Blogs about Countries, states, towns, etc.

Domestic workers in the Gulf typically face a double bind: as a foreign worker, you are governed by kafala laws, while as a female, you are governed by the male guardianship system. Photo by Abdullah …

At the time of this blog post, 8 persons have appeared in court (which may have resulted in them being charged, convicted, et cetera), for 6 of the 19 homicides that I documented in 2023. …

What the MK party did when it nominated Dr John Hlophe as its representative on the Judicial Service Commission was to give its voters what they wanted: defiance, contempt and chaos. The nomination was not …

A gaarder is a collector, typically of taxes or tariffs. You may come across the term doing research in the province of Holland between 1695 and 1806, when a special tax (“impost”) was levied on …

China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative continues to expand its project financing activities to around 147 countries in the world as of this writing. This exceptional global footprint, undertaken primarily through sovereign lending or sovereign-driven …

As we know, Russian and Belarusian athletes will not take part in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The International Olympic Committee has banned athletes from both countries following Russia's invasion of …

So you want to ride Ventoux? If you need a little support, I'm now offering a bespoke service to help you arrange your Ventoux cycling holiday. Here's how I can help.

Via Sinologists list, a Chinese news item on a Tang tomb in Taiyuan There is a nice scene of food prep, so if, for teaching purposes, you need a picture of a woman doing laundry? …

Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the US presidential election has prompted me to write down a few thoughts about getting old and being old. First up, I’m going to rant a bit (in classic old-person mode) …

Ten years ago today the biggest single recent upgrade to public transport services across Melbourne happened. A broad package of reform lifted service on Melbourne's busiest train line, restructured bus routes west, north and east …

Workers are busy trying to contain the new oil spill off Pointe‑aux‑Trembles. I hope they can figure out who’s responsible and fine them up the wazoo.

Frederick Douglass in 1879. Photograph taken by George Kendall Warren. On this fourth of July, I quote Howard Zinn and Frederick Douglass, as printed in Zinn's extremely important and readable book A People's History of …

By Palestine Chronicle Staff The soldiers kept coming. One by one they entered a Palestinian house in the Yabna refugee camp, in the city of Rafah. They entered the house through a large hole they …

Oh, god. We have so much to talk about this morning that I considered making this two separate posts, but the first thing really doesn't require a huge amount of discussion, so let's zoom right …

Two items of interest passed through my feeds this week. The first is the podcast Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz released to explain why they are endorsing Trump for president. The second is an evocative …

Development of train-based mass transportation in Bali (Bali Urban Rail and Associated Facilities). DENPASAR – The development of train-based mass transportation in Bali (Bali Urban Rail and Associated Facilities) or better known as Subway/LRT (Light …

Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in northern Taiwan yesterday, but perhaps counter-intuitively, the south was hardest hit. Taipei is surrounded by mountains, but Kaohsiung has no protection from south-westerly winds:Typhoon Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, as it …

Several years ago, I went to Japan on holiday for the first time, and fell in love with the country. I started studying the Japanese language and began to wonder what it would take for …

To see and to be seen. Early morning at the famous café Les Deux Magots. Notice the alignment of chairs for the full benefit of the street view. “Come in! We’re open for the spectacle.” …