18 November 2008
Stories from 18 November 2008
Costa Rica: Free Trade Agreement Ready For Implementation
After a lengthy process, which included a nationwide referendum where Costa Ricans approved a free-trade agreement with the United States, the laws will go into effect on January 1, 2009. However, it took consensus building within the National Assembly in order to pass the necessary laws, while some sectors of society had been calling for a process of renegotiation.
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Tunisia: Yes, they can. No, we can't!
The week of the US election coincided with the 21st anniversary of 'change' in Tunisia. But while Americans went to the polls to elect their 44th president, in its 50 years of independence, Tunisia has had just two presidents. Tunisian bloggers mark Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 21st year as president with a call for change.
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Egypt Ranks High in Corruption
Egypt ranks 115 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, which tracks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The rankings are in ascending order, with the more corrupt countries scoring higher ranks.
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Another Separation between North Korea and South Korea
North Korea has announced that it will close the land border and cut non-military phone links with South Korea [BBC News]. Relations between North Korea and South Korea have been cooling down rapidly since the new government in South Korea and South Koreans are disconcerted by this sudden announcement.
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Ukraine: Harm Reduction and Law Enforcement, Part 2
Last month, Ukrainian blogger mazay wrote about his attempt to educate a group of Kyiv police officers on harm reduction programs. Although many in the audience did not seem as interested in this not-yet-popular approach to dealing with drug addiction as they were in obtaining free condoms from the activists, judging from this follow-up post by mazay, the talk did after all bear some positive fruit.
Russia: “Different Family” Photo Project
"These people may have no home, no jobs. They may be doing drugs, their neighbors may hate them, and they may be banned from entering a theater because of their inappropriate looks. But within such families, love and caring relationship still reign." This is how photographer Irina Popova describes the subjects of her "Different Family" project, currently on exhibit in St. Petersburg. But since the series is centered as much on a toddler named Anfisa, the daughter of Popova's marginal adult subjects, the photographer's interpretation of her own work has caused harsh criticism.
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First, let us ignore your assertion that at the time only 1% of young Chinese attended university because its not...