You are hereArchive - Mar 2009
Archive - Mar 2009
Africa: a charismatic disc jockey, 34-year-old fresh-faced entrepreneur is sworn in as Africa's youngest president
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In the ousting of Madagascar's twice-elected president, behind the boyish good looks lies a ruthless ambition that has surprised many. His supporters have taken to blaring out Malagasy pop music to get crowds in the mood. This may even be the first African coup with its own soundtrack.
Images of the man this week have appeared incongruous: a sharp suit and baby face amid the sharpshooters in army fatigues, an unlikely alliance between the soldiers who have seen it all before and the 34-year-old who has got it all to come.
He is the disc jockey politician, a charismatic, fresh-faced entrepreneur who swapped the turntables and nightclubs of Antananarivo for a movement that this week has culminated in the ousting of Madagascar's twice-elected president. So when Andry Rajoelina, 34, is inaugurated as Africa's youngest president today, expect a carnival of sound. His supporters have taken to blaring out Malagasy pop music to get crowds in the mood. This may even be the first African coup with its own soundtrack.
"Great Depression had Hoovervilles. 70's crisis snaking gas lines. Today's recession is about disappearing wealth"
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(Above) Steve looks out over tent city as storm clouds gather above the makeshift community. The Great Depression had Hoovervilles. The energy crisis of the 1970s had snaking gas lines. But today’s deep recession is largely about disappearing wealth -- painful, yes, but difficult to see.
A tattered encampment of 200 men and women along the American River is a vivid symbol of a financial crisis otherwise invisible to most Americans. Officials say they will shut it down within a month.
Reporting from Sacramento -- The capital's tent city sprawls messily on a grassed-over landfill beneath power lines, home to some 200 men and women with nowhere else to go. It has been here for more than a year, but in the last three weeks it has transformed into a vivid symbol of a financial crisis otherwise invisible to most Americans.
Then this tattered encampment along the American River began showing up on Oprah Winfrey, Al Jazeera and other news outlets around the world. On Thursday, city officials announced that they will shut it down within a month. "We're finding other places to go," said Steven Maviglio, a spokesman for Sacramento's mayor. The camp is "not safe. It's not humane. But we're not going in with a bulldozer." read more »
Financial crisis deprives livelihood. Poverty sparks fury, raging across Europe: Iceland, France, Russia, Greece...
Protests across Europe: Bosnia, Britain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine...
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(Reuters) - French unions staged a nationwide day of action on Thursday to denounce the government's economic policies and call for more measures to help consumers.
The global financial crisis has sparked protests in many parts of Europe this year:
BOSNIA -- Bosnia's Muslim-Croat parliament canceled a session on February 26 rather than confront protesters complaining about plans to cut benefits to narrow a big budget gap.
BRITAIN -- British workers held a series of protests at power plants against the use of foreign contractors on critical energy sites. They voted to end strikes on February 5 after French oil group Total agreed to hire more British workers at its Lindsey oil refinery.
Tea plantation: Earth must feel profound peace, and enjoy its fresh breaths amidst vast green. Who wouldn't?
The Telegraph’s weekly Big Picture contest winner: this shot of a tea plantation in Munnar, Kerala, taken by Lynden Clarke from Bristol.
Original Source: Telegraph
March 18, 2009. Canada marks "Oceans and Marine Life Polar Day", International Polar Year (the 1st IPY: 1882–1883) webcast event
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OTTAWA, ONTARIO - "Oceans and Marine Life Polar Day", an International Polar Year (IPY) webcast event, took place on March 18, 2009, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the theatre of the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. "Our Government has made a tremendous contribution to Arctic research during International Polar Year. Polar Days are a great opportunity to share the initial findings of this research with the public," said the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. To learn more about "Oceans and Marine Life Polar Day" events in Canada and around the world, as well as other national and international initiatives related to International Polar Year, we invite you to visit www.ipy.gc.ca. read more »