Stories from 25 July 2011
Sri Lanka: Latest From The Lankanosphere
London, Lanka And Drums has posted a roundup of recent posts from Sri Lankan blogs discussing politics.
Bangladesh: Financial Inclusion Of The Poor Via Mobile
In Bangladesh 7 out of 8 people remain out of banking service but the interesting thing is that half of those people have access to mobile phones. BRAC has a solution for financial inclusion of these people, especially the poor and the marginalized, via mobile phones.
Belarus: East and West and Nothing in Between?
"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." This chronically misused Kipling phrase seems to catch the realities for an increasing number of Belarusians, who, waking to a wild and hostile world, are asking: "Who cares about Belarus?"
Uruguay Wins 2011 Copa América
Uruguay beat Paraguay 3-0 in the Copa América final yesterday, Sunday July 24. The Latinamericanist writes about Uruguay's victory and Mauricio Milano at Montevideo Blogger [es] shares some thoughts and pictures of the celebrations.
Bolivia: What needs to improve in La Paz?
Luis Ramos in Citizen of La Paz [es] asks, “what do we need to change in La Paz?”. He answers his own question with a list of ten ideas, including improving transportation, planting more trees, building a convention center, more malls, a theme park, among other things.
Mexico: The Knights Templar, Violence and Norway
Bloggings by boz points out that the criminal organization the ‘Knights Templar’ is present in Mexico and that “the killer in Norway's shocking massacre last week also considered himself a member of the Knights Templar”. He adds: “I doubt anyone thinks these two groups are linked. […] Yet, it raises...
Caribbean: Commonwealth Stories for Online Time Capsule
The Royal Commonwealth Society is creating the world's largest online time capsule in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and wants regional/Commonwealth bloggers to share their stories. Get involved, here.
Tunisia: Time to Register for Elections
Registration for electoral lists in Tunisia started on July 11 and will be closed on August 2, but statistics have shown that Tunisians are reluctant to register on the lists. A group of Tunisian bloggers have launched an online campaign to urge people to register for the October elections.
Brazil: “A Serbian Film” Banned from RioFan Festival
The controversial long feature “A Serbian Film” was banned [pt] from the RioFan film festival by its main sponsor, the Brazilian national bank Caixa Econômica Federal, as announced [pt] on the website of the organization. Brazilian citizens organized a protest against censorship. A video [pt] gathers several analyses of the...
Botswana: Ocean in the Desert
Read about Kelly's experiences of ocean in the desert in Botswana: “The Makgadikadi Pans are the largest salt pans in the world, located in the Kalahari Desert near the centre of Botswana. For Seretse Khama Day, I ventured out to the Pans for my first time and headed to Kubu...
Zimbabwe: Video: Zimbabwe's Alternative Hip Hop Scene
Bunmi shares a video about Zimbabwe's art scene: The Nomadic Wax crew that shot the mini documentary above about Zimbabwe's alternative hip hop scene talk at length about the capital's famous hub of cultural activity, “Book Cafe”
Jamaica, Haiti: On Creole Language
“Well, I’ve always known that my views on Jamaican Creole or Patwa, the native language here, were contentious but sound”: Annie Paul is vindicated.
Barbados: Where's the Integrity Legislation?
Barbados’ new government promised Integrity Legislation within 100 days of taking office; 1000+ days later, Barbados Underground is still waiting…
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival is Business
Outlish takes a look at some Carnival entrepreneurs.
Africa: Participate In Photo Competition And Join NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary
Participate in a photo and essay competitions to win a prize in celebrating celebrating NEPAD’s 10th Anniversary: “This contest also falls in the framework of CTA activities on Youth, Women and ICTs. In line with these objectives, CTA and the NEPAD Agency are searching for enthusiastic Africans, who want to...
St. Lucia: Jacques Compton Dies
Caribbean Book Blog, mourning the death of Saint Lucian author Jacques Compton, says: “The Caribbean has lost another literary and cultural icon.”
Jamaica: Reggae Sumfest
Tallawah blogs about the Top 10 performances at this year's Reggae Sumfest, here and here, while Active Voice posts photos.
Africa: Africa Cartoon Stirs Famine Pornography Debate
Natasha Elkington looks at satirical newspaper cartoon commenting on media priorities around the Murdoch scandal and the East Africa famine which has sparked debate about pornography: “The image, labelled “Priorities”, depicts three naked, emaciated children holding empty bowls, with swollen bellies, ribs sticking out and flies swarming above them.”
Russia: Upsides to Tandemocracy
Edward Lozansky at Russia Blog argues that so called Tandemocracy – power sharing – between Russia's President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, on the whole has had positive effects for the country, not least in foreign policy.
Hungary: Nation or State?
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum takes a critical look at Prime Minister Orban's difficulties with balancing between Hungary as nation and state.
Saudi Arabia Blocks Amnesty International's Website
Saudi Arabia has blocked access to the website of the human rights organisation Amnesty International following their leak of a draft for a new Saudi anti-terrorism law that would introduce harsher penalties for political dissent or critique of the royal family.
