Stories about Breaking News from August, 2012
Ecuador Grants Political Asylum to WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
#AsiloAssange (Assange Asylum) is a local Trending Topic on Twitter in Ecuador as netizens from all over the world react to Ecuador's decision to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “Gracias a Ecuador” (“Thank you Ecuador”), the words tweeted by an unofficial Julian Assange account (@JulianAssange_), is a worldwide...
Ecuador: WikiLeaks Releases “Statement on UK Threat to Storm Ecuadorian Embassy”
WikiLeaks has released a “Statement on UK Threat to Storm Ecuadorian Embassy and Arrest Julian Assange.” The statement reads: “In a communication this morning to the government of Ecuador, the UK threatened to forcefully enter the Ecuadorian embassy in London and arrest Julian Assange. […] This threat is designed to...
Puerto Rico: Jaime Espinal's Silver Medal Makes History
Puerto Rico celebrates Jaime Espinal's Olympic silver medal, the first to be won for the country in the freestyle wrestling. This is the second medal won for Puerto Rico in the London 2012 Olympics and only the second silver medal to be won in the country's history.
South Korea: President's Unprecedented Visit to Disputed Islands a Smokescreen?
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented and highly controversial visit to the Dokdo islands. However, skepticism and suspicion grow strong in the Korean Twittersphere, with many calling the visit, a daring political stunt to cover up other important issues.
Colombia: Gold for Cyclist Mariana Pajón
Colombians on Twitter anxiously awaited the performance of BMX cyclist Mariana Pajón. Hashtags like ORO (“gold”), #ÁnimoMariana (“Go Mariana”), or Mariana Pajón became local Trending Topics before and after Pajón won the gold medal. With this achievement, Colombia ratifies the country's historic performance at the this year's Olympics and now ranks...
South Korean President Made an Unprecedented Visit to Disputed Dokdo Islands
South Korean President, Lee Myung-bak visited Dokdo (or Takeshima in Japanese) islands, sparking international media frenzy. Lee would be the first South Korean leader to visit the disputed islands which both South Korea and Japan have a historical claim to. The Dokdo Times blog wrote a post explaining the context,...
Chad: 5,000 New Refugees Coming From The Central African Republic
Victorien Ndakass from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that 5,000 new refugees from the Central African Republic have crossed over to Chad [fr] since June. This movement of population is due to the resurgence of the rebel movement lead by Abdoulaye Miskine [fr] in the North of the country.
Egypt: Cairo Blackout
Egyptians woke up today [August 9, 2012] to a Cairo without electricity. The city's metro and the Egyptian Stock Exchange stopped functioning. Netizens took to their keyboards to complain.
Dominican Republic: Pride and Celebration of Félix Sánchez's Gold
Dominican Republic celebrates the gold and silver medals of Félix Sánchez and Luguelín Santos respectively. This marks the first time the country takes home two medals in Olympic Athletics events. Domincan netizens express their happiness and pride on Twitter.
Libya: Fireworks Mark Tripoli's First Liberation Anniversary
Libyans are marking the liberation of their country tonight from Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule. Netizens speak of celebrations and share their feelings on this occasion.
Egypt: “Not all the People of Sinai are Terrorists”
Sinai is making the headlines today after the Egyptian Army waged a war on militants accused of being behind a deadly attack on the Egyptian-Israeli border, in which up to 16 Egyptian officers and soldiers were killed over the weekend. From North Sinai, Ahmed Elghoul is using Twitter to tell us more about the region and its people; the discrimination they face and the lack of security in the area.
Puerto Rico: Racist Tweets Against Obama Cause Outrage
Heidi Wys Toro, one of the advisors of the current speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives Jennifer González, posted some racist comments about the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle on Twitter. This is not the first time that Wys, who favors that Puerto Rico becomes a state of the United States, used this network to insult president Obama.
Guinea: Massacres Perpetrated by Security Forces in Zoghota
On August, 4, the NGO Avocats Sans Frontières (Lawyers without Borders) in Guinea reports that they have observed group killing of civilians in the village of Zoghota [fr] (Warning: graphic photos included). Villagers testified that security forces came around midnight and fired at unarmed civilians. The village of Zoghota was...
Madagascar: Second Mediation Effort Stalled Yet Again
Midi Madagasikara reports that the second mediation meeting in Seychelles is likely to have stalled yet again as transitional president Rajoelina refused the candidacy of deposed president Ravalomanana [fr] for the upcoming 2013 presidential elections. The South African Development Community SADC that drives the mediation effort warned that the participants who...
Puerto Rico: Javier Culson Wins Historic Bronze Medal
The athlete Javier Culson won Puerto Rico's first ever medal in athletics. This medal takes the count to 7 medals in the country's history: 5 bronze and 1 silver in boxing, and 1 bronze in athletics. This is the first Olympic medal for the country since 1996. Puerto Rican netizens celebrated this historic achievement.
Philippines: Floods Hit Metro Manila and Nearby Provinces
Strong rains caused huge floods in many parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces in the Luzon Island of the Philippines. Manila-based Global Voices editor Mong Palatino gathers photos from social media platforms which show the extent of flooding in the country's capital
Egypt: Celebrating Curiosity and the Man of Mars – Dr Essam Heggy
Egyptians watching Curiosity are celebrating the work and life of NASA researcher Dr Essam Mohamed Heggy, a planetary scientist who is a member of the science team involved in the discovery of life on Mars. Comments on Twitter note that Heggy's skills were better appreciated abroad.
Colombia: Caterine Ibargüen Wins Silver in Triple Jump
This post is part of our Special Coverage of our London 2012 Games. During the afternoon of Sunday, August 5, Colombian Twitter users expressed their emotion, expectation and tension due to the performance of Caterine Ibargüen, who represents the country in long jump, high jump, and triple jump at the...
Syria: “I Tweeted Prime Minister Riad Hijab's Defection First”
A Syrian Twitter user claims that he was the first to break the news that Syrian Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab would defect a week ago. The Twitter user goes by the name @THE_47th and is also credited with announcing other defections well before mainstream media.
Puerto Rico: Celebrating Javier Culson's Success in London 2012 Olympics
Puerto Rican netizens are brimming with pride and support after the athlete, Javier Culson, reached the semifinals in the 400m hurdles. Culson is considered to have a strong chance of bringing home Puerto Rico's first Olympic gold medal in its history.
Tanzania: Teachers’ Strike De-stabilizes the Nation
Teachers in Tannzania have been on a strike to urge the government to pay their unpaid dues and to improve their benefit and salaries. The strike followed, after the Teacher's union (Chama Cha Walimu-CWT),through their president Mr.Gratian Mukoba, gave the g0vernment a 48 hours notice on 28thJuly,2012
