22 December 2010

Stories from 22 December 2010

Macedonia: Scholarships for African Students

  22 December 2010

Ivana Dimitrovska published online her letter [MKD] to the editor of Utrinski vesnik daily, objecting discriminatory overtones in an article [MKD] about several scholarships for African students provided by the Macedonian government, blaming this program for a lack of scholarships for locals.

India: Travel tales from Ooty

  22 December 2010

Blogger and travel writer Charukesi visited Ooty recently and tells a tale of a not-much widely-known Ootea festival through her camera lenses.

Bhutan: Memories of Kolkata

  22 December 2010

Dorji Wangchuk from Bhutan visits Kolkata with a sense of nostalgic anticipation since he had first visited the city in 1977 with his father.

Sudan: Happy holidays and a peaceful referendum

  22 December 2010

Here's a roundup of latest blog posts about Southern Sudan Independence Referendum 2011. According to the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the central government in Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Southern Movement, South Sudan will hold a referendum on whether or not to remain part of Sudan on 9 January 2011.

Haiti: Post-Election Update

  22 December 2010

“Two weeks after the preliminary results were announced, the streets of Port-au-Prince are calm, but the situation is just as confusing and worrying”: prophet N gives an update.

Uruguay: Gay Rights in Uruguay

  22 December 2010

In the blog for Ola Uruguay, Jane McDevitt writes about Gay rights in Uruguay: “The current president’s much publicised liberal political ideology is being put to the test, as pressure increases from gay rights activists and human rights groups to legalize gay marriage, in a country where church influence on...

Bermuda: Government Inspiration?

  22 December 2010

Vexed Bermoothes suspects that the government has sent him an inspirational postcard, saying: “Sending a post card won’t change the tone of Bermuda politics, halt the gang warfare, and or make us nicer people.”

China: Gold farming couple handed down heavy sentence

  22 December 2010

The verdict this month of a fine of USD 450,000 and several years in prison for one couple who ran a gold farm throughout 2007 has left those following the trial shocked, angered and wondering how something so common in China could suddenly be punished so heavily.

Haiti: Behind Cholera

  22 December 2010

“Cholera is a disease of the poor, of the disenfranchised. Poor people in poor countries. Cholera thrives where there is no clean water, where there is inadequate sanitation, where there are poor health systems”: Haiti Grassroots Watch takes an in-depth look behind the cholera epidemic.

Azerbaijan: Let them eat cake…

  22 December 2010

As the birthday of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, approaches, the Önər Blog [AZ] reminds readers of how residents in the country's second largest city of Ganja marked it last year. The blog sarcastically says that while the city is indeed famous for its giant pastries, baking a 48-metre...

Azerbaijan: Children and Peace

  22 December 2010

Sheki, Azerbaijan looks forward to 2011 and says that it hopes the New Year will bring peace. Every child has a right to such an environment, the blog notes, while also reminding readers that lives were lost despite a ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan in their conflict over the...