28 August 2007

Stories from 28 August 2007

Romania: Esquire

  28 August 2007

The Romanian edition of Esquire is to be launched next week. Owlspotting writes: “Esquire will be a novelty on the Romanian magazine market, and the first outlet to promote long-form writing and narrative journalism. These forms are almost inexistent in Romania.”

Russia: The Strugatsky Brothers

  28 August 2007

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the famous Soviet science fiction writers, the Strugatsky brothers: “For some reason, I was sure until recently that these books are so good that they will remain to be the favourite books of the new generations of geeks for a long time. Strangely,...

Russia: Novaya Gazeta in English

  28 August 2007

Robert Amsterdam and Sean's Russia Blog link to Novaya Gazeta's recently launched English-language site featuring translations of some of their investigative stories. Sean wrote in a reply to a reader: “The more Russian media accessible to English readers the better.”

Rwanda: Reporting the plight of Gorillas in Rwanda

  28 August 2007

Dr. Lucy Spelman blogs about the plight of Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda: “I'd just started out on a hike near Visoke with friends when I got a call from Elisabeth (the ORTPN vet tech) saying that a young female gorilla in Kwitonda group had been snared and was still attached...

Kuwait: Crazy Week for Bloggers

Kuwaiti bloggers had a crazy week, which started with an earthquake, or rather a small tremor, early on Saturday morning. The next day a blogger was arrested for a comment an anonymous reader left on his online forum. The week culminated with a fire at a local hospital and the resignation of Kuwait's first female minister.

D.R. of Congo: The War on Charcoal

  28 August 2007

The War on Charcoal at Virunga National Park: “For the last month we have been on patrols daily to crack down on those who are making charcoal in the Southern Sector of Virunga National Park.”

Iran:A blogger was beaten up by mafia

Mojeh Sevom ,blogger and journalist,says[Fa] that Javid Asadzadeh an active blogger in Urmia in Azerbaijan province, was beaten up and got injured by local mafia.This blogger has written several times about corruption in real estate in Urmia in his blog and has collected a lot of information about it.

Tanzania: Mobile Veterinary Unit

  28 August 2007

When Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit reached Tanzania: “We have been vaccinating domestic dogs along the escarpment (wildlife reserve boundary) and today we are happy to announce that we now reached the Tanzanian border! Total number of dogs soared up to 1,250 as of today, too!”

Africa: Crowd Sourcing the mapping of Africa

  28 August 2007

White African writes about Tracks4Africa: “Tracks4Africa is an organization based out of South Africa that has integrated their services into Google Earth. Their goal is to focus on the rural and remote areas of Africa that aren’t well defined and who’s roads, bridges and villages shift over time.”

Iran:James Joyce filtered

Freekeyboard informs us that we can not anymore search James Joyce[Fa] in Google or Yahoo in Iran,because this great writer is filtered.The blogger says it is very stupid filtering.He adds Joyce was not a feminist,human rights activist or did not write anything against stoning.

Afghanistan: Replacing a minister

  28 August 2007

From Afghanistan, Sanjar reports that he and his colleagues have launched a petition demanding the removal of the current Minister for Information and Culture. Rumours have it that a successor has already been chosen, and Sanjar voices his discontent over President Karzai's choice.

Armenia: Election update

  28 August 2007

Onnik Krikorian posts the latest developments in the run-up to next year's presidential elections in Armenia. This week's news include the growing rumours that a successful ex-politician might enter the scene to compete against the ruling Republican Party.