· August, 2012

Stories about Technology from August, 2012

Tracking Counterfeit Medicines in the Developing World

  30 August 2012

Some 700,000 people die annually from fake malaria and tuberculosis drugs alone. The WHO reports that the annual earnings from substandard or counterfeit drugs stand at about USD 200 billion. More important than its economic impact, counterfeit medicines pose a significant global public health problem.

Russia: Police Claim Top Blogger Was Hacked from Germany

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

The Moscow police department has determined [ru] that Aleksei Navalny's email and Twitter accounts were hacked in late June from a German IP address. Fellow liberal blogger Andrey Malgin criticized [ru] the announcement, accusing the authorities of disguising their own responsibility for supposedly stealing [ru] Navalny's passwords in a June 11 search [ru] of...

EU in Crisis: First E-Book by Global Voices

  27 August 2012

"EU in crisis" is the first production of our new Global Voices Books project and includes the best material from social conversation, participation and mobilization boosted by citizens going through the tough times of austerity in the old continent and beyond.

Russia: Senator Wants 15 Years in Prison for Hackers

RuNet Echo  26 August 2012

In the aftermath of a hacker attack on the court that convicted Pussy Riot's 3 members, Kremlin youth group organizer and Senator Ruslan Gattarov [ru] has proposed [ru] making criminal penalties stricter for those who target government websites. Gattarov suggests equating hacks with illegal physical occupations of government buildings, which carry a...

Caribbean: The Number Portability Game

  23 August 2012

. . . there has been considerable buzz around [Number Portability], and several countries across the Caribbean have embarked upon activities that ultimately should lead to its implementation. Yet, how many countries have successfully launched a NP scheme?

India: Social Media Blamed for Fueling Assam Unrest

  23 August 2012

'A temporary ban was put on bulk SMS and MMS. Local police swung into action and began arresting people forwarding ‘hate' SMS examples. Social media sites were warned to monitor and remove inflammatory content. About 310 webpages were blocked.'

Global Voices Podcast: More From #GV2012

  14 August 2012

In this edition of the Global Voices Podcast you'll hear more from our Summit which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, back in July, including some of our contributors and selected academics from around the world were also invited to share their knowledge and learn from the community.

Africa: Innovation, Education and Nature

  12 August 2012

Mutua discusses education and innovation in Africa: “In today’s world it is imperative to create a differentiated and sophisticated economy in order to truly be competitive, so for African states to become significant players in the global economy, we have to find ways to move up the ladder to innovation-driven...

Bulgaria: Thousands of Trial Records Go Open

  11 August 2012

The Bulgarian section of the Open Knowledge Foundation announced [bg] the release of 580,049 court decisions and 607,656 additional documents, including motives. Although all those are already publicly accessible in the courts and some of them are browsable in a digital format on the Ministry of Justice website, there was...

Cuba: Freedom of Press?

  10 August 2012

Blogger, journalist and Global Voices author Elaine Díaz analyzes [es] the nuances of the different practices and definitions of freedom of press, after being interviewed for the Boston Globe.