents
Joshua Foust criticizes the American push to negotiate with insurgent leaders in Afghanistan.
Kazakhstan: Libel Laws and OSCE
Joshua Foust reflects on Kazakhstan's libel laws, and how they might be undermining its chairmanship of the OSCE.
Bangladesh: Yellow Journalism
Estelle Visagie at Postcards From The Edge questions the quality of Bangladeshi journalism citing an example of misreporting of a ethnically sensitive news.
Bhutan: Showing Off
In preparation for the upcoming SAARC summit, the Bhutanese capital Thimphu is undergoing a massive cleanup drive. Tshering Tobgay comments: “We, (the) residents, must ask ourselves if our city really is as clean as it might look. And, if not, what we, residents, should do about it.”
Sri Lanka: Finding A Middle Path
Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews proposes a home grown solution to find some common grounds among the two opposite camps in Sri Lanka on the issue of war crimes and human rights.
Sri Lanka: The Next Prime Minister
Lanka Rising weighs in why appointing the next prime minister for Sri Lanka can be a crucial affair for the country.
China: Should Google “Burn Its Boats” On The Way Out?
DigiCha discusses a possible strategy for Google to leave China. The strategy is “burning its boats” on the way out, which means taking the filters off and forcing the government to shut down Google.cn.
China: Flashmob at Chengdu Electronics Science and Technology University
Around 1000 male students gathered outside the Chengdu Electronics Science and Technology University's building number 5 expecting to have a glimpse of a female student who wanted to look for a boyfriend. The male to female ratio is that university is 25: 1. (story via ESWN)
China: Debating hukou reform
Earlier this month, 13 Chinese newspapers appealed to the National People's Congress' 3,000 delegates for social reforms. They attacked China's hukou (household registration system), which severely limits the access of rural migrant workers to basic services in China’s metropolises.
Ukraine: “Deal for Yanukovych: Bandera for Mezhyhiria”
Here is how Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop explains a mock deal that he has offered to the newly-elected Ukrainian president: “The point is to show the absurdity of the [Stepan Bandera] debate: almost everybody from Moscow to Warsaw to Edmonton has an opinion on Bandera (who was killed more...
Thailand: ‘Reds’ vow a bigger rally today
Despite the summer heat, at least a hundred thousand people marched in the streets of Bangkok yesterday. The anti-government Red Shirts are giving the Prime Minister until 12 noon today to dissolve the parliament and call for a new round of elections.
Poland: Put a smile on a child's face – it's easy!
Tomek and Weronika have always been keen volunteers, despite their young age. Last year, they started Dream Mail, a charity campaign that promotes writing letters and postcards to seriously ill children.
Russia: Photos of Newspaper Office Assault
Regional newspaper Nasha Ryazan (Our Ryazan), published photos of armed men in military outfits (allegedly policemen) blocking the entrance to the newspaper's office. The assault can be connected with the forthcoming regional elections taking place on March 14, 2010.
