· May, 2011

Stories about Technology from May, 2011

Jamaica: Garvey's Good Name

  31 May 2011

Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp has begun an online movement to clear Marcus Garvey's name – his aim is “to get 10,000 signatures and to deliver the petition to President Barack Obama.”

CEE Bankwatch Network campaign against EBRD practices

The CEE Bankwatch Network, an NGO monitoring activities of international financial institutions, has just released a video sharply criticizing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's 20th anniversary of activities in former Soviet Bloc countries, and its intentions to extend to north Africa. “The EBRD has in fact a poor...

Bhutan: Perspectives From The Villages

  31 May 2011

Bhutanese blog Whatever Matters provides some perspectives from the villages on some contemporary issues of Bhutan including the wedding of the Bhutanese King and the controversial tobacco control act.

Togo: 8 digits phone numbers coming soon

  30 May 2011

“Starting August 7, 2011, at 00.00 GMT, a new 8 digits telephone dialing system will be implemented in Togo.” Louis Bararmna on African News details what this will change for users [Fr] when calling landlines and mobile phones in Togo.

Tunisia: Deputy Minister Slim Amamou Resigned

On May 23, Tunisian blogger Slim Amamou announced [fr] on Twitter his resignation as  Secrétaire d'état [deputy minister] for Sports and Youth. Amamou was known to livetweet cabinet meetings on his personal Twitter account @slim404 [fr]. He explains why he has resigned  here and here [fr].

Cuba: On Emails and Blogs

  29 May 2011

Due to limited acces to the Internet in Cuba, blogger Yasmín Portales Machado has decided to publish on her blog En 2310 y 8225 [es] the comments on her posts that have been circulated through email, which is more easily available in Cuba.

Azerbaijan: Twitter as a tool for activism

Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman comments on the use of Twitter in last week's campaign by Amnesty International to call for the release of prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev. Although the imprisoned journalist was released, argues Zuckerman, several questions have been raised by the online action and not least in...

Egypt: Mubarak Fined for Internet Blackout during Revolution

An Egyptian court has fined ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and other officials 540 million Egyptian pounds ($90m) for disconnecting the Internet and mobile phone services during the revolution. Mubarak's regime first shut down access to Twitter when protests started, then Facebook, before turning off the Internet on January 28.

Arab World: Ibn Khaldun Gets Doodled and Tweeted

Considered the greatest Arab historiographer and historian, the philosopher Ibn Khaldun was born in present-day Tunisia in 1332. He is also known as the father of cultural history and modern social science. Google's Doodle sparked the Twitter hashtag #ibn5ldoon, reminding us of this great scholar and his work.

Pakistan: TEDx Karachi Inspires Pakistanis

  27 May 2011

The second TEDx Karachi event took place on the 27 May, 2011, and it included speakers like Mukhtaran Mai, Raja Sabri Khan, Fasi Zaka and Imran Khan. Pakistani netizens share their opinions about the event which inspires to 'Make the Impossible Possible'.

North Korea Claims They Developed Their Own Computers

  27 May 2011

North Korean state media claimed the country is developing it own PCs by showing the insides of a computer manufacturing facility. But technology experts found out that one of the laptops appeared on the news is actually a low-cost netbook already on the US market. Martyn Williams wrote about it...