Extinguishing the flames of the Arab Spring
Residents of Tunisia's Sidi Bouzid, the city that ignited the 2011 uprisings, say the revolution has failed them.
Ahmed El Amraoui | | Politics, Middle East, Tunisia, Arab Spring
Tunis - Five years ago today, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor, set himself on fire outside a local municipal office in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid to protest against police corruption - a solitary act that would set off a stunning chain of events throughout the Arab world.
In the years since Bouazizi's death, Tunisia has gone through tremendous change. After street protests forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile after two decades of his rule, Tunisia adopted a new constitution and held national elections in 2014.
Earlier this month, the country's National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for assisting Tunisia's transition to democracy.
But despite the changes that have taken place around them, residents of Sidi Bouzid say their lives are no better than they were before the uprising.
Syrian journalist who reported on Isis crimes in Raqqa murdered
He is third member of media group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, to die
A Syrian journalist dedicated to reporting on abuses committed in his country by Isis has been murdered.
Ahmad Mohamed al-Mousa, a member of the media collective known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), was killed by a group of masked men in Idlib, Syria.
The group, which told of al-Mousa’s murder on its Twitter account, did not reveal any further details.
At least two other members of RBSS, which was honoured last month by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with its 2015 international press freedom award, have been killed since it was formed in April 2014.
Mexico drug cartel killer murders 30 people in 9 years in Costa Grande of Guerrero - but has no regrets
More than 1,000 people have been reported missing in the state of Guerrero since 2007
The killer says he "disappeared" a man for the first time at age 20. Nine years later, he says, he has eliminated 30 people — maybe three in error.
He sometimes feels sorry about the work he does but has no regrets, he says, because he is providing a kind of public service, defending his community from outsiders. Things would be much worse if rivals took over.
"A lot of times your neighborhood, your town, your city is being invaded by people who you think are going to hurt your family, your society," he says. "Well, then you have to act, because the government isn't going to come help you."
Meet the Bangladeshi woman converting her village to solar power
When she installed solar panels in her home, a Bangladeshi mother named Marjina Bagum changed life for her family. Now, her children have light to do their homework at night, her family has lower electricity bills and they feel both safer and more comfortable. Marjina has started a trend in her small village, Kulia, which is located in the southern part of the country-- now many of her neighbours are also investing in solar power.
Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by global warming and climate change. As global water levels rise, the country is experiencing more and more flooding. Thousands of Bangladeshis have already become climate refugees. While most individual Bangladeshis can’t do anything to counter the rising water, a result of the thawing of ice at the north and south poles, many people are realizing the urgent need to take action against climate change.
While facing problems linked to global warming, the country is also trying to develop at the same time. The Bangladeshi government aims to install electricity in all households by 2021 with the help of the World Bank and a network of NGOs and businesses, both local and international.
It’s a hefty mission: Bangladesh’s population is 156,600,000 and 45% of those people don’t have access to electricity. About 15 million Bangladeshi people currently use solar power.
While facing problems linked to global warming, the country is also trying to develop at the same time. The Bangladeshi government aims to install electricity in all households by 2021 with the help of the World Bank and a network of NGOs and businesses, both local and international.
It’s a hefty mission: Bangladesh’s population is 156,600,000 and 45% of those people don’t have access to electricity. About 15 million Bangladeshi people currently use solar power.
In rallies against president, S. Africans reveal deep grievances over corruption
A majority of South Africans believe corruption is on the rise, despite reports that say otherwise – a reason many are now calling for President Zuma’s resignation.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — As thousands of South Africans across the country marched Wednesday morning in protest of the administration of President Jacob Zuma, their banners targeted, in a hundred different ways, a single grievance.
"We need leaders, not looters," read one sign. "Corruption must fall, Zuma must fall," read another.
The march capped a year of official scandals – including President Zuma's refusal to pay back $20 million in public money used to upgrade his personal home, and government officials' purchase of $43 million worth of train cars that didn't fit on the country's tracks.
Viewpoint: Does India need bullet trains?
India has agreed to buy a high-speed bullet train from Japan, in an attempt to transform its creaking rail system. Mohan Guruswamy wonders whether it makes sense.
Last week Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet cleared a $14.7bn (£9.6bn), 650km (403 miles) long bullet train system linking the western Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which will cut travel time on the route from eight hours to two.
"This enterprise will launch a revolution in Indian railways and speed up India's journey into the future. It will become an engine of economic transformation in India," Mr Modi said.
But will it?
To be sure the BJP's election manifesto released in April 2014 promised a 5,846km (3632 miles) "high speed train network (bullet train)" linking Delhi, Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta) and Mumbai. Interestingly, it didn't include Ahmedabad, the capital of Mr Modi's native state, Gujarat.
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