Stories from 17 November 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: Bond…Jack Bond?
aka_lol compares James Bond and Jack Warner.
Maoists Chairman Prachanda Under Attack
Pradeep Kumar Singh reports that on the 16th of November Maoists Chairman Puspha Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda was slapped by a 25-year-old Maoists cadre at a tea reception program in Kathmandu.
Mumbai Comes to a Halt After Bal Thackeray's Death
"Mumbai Shut - Fear or Respect?!" Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray (86), founder of the Hindu right-wing Shiv Sena party in India, died today. Mumbai soon came to a halt - shops shut, public transportation stopped and residents stayed inside their homes.
Zambia's Currency to Get a Makeover
Zambia is set to rebase her currency by removing three zeroes from the Kwacha at the beginning of next year. Netizens have weighed in on the massive project for which the Bank of Zambia has even proposed 31 December, 2012 to be a holiday to allow for the smooth transition to use the new currency. While some netizens support the exercise some argue that it is simply cosmetic.
Trinidad & Tobago: Cropper was an Exemplar
A finer exemplar of the best that the Caribbean has to offer the world, one could hardly find. Norman Givan mourns the passing of philanthropist and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Angela Cropper.
Sierra Leone: Mapping Out Real-Time Election Data
Sierra Leone holds its third national election since the end of their civil war on 17 November, 2012. A coalition of monitoring organisations in the country, National Election Watch, will map out real-time election-related data using OneWorld's monitoring technologies. The idea is to help civil society diagnose, anticipate and prepare for immediate action in the event of fraud or violence.
Arab League on Gaza: “Blah Blah… Blah Blah Blah”
The Arab League is meeting at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss Gaza - and netizens aren't holding their breath or being optimistic about a strong reaction. Sultan AlQassemi tweets: "Live update from Arab League meeting on Gaza aggression by Israel: We will not tolerate blah blah! We must stand with blah blah bah."
Why is the GCC Quiet about Gaza?
“Gulf countries awfully quiet about Gaza,” tweets Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell. Lebanese journalist Antoun Issa adds: @antissa: Amazing how eager GCC are to arm Arabs to fight each other, while disappearing completely when it comes to Palestine. #Gaza The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of Bahrain, Qatar,...
Saudi Arabia: Peaceful Protesters to Be Flogged, Judge Rules
Last September, we wrote about an unprecedented 24-hour sit-in for families of uncharged prisoners. The protesters were finally tricked and arrested. Last night, Saudi journalist Iman al-Qahtani published the court ruling on 19 of those protesters on Twitter. Suspended 50-90 lashes and varying jail sentences were handed to 14 of them, including the person who brought food for the protesters. The sentences are to be executed if they participate again in any protest. The other five are to be tried later.
Hurdles in Making Italy's Illegal Workers ‘Legal’
The results of the legislative decree passed this summer in Italy to regularise thousands of illegal workers by regularisation of their undeclared employment, have not lived up to expectations. Here's a review of online reactions and analysis.
Croatian Senior Generals Acquitted of War Crimes
Eric Gordy of East Ethnia comments on this Friday's UN appeal court's judgment acquitting Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač of war crimes: […] Some people are delighted with the judgment and other people are outraged, with divisions following predictable political lines. The appeals chamber itself is no less...
