Stories about French from October, 2007
Burkina Faso: Blogs Help Burkinabe Skirt Censorship
In Burkina Faso, blogging is more than a pastime. It is the eyes and ears of thousands of net users. That's why from October 11th to the 17th, during the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso's internet connection was cut in order to prevent those commemorating...
Lebanon: Polemic and nature
Moustafa from Beirut Spring's blog noted in one of his latest posts that Lebanon is “dropping French.” Somehow that claim is true; Lebanese francophone blogs are few and different from those in English, and are also less popular. However, they present a face of Lebanon that we would like to...
Press freedom in Benin takes nosedive
Babilown writes about Benin's steep drop (Fr) in Reporters Without Borders’ annual country ranking of press freedom.
DRC: Che Guevara on Laurent Kabila
History speaks as Congolese blogger Alex Engwete translates (Fr) Che Guevara's pessimistic assessment of Laurent Kabila‘s potential to become a revolutionary leader: “He lets things drag on forever without caring about anything other than internal quarrels, and he also devoted to women and drink…”
Burkina Faso: Mariam Sankara returns from exile
Ramata Sore posts a statement by Mariam Sankara (Fr), wife of assassinated former president Thomas Sankara, thanking the Burkinabe people for their warm welcome. Mrs. Sankara returned to Burkina Faso for the anniversary of her husband's death after twenty years in exile.
Burkina Faso: Corrupt journalists
Ramata Sore writes (Fr) about National Press Day in Burkina Faso and how many journalists are compromised by politics.
Tunisia: Blogger's books confiscated at customs
When Tunisian blogger Zizou from Djerba returned home to Tunis from Cairo last week, he received more than the welcome he bargained for.
Senegal: Water Taxis in Dakar?
Blog Politique au Senegal offers a modest proposal (Fr) for water taxis in Dakar.
Senegal: Education System Goes “Mafia”
Blog Politique au Senegal describes (Fr) Senegal's education system in a state of crisis: “It's difficult to say that the Pdef and the 40% of the national budget allocated to education haven't served any purpose: multiple strikes, the lowering of education standards, botched programs, phony grades…illicit practices have more and...
DRC: Kinshasa Plane Crash “Will Not Be the Last”
Dozens died last week when a plane crashed in Kimbanseke, a poor and densely populated neighborhood in Kinshasa. Du Cabiau à Kinshasa thinks the accident was all but inevitable.
Cameroon: Discredited Minister Brings Libel Suit Against Newspapers
Fojrega writes (Fr) that former finance minister Polycarpe Abah Abah, removed from his post for refusing to declare his assets, is suing half a dozen papers for defamation.
Language death: evolution, natural selection or cultural genocide?
We live in a world of just 194 countries, give or take, but speak between 7,000 and 8,000 languages. That linguistic diversity is fast disappearing, often thanks to the privileged position given to colonial languages, as well as the globalization of media and technology. But is this really cause for alarm?
Mali: Alicia Keyes and Oumou Sangare sing duet
Echanges, Reflexion and Cityonenete posts a You Tube video of Alicia Keyes’ duet with famed Malian songstress, Oumou Sangare.
