Villagers forced out of their homes by riot police
One hundred villagers in south-west China were removed from their homes by a force of 300 riot police last Friday. Authorities ordered the armed force to evacuate the village so that they could hand over the land to developers who they had recently sold it to. The villagers have received almost nothing from the deal and most of them have ended up homeless as a result. They will inevitably follow in the path of tens of thousands of other Chinese individuals who are pursuing futile legal chases. See the video of the exiled villagers and read the commentary of a Chinese blogger, He Weihua. Read more...
Société Générale: a banker explains how they got away with €4.9 bln
Société Générale, the French bank, announced this morning that it's been the victim of a rogue trader who has extorted €4.9 bln; saying that it was the bad placement of ‘one of their traders' that allowed the mistake. ‘Valerie', a strategist from another large French bank, explains how it would be very difficult for a trader to manage such an exorbitant fraud by himself. Read more...
Ahmadinejad is called to order by the almighty one
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a letter from the revolutionary figurehead Ayatollah Khamenei on Monday, urging him to unblock resources that fund gas supplies to isolated villages in Iran. This public disavowal could add to Ahmadinejad's worsening reputation concerning economic policy, which has already come under criticism from the largely dissatisfied population. While Iranians battle through a particularly harsh winter, rising gas and oil prices are a hotter topic of conversation than nuclear power. One of our Iran Observers, Reza Moini, explains why the conflict between the two Islamic leaders flared up this week. Read more...
‘Iranian Economic Growth' (20.01.08) by the Iranian cartoonist Nikahang, currently exiled in Canada. His blog.
Serbs in Kosovo appeal to Russia for help
Since being put under United Nations rule in 1999, the question of whether or not the war-torn Serbian province of Kosovo, once a province of Yugoslavia, should be independent or not continues unanswered. With elections in Serbia currently underway, residents of the detached area await results that might bring change to a region which has been trying to establish its identity now for nine years. The first round of results saw pro-Russian Tomislav Nikolic gain the biggest majority. But what would that mean for the minority of Serbs that remain in Kosovo? Our Observer from Estonia went to the town of Mitrovica in Kosovo to get a sense of the situation there. Here are her photos and comments. Read more...
Our Observers follow the African Cup of Nations
The African Cup of Nations (ANC), which kicked off its 26th yearly edition on Sunday, is followed worldwide and rivals the UEFA Euro competition and the Copa America in popularity. The atmosphere is, of course, heating up most in Africa's major cities, from where our Observers will be sending us post-match updates with photos and comments. Here are comments and predictions from Abidjan, Casablanca, Cotonou and Accra. Read more...
Start of a revolution in Belarus?
The streets of Minsk are full of protesters, a particularly rare event in Belarus, which is considered the worst dictatorship in Eastern Europe. The demonstrators aren't asking for freedom of the press or fair elections, but just to be able to get on with their simple trade. Our Observer Ales, who collaborates with the site Nasha Niva Online, which is banned in Belarus, sent us photos from the event. The photos are not likely to be found in a local paper, since the entire media is controlled by the state. Read more...
Ashura around the world
The ‘tenth day', or Ashura, is an important event in the Muslim calendar, commemorating the death of Imam Hussein and celebrated all over the world by followers of Islam. Some of the festival-goers slash their backs and chests with knives and whips to show that they share the pain of their martyr. Here are some videos of ceremonies all over the world, from Bangladesh to Washington, with comments and photos from our Observer Nasim in Afghanistan, who attends the event in Kabul each year. Read more...
Pop Idol from Iraq to Russia
Since the launch of reality TV pop-star contests, thousands of talented and talentless people have been able to get their 15 minutes of fame on primetime TV. Britain's Pop Idol concept is so popular in fact, that it has been sold to 110 countries worldwide. And there seems to be no cultural boundary that the more recent Star Academy can't cross. It's the fist Spanish TV product to be sold to both American and Arabic countries. Here is our pick of the most entertaining auditions and performances. See the videos...
West Africa brings out the ‘ow!’ factor
“They close the British Council, but buy houses in London"
'Until now, Iran and Burma were the only countries to ban the British Council'.
Russians react to the closure of the British Council by the Russian authorities. One of them remembers when it was closed down once before in the past. That was in 1947, and it marked the beginning of the Cold War. Another says that the Russian authorities are becoming schizophrenic: "They close the British Council, but buy houses in London." Read more...
