Stories from Quick Reads from July, 2012
Trinidad & Tobago: Hoping for Medals
The MEP Blog takes a look at the country's past Olympic greats and 2012 medal hopefuls.
Guyana: Olympic Dreams
Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people here.”
Guyana: Linden Protests
Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships” meted out to the citizen of that mining community.
St. Lucia: The Power of Words
David Cave writes a tribute to his mentor, the Saint Lucia poet Kendel Hippolyte: “Indeed, Kendel showed me first hand that there is real power in words. Words evoke emotions, conjure images, analyse, interrogate, bring back memories, experiences and transport and even return a student to his mentor and friend.”
Latin America: Is 2012 the ‘Year of the Woman” at the Olympics?
The Americas Quarterly blog points out that although there is still a lot to do to end gender discrimination at the Olympics, “for the first time in history, every country competing in the London 2012 Olympics will have at least one female athlete, with many – notably in Latin America...
Angola: Citizens Demand Transparent Electoral Campaign
Angola's civil society is urging more transparency [pt] on the preparation of the coming general elections scheduled for August 31, 2012. One of the initiatives recently launched is an online petition [pt] demanding the parties leaders to take part of live debates on TV.
Tunisia: The Plight of Palestinians in Iraq
Tunisian blogger Nawel Abdullah posts an interview [ar] she conducted with the founder of The Australian Society for the Palestinian-Iraqi Refugee Emergency Yousef Alreemawi, who speaks to her about the plight of Palestinian refugees living in Iraq and efforts to resettle some of them in Australia.
Togo: Preacher Transports 4.2 kg of Cocaine Hidden in Lollipops to Build Church
Togolese Preacher Woegna Yao Koufoualesse was caught at the Accra International Airport with 4.2 kg of Cocaine in a flight from Sao Paulo, Afrique Infos reports [fr]. The drugs were hidden inside caramel lollipops; Koufoualesse argued that he did not know about the cocaine and that the lollipops were to be sold to help...
Ukraine: Forest Fires in Yalta, Crimea
On Facebook, Andrey Klimenko of BlackSeaNews.net posted night photos (here and here; ru) of the fire raging in the mountainous forest reserve near Yalta, Crimea. On July 31 [ru], there is smog, ashes in the air and strong northeast wind in Yalta: “Early in the morning it seemed it would...
Guinea: The Plight of Guineans Students in Syria
Kante Taliby writes on Guinée News about the plight of Guinean students in Syria [fr] : “I am a Guinean student on scholarship in Syria and I am married with one child. My wife, my child and I have not had a proper meal for almost a week now, and...
Pakistan: The business Of Ramadan
Samra Muslim at Pak Tea House writes that the month of Ramadan is not important for religious reasons but it is the month of business all around creating a lot of commotion in the economy of Pakistan.
Caucasus: Olympic Women
Ianyan introduces its readers to the female athletes representing the three countries of the South Caucasus in the Olympic games in London.
Guatemala: Microsoft and the University of San Carlos
Blogger Josue Ortega [es] attended a university event which invited students to develop a project to help communities with very little access to technology. However, students were told to develop the project using only Microsoft technology. One of Ortega's friends inquired about using open licenses, but the idea was immediately...
Iran: Police is censoring ‘in affiliation with Facebook’
Commander in chief of Iran cyber police insists that the authorities would prosecute those who ‘promote immorality and prostitution’ in social network websites. Kamal Hadianfar claims [fa] that Iranian police would ‘purify’ this social network ‘with collaboration of Facebook managers’. Major social networking services including Facebook and Twitter are blocked in Iran.
Nepal: Lumbini Impressions – An Opportunity Lost
Ujjwal Acharya opines that “a little more focus on development of Lumbini (birthplace of Buddha) could bring fortunes to Nepal in religious tourism and important history to the insight of Buddha’s life to the world.
Brazil: Project Discusses Political Campaign Sign Litter
Few months ahead of municipal elections in Brazil, the campaign Quem sujou agora, vai sujar depois [Who litters now, will litter afterwards] aims to raise awareness on how political candidates make Brazilian towns dirty during election campaigns. The project's page on Facebook [pt] gathers denouncing photos and videos sent by...
World: Nerd Olympics
When nerds follow the Olympic Games, a hashtag like #Nerdlympics is born. Find our favourite tweets in the hashtag here
Brazil: Board of Social Communication Under Criticism
The Observatório do Direito à Comunicação, website of communication rights in Brazil, reports that [pt] the Board of Social Communication, elected by National Congress on July 17, is under criticism as the list of candidates was concealed and voting session was unannounced. Board members analyze, report and make recommendations on...
Laos: Participation in 2012 Olympics
Laos sent three athletes to the 2012 London Olympics. An employee of the United Nations World Food Programme in Laos also represented the country when she was invited to become an Olympic torchbearer early this month
East Timor: Government Sues Multinational Oil Company
The government of East Timor has sued multinational oil and gas company ConocoPhilipps for its failure to pay the right taxes and other fees. The petroleum sector is the country's biggest source of revenues.
Cambodia: Social Media and Education
Nayheak Khun discusses the role of the internet and social media in improving the delivery of education in Cambodia
