· August, 2012

Stories about Youth from August, 2012

Russia: Foreign Ministry Looks to Germany to Justify Pussy Riot Verdict

RuNet Echo

Russia's Foreign Ministry has made a series of comments that further enraging Pussy Riot's supporters. Spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich defended the recent verdict and lashed out at the West for ignorance about the band members' pasts and highlighted perceived double standards regarding interferences into religious services and criminal penalties, citing laws in Germany and Austria.

28 August 2012

Russia: Government Bans Serbian Film for Underage Sex and Drugs

RuNet Echo

On August 17, Sam Klebanov announced that Russia's Ministry of Culture has banned the release of a Serbian film called "Clip." Klebanov's company owns the Russian distribution rights to the movie, which was honored with a Hivos Tiger Award at the forty-first International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands earlier this year.

24 August 2012

Russia: Zombies Versus the State in Omsk

RuNet Echo

Early last Sunday morning in the city of Omsk, a few hundred youths gathered together for a flashmob. Police were on hand to warn everyone that they represented an illegal assembly, and could be charged with breaking the law. Why had roughly 300 people come together? The answer to that question is the "Zombie Parade": the city's first attempted 'walk of the living dead.'

20 August 2012

Russia: Pussy Riot's Guilty Verdict

RuNet Echo

'The judge said one of the reasons for a “real sentence” was to “caution others”. ' - Russian and anglophone Twitter users respond to the guilty verdict and two-year prison sentence handed down to Pussy Riot members.

17 August 2012

Mauritania: Using Twitter to Mock the President

On August 6, President General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appeared on national television - while police attacked a journalist who was covering the assault and arrest of a guest who called upon the General to leave. Local Twitter users followed and commented in real time.

15 August 2012

Pakistan: Fighting Stereotypes and Celebrating with India on Independence Day

Pakistan's mainstream and social media is usually fraught with issues ranging from terrorism and sectarianism to economic and power crisis. However, there comes a day, once every year, when even the most cynical tend to let go of their skepticism and dwell in a rather romantic notion of hope. That day is August 14, the day Pakistan got its independence from British Raj.

14 August 2012

Mauritania: Demanding an End to Military Rule

Mauritanians took to the streets in a massive march calling for the end of their country's military rule. The march, on June 23, 2012, was organised by the Coordination of Democratic Opposition (COD). It started near the Youth Centre in the capital Nouakchott, passing by the Security Directorate and the Palace of Justice, where participants chanted for the fall of the ruling regime. The day ended with a popular rally. Ahmed Jeddou reports.

14 August 2012

Ghana: Orphaned Orphans

Demeter blogs about the challenges of managing finances in the Non-Profit sector in Ghana: “I am in touch with Eric Gaetin, the boy who lost the use of his legs...

12 August 2012

Trinidad & Tobago: Dark Cloud, Gold Lining

Heavy floods pounded the northwestern part of Trinidad yesterday morning, as two rivers burst their banks following torrential rains from a tropical depression. But the nation's spirits were to be lifted - at least for a while - as the country won Olympic gold for the second time in its history, thanks to the efforts of Keshorn Walcott in the Javelin Throw.

12 August 2012

Jamaica: Caribbean Region Rallies Behind Bolt

Jamaican bloggers - and indeed netizens from the wider Caribbean region - are continuing to celebrate the island's successes at the London Olympic Games. Unsurprisingly, Usain Bolt is at the centre of the online discussion, thanks to his amazing performance in the Men's 200m event and his response to Carl Lewis' drug use accusations.

11 August 2012