April 2007
April 12, 2007
The telecommunication industry in Kenya is growing at a fast rate. This is driven mainly by the increasing use of cell phones in communication. The growth in number of users of cell phones over the last five years has increased more than six times, while land lines remain roughly the same number. This increase has had a big impact in several and diverse aspects of the life of Kenyans. The articles below explain more, they are in two series, the second being a continuation of the first, and is found at the end of the page.
Continue reading "From Matatu to the Masai via mobile"
When we talk about technology, we talk about electronic gadgets for convenience and entertainment. But not very often is technology used to help one of the poorest segments in the world. A little background – a futile attempt to describe the hardship endured by the people in these communities on a daily basis.
Some rural places in India have bad road connectivity (especially in the state of Bihar discussed in the below article). Travel from a local village to another for banking needs can take a whole day’s journey in extreme weathers – summer or winter. This initiative brings the progress of the country (& technology in general) on the doorsteps of the most ignored consumers.
Techchanginglives
I have chosen to introduce this article about TGV (high spped train) to you because there is a new line from Paris to Strasbourg (East of France) which will be inaugurated in June. This is considered as a big event in France and especially where I live (you will be able to reach Paris from Reims where the train will stop a couple of times every day in 45 minutes, compared to 2 hours currently!). It will have a lot of consequences on the city of Reims because a lot of Parisians will be moving to Reims and will go working in Paris using the speed train everyday. Also, train technology is very high in France and today there was a new record of speed with TGV in Bezannes next to Reims...
speed train
During the last two weeks there have been a lot to see and to speak about in Ukraine. My country again faced another political crisis and here are some news about it.
"President Viktor Yushchenko is willing to freeze his order to dissolve parliament, a chief aide said Wednesday, in what appeared to be a major concession aimed at resolving Ukraine's political crisis. However, his archrival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, showed no sign of backing down."
Supporters of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych rally on Independence Square, where a stage is set up for speakers to address the crowd in Kyiv, Tuesday. Ukraine's defiant parliament on Monday said it would only support early parliamentary elections if an early presidential vote was held simultaneously
Continue reading "Ukrainian president willing to freeze order that sparked political crisis"
On April 12th, 1961 the USSR launched the first man ever into an outer space. Yurii Gagarin became the first man who witnessed the wonders of outer space. Such event became a phenomenon for the whole world. Nobody expected the Soviet abilities, thus it was a shock to the world when the USSR was the first nation in the whole world to launch a space craft into an outer space. Therefore, the USSR showed the world its technological advances. For further information about this trend, visit the following links:
Cosmonautics Day!
Yuri Gargarin!
Continue reading "Cosmonatiutics Day"
SAARC South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation is the next frontier the Indian Prime Minister is trying to strengthen. This regional block has 1/5th of the world’s population but it is nowhere close to what European Union is like. But that’s fast changing – India being one of the members is trying to drive growth for the region. I see it as forward looking approach, since Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many other countries have deeply rooted terrorist organizations and the only way to change that is by bringing prosperity to the region. And I love this PM for that – he has taken the initiative without asking for the same in return. If the conflict in the region is to be resolved, this is the most refreshing step taken.
IndianWebsite
BBC
April 01, 2007
I hope everyone had a wonderful vacation. If you missed our article in the most recent Collegian, or want more information about the Willamette World News, check it out here:
Continue reading "Welcome Back!"
Fritz Lang was dreaming about it…he was the director of one of the most famous movies ever, “Frau im Mond” (“Women in the Moon”) from 1929. German rocket pioneers and scientists like Wernher von Braun helped the Americans after World War II to develop the NASA space program. So there was always a passion for going up there...to the moon.
Continue reading "Germany… the moon is waiting for you!"
In October 1991, when the Soviet Union broke apart, the Supreme Court of Ukraine made a decision that the Chernomor Fleet would belong to Ukraine. On April 5 1992 the president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, signed an edict, according to which the fleet turned out to be under the administration of a Ministry of Defense. This aroused such a harsh reaction in Russia, that on April 7 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree “About the transition of a Chelnomor Fleet to the jurisdiction of Russian Federation.” After three months of confrontation between two sides, on June 23 Russia and Ukraine came to an agreement that was supposed to create military fleets of both countries with the base in Sevastopol.
In the next years the tension between the two fleets lessened and the two marine staffs began to interact more comfortably.
Continue reading "The Russian Fleet is being forced out from Crimea again"
Media has only been reporting Sarkozy and Royal’s deeds for the last few months. Nonetheless, a new serious candidate has appeared in the polls, his name is François Bayrou, a “centrist”. He defines himself as a democrat, a Clintonian, a man of the “third way". Besides, in this article, Bayrou reveals his view about the US politics and his choice for the next US president. The undecided voters may vote for him... Rendez-vous en mai!
Continue reading "Another candidate than Sarkozy and Royal wins the presidential election??? “The French version of a Bill Clinton or a Tony Blair”"
This article introduces to a city you would have probably heard about – Bangalore – an Electronic City and touches on a story of a 23 year-old who started with $226 and is a billionaire seven years later… taking chances still pays.
Continue reading "Globalization – we have heard about it, let’s see how it makes you a billionaire at 30!!!"
I found this to be slightly amusing:
Recently, a Greek citizen had uploaded a video that insulted the revered Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Turkey’s liberator and national hero) onto the video-sharing network Youtube. The Internet provider in Turkey, called Turk Telecom, in retaliation prohibited all Turkish users access to YouTube in hope that the video would go unseen. The Turkish courts ruled that the restrictions placed by Turk Telecom would be invalidated once the disrespectful video was removed from You tube.
Continue reading "Youtube vs. Atatürk"
As one of the legislative assembly members, Kenya, Ms Njoki Ndung’u is rooting for more representation of women and the disabled in the election process. According to a member of Parliament, Kenya's politcal system is not set out to favor an open and fair field. Feeling that women and the disabled are discriminated against, she proposes a quota system that guarantees certain number of seats to these two groups, citing successful implementation in other African countries.
Continue reading "Election Hurdles"
Hello,
The article for this time talks about Ecuadorean food and how its ancestors worked in order to sustain themselves. If you would like to know more about chilli peppers more than 6,000 years ago then this article is perfect for you. Enjoy it!
Continue reading "Hot, spicy, and prehistoric "
Religion is just not a big part of many Czech peoples' life. This is purely cultural but also caused by historical events. Under the communist regime, for example, promotion of any religion was illegal, as well as any organized groups that were not linked to the communist ideology. But it is hard to search for a cause of such a fact. It is one of the cultural things that just happened to be that way.
Continue reading "Almost half of Czechs do not believe in God - poll"
