25 October 2012

Stories from 25 October 2012

Jamaica, Cuba: Handling Hurricane Sandy

  25 October 2012

Tropical Storm Sandy, which had been on a direct course towards the Greater Antilles over the past few days, got upgraded to Category 1 hurricane status shortly before it made landfall in Jamaica. It then struck Cuba and is now headed for the Bahamas.

Mongolia: Goodbye, Lenin

  25 October 2012

The last bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ulan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia, was recently taken down. Alec Metz on Registan.net explains what this means to Mongols and why many of them miss the previous adherence to ‘Lenin Bagsh’ (‘Teacher Lenin’).

Manufacturing a Car in Open Source and Modular Design

  25 October 2012

I don’t know whether we will need gasoline, electric or hydrogen cars tomorrow. I don’t have to know, because I designed my car so that I can change the motor in about the same time that it takes to change a tire. Joe Justice, founder and Team Lead of Wikispeed,...

Senegal: Casamance Region Hopes for Peace Through Deal in Rome

  25 October 2012

On October 13 and 14, preliminary talks took place in Rome between representatives of the Senegalese government and of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (Mfdc). Casamance is a region in the south west of Senegal, which has been the scene of violent conflict between government forces and those fighting for independence since the beginning of the 1980s.

Madagascar: A Case Study for Small Scale Mining

  25 October 2012

The Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) in Protected Areas and critical ecosystems (“PACE”) programme (ASM-PACE) has released a case study on how Madagascar can “ensure continued socioeconomic development without undermining ecological resiliency”. The report focuses on successful and failed methods to cope with mineral rushes.

Panama: President Cancels Colón Land Sale Plans

  25 October 2012

“If the people of Colón don't want the land in the tax-free zone to be sold, the sale will be canceled. The rise in rents 100% for Colón” Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) [es] tweeted on October 23, 2012, in response to the protests and clashes in Colón sparked by...

Global Voices Seeks Rising Voices Editor

Rising Voices  25 October 2012

Global Voices seeks a Rising Voices Editor to produce and manage its online content flow related to citizen media development and outreach in global underrepresented communities. Find out more about this exciting opportunity.

China: Iron Man 3 and the Mandarin

  25 October 2012

The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment announced back in April that they were intended to co-produce “Iron Man 3″ in China. Stan from China Hearsay doubts if the mainland Chinese censor would accept the villain of the movie being “The Mandarin”.

China: Failure to End the Slaughter of Migratory Birds

  25 October 2012

The migratory bird season has come in China; yet instead of searching for food in the warm lake areas, a large number of birds are being slaughtered for human consumption. Every year, more than 150 tonnes of wild birds are caught in certain villages in Hunan province.