Stories from 15 June 2009
Slovakia, Czech Republic: www.postaramsa.com
Tanja of Czechmatediary writes: “My good Slovak blogger friend Lenka (AKA SlovakMama) had a great idea. She created a website called ‘www.postaramsa.com‘ (meaning “it will be taken care of”) which allows visitors to search for caretakers for either their children or their elderly parents ( or pets!) and worldwide! So...
Ukraine: £2.47 Million for Repin and Petrov-Vodkin
IZO reports that Alina Ayvazova, Kyiv mayor's wife, has paid £2.47 million at an auction in London to acquire two paintings by Russian artists Ilya Repin and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.
Pakistan: Virtual Bloggers Meetup
Teabreak, Paksitan's largest Blog aggregator celebrated its first birthday with a virtual Bloggers meet up, first ever in the country. The bloggers discussed about the IDP issues in Swat region and how bloggers can highlight the social issues in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka: Enigma of Prabhakaran and the Tamil Tigers
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan at Groundviews discusses the enigma of Prabhakaran and the Tamil Tigers which pricks the conscience of many Sri Lankan Tamils.
Nepal-India Border Dispute: Nepalese Reactions Online
Couple of weeks back, reports of alleged land encroachment by India border security forces hit the Nepalese media. On the historic perspective on Nepal-India border, Nepaldemocracy has an in-depth report. According to Republica: “Some 2000 Nepalis from villages on Nepal-India border who have been displaced due to alleged harassment by...
Iran: Protests and Repression
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran and several other cities have rallied to support presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi defying a government ban on demonstrations. Although Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are currently blocked in Iran, many Iranians have been using proxies to bypass filters and report up-to-the-minute news. Iranian authorities have also blocked SMS text messages, and are also filtering several news websites reflecting reformist opinions.
India: Reservations of Positions For Women
Sumanth at Desicritics debates the current hot topic in India – reservations for Women in representative, administrative and corporate job positions.
Bangladesh: Using Child Labor In Political Processions
Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam points to the use of child labor in political processions in Bangladesh. Can't the children be spared?” comments the blogger.
India: The Need For Sex Education
Amodini Sharma at Ultra Violet advocates for proper sex education among the teens in India.
Iran:Several State-run sites were attacked
Iranian cyber activists used ‘Denial-of-service attack’ method to bring down several State-run sites such Irna and Press TV. Iranian government has filtered several sites recently as protest grows over Iranian presidential election.
Moroccan Elections: The King's Party Triumphs
Whilst world attention was focused on the fiercely fought presidential election in Iran, communal elections held in June 12 in Morocco passed almost unnoticed by world media. The polls were officially hailed as crucial for the country's future and an important milestone in Morocco's protracted journey to democracy. Moroccan blogger's covered and commented the event, their hearts swaying between skepticism and full endorsement of the vote.
Tunisia: Confronting Religious Violence
Tunisian blogger Hamid Zanar who writes on Reflexions of a Former Muslim [Ar], launches a virulent attack against religious violence and fundamentalism amidst accounts of renewed threats made against intellectuals and teachers in his country.
Azerbaijan: Alarming news for civil society
Thoughts on the Road comments on news that Azerbaijan's already underdeveloped civil society is facing a new threat in the form of legislation governing NGOs in the country to be discussed later this week.
Japan: HBS on Japanese Anime Industry
Matt Alt links to a Harvard Business School working paper (pdf) on the state of the Japanese anime industry: “If Japan wants to bank on its ‘Gross National Cool’, it will have to overcome the inertia of system that has essentially reduced its most talented architects to the level of...
Talking to Indian-Jamaican writer and blogger Annie Paul
An interview with Jamaica-based Indian writer and editor Annie Paul, whose blog covers art, literature, popular culture, politics, and current affairs.
Bahrain: Learning To Appreciate Bahrain
The Bahrain Taxi blog is back – but is no longer ranting: “I’ve been in Bahrain for nearly two years now and I feel I have finally settled down…rather than being angry at everything and everyone I have opened my eyes to what a great place this can be.”
Trinidad & Tobago: In Naipaul's Defense
Repeating Islands features a defense of Trinidad-born V.S. Naipaul in which the author “makes a valid point about the separation of the writer’s shortcomings as a person from the texts he has produced.”
Dominica: Chavez’ Visit
“It's like the uncle who comes with some cash in his pocket and the whole family gets lined up by the door of a recently cleaned room”: Caribbean Man reports on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ visit to Dominica.
North Africa: Berber Books Online
Lameen Souag links to Berber books available online for downloading.
Trinidad & Tobago: Up in Flames
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but who would want to flatter matches?”: From Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life explains.
Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas: Online Poetry
Antilles interviews Bahamian blogger Nicolette Bethel, the editor of the online poetry journal tongues of the ocean.
