Stories from February, 2009
Bermuda: Budget Response
From Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes comments on the opposition's response to the government's 2009-10 Budget.
Uganda: Fire destroys Owino Market
A massive fire gutted Kampala's Owino Market early Wednesday morning, seriously injuring five people and destroying thousands of stalls. As many as 25,000 traders, mostly women, are estimated to have suffered losses.
Bangladesh: Massacre Cannot be Justified
“What do you call it when a group of ‘disgruntled’ BDR soldiers [Bangladesh border guards] started their expression of grievances by open-firing on the commissioned army officers? Mutiny? Rebellion? Revolt?...
Guyana: The Ripple Effect
The far-ranging effects of the CL Financial failure have now reached Guyana. One blogger has been assiduously following the latest developments...
Jamaica: Passion
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Phlip republishes text from a lecture he gave about the importance of pursuing your passions.
India: Environmental Scholars On a Very Cool Mission
About two weeks ago, I read in Tom Friedman's column in the New York Times about two young scholars from the U.S who were on a very impressive mission in...
Armenia: 1 March post-election clash anniversary
As the opposition prepares to mark the 1 March post-election clashes which left at least 10 dead, The Armenian Observer says tensions are increasing in the capital, Yerevan. Meanwhile, writing...
Armenia: Dollar Panic
The Armenian Observer reports that many in the country are rushing to change their local currency into dollars and limits have been introduced at currency exchanges.
Japan: Bloggers on the Nakagawa affair
Over a week has passed since now-infamous footage of Japan's former finance minister Shōichi Nakagawa stumbling through a 20 minute speech at the G7 meeting in Rome made world headlines and hit the top of YouTube charts. In this post I feature a handful of responses to the speech by Japanese bloggers.
Kyrgyzstan: Smoke Country
Elena published some information about smoking among the youth in Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan: Rally of the opposition
Zhanna writes a post about the rally staged by the leading Kazakhstani opposition party in Almaty.
Korea: Economic downturn and which companies have the best chances for survival.
While all of us hope the economic downturn is over soon, it seems that it’s a long term battle. Companies are cutting employees or decreasing their business scope. A netizen...
Kyrgyzstan: Hard Time for the Opposition
Elena writes a history of the persecution of the oppositional movements in Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan: Lomography
Ehot posts a collection of images taken in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with the legendary Lomo camera, which gave name to the whole trend in photo art called lomography.
Afghanistan: Rights Activist Selected as Young Global Leader
Azar Balkhi reports that Fawzia Koofi, an outstanding human rights activist and the first female deputy speaker of the Afghanistan's parliament, was named “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic...
China: From Red Guards to Cyber-vigilantism to where next?
Rebecca Mackinnon from Rconversation discusses the rise of Net power in China: “Will the Chinese people rise above cyber-vigilantism and use the Internet to build a just and fair society...
Bangladesh: Mutiny Is Over, But Question Remains
Yesterday it was a tensed day in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The 33-hour long mutiny and siege by aggrieved lower rank officers of paramilitary forces BDR ended as they...
China: Harnessing human search engines for government use
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a recent incident when netizens human flesh search two reporters who are critical towards corrupted practice of local government in constructing their government building.
Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 2)
Starting December 24th, the Alpha Blogger website called for people to nominate 1-3 blog entries written in 2008 that had affected them the most. Mid-term results were announced on January 16th, and voting was open until February 18th. The second half of this year's winners are featured in this post.
Uruguay: Key Findings in Report on OLPC in Villa Cardal
OLPC News summarizes the key findings of a report that analyzed the pilot program of the One Laptop Per Child in Villa Cardal, Uruguay.
Lebanon: Christopher Hitchens’ Beirut Scuffle Sparks Debate
Former leftist turned conservative writer Christopher Hitchens ran into trouble in Beirut last week when he attempted to deface a poster/memorial of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), a Hezbollah ally. Versions of the event claim a heavily intoxicated Hitchens shouted obscenities at the party, ultimately resulting in an altercation with several SSNP members nearby. These allegations have sparked a debate across continents, writes Antoun Issa.