Stories from Quick Reads from February, 2015
The Political Apartheid Against Women in Venezuela
Desireé Lozano, a blogger for the Spanish-language website Voces Visibles (Visible Voices), reflects on the existing limitations on women’s political participation in Venezuela. According to the sociologist Evangelina García Prince, a kind of political apartheid that excludes women from decision-making reigns in the Venezuelan parties: En los partidos venezolanos, el discurso oficial...
Facebook Campaign Garners Iranian Journalist Masih Alinejad Women's Rights Award
Iranian journalist wins Women's Rights Award for her Facebook page "My Stealthy Freedom."
Unlawful Deals by 5 Biggest Ebola Contractors in Sierra Leone
Five companies are said to have misappropriated funds for fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone: Here are the 5 companies who were awarded the biggest contracts to provide goods and services to Sierra Leone’s ebola response as listed in the Ebola Funds Audit Report covering the period from May – October...
Indigenous Tweets Highlight International Mother Language Day in Australia
Wamut,aka @kriolkantri on Twitter, and blogger of ten years, shared indigenous tweets on Storify: “February 21 is International Mother Language Day and this year, Australians showed off Aboriginal and Islander languages in a spectacular way and highlighted the amazing-yet-fragile linguistic diversity found across the continent”. Happy International #MotherLanguage Day! We're...
The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet’s Incredibly Surreal Anthem
Below is an edited version of “The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet's Incredibly Surreal Anthem“ by Jason Li, originally published on the blog 88 Bar and republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement. In case you missed it, the New York Times, ProPublica, the Guardian and the Atlantic all wrote about...
A Passenger Ferry Capsizes in Bangladesh. Again.
On Sunday noon a passenger ferry reportedly packed with more than 100 passengers was hit by a cargo vessel 40 kilometres northwest of Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital. It subsequently sank. A rescue vessel located the capsized vessel and attempted to pull it up. According to reports 37 bodies have been found...
Submissions Needed for White History Month 2015
Organised by Africa is a Country blog, White History month 2015 is coming next month: Last March was the inaugural White History Month here on Africa is a Country, and without tooting too loudly on our own vuvuzela, it was kind of brilliant. So we’re going to do it again....
Argentina Creates Registry of Interpreters of Indigenous Languages
Argentina creates the Registry of Interpreters of Indigenous Languages, following the case of Reina Maraz after being in prison for three years without knowing why, for not having Quechua language interpreter in the country.
2015 Presents an Opportunity for Free and Fair Elections in Africa
Wekesa Sylvanus hopes that 2015 will be a year of free and fair elections in Africa: https://wekesasylvanus.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/will-2015-be-a-year-of-free-and-fair-elections-in-africa/ Since the advent of multi party democracy in Africa, electoral contests have become a do or die affair in majority of African countries. Elections in Africa are a high risk affair and in...
10 African Children’s Illustrators You Should Know
Jennifer Sefa-Boakye highlights 10 of Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators’ finalists: Late last year Ghana-based pan-African literary organization Golden Baobab introduced us to a shortlist of talented illustrators, whose work ranged from 3-D Ashanti folktales to intricately drawn Moroccan cityscapes and African barbershop-inspired murals in Durban. Awarded in November,...
Film: The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo
The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo is a film by filmmaker Yaba Badoe: The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, explores the artistic contribution of one of Africa's foremost women writers, a trailblazer for an entire generation of exciting new talent. This feature-length documentary charts Ama Ata Aidoo's creative journey in...
Ireland's Cricket World Cup Win Against West Indies No Laughing Matter
Irish satirical website Waterford Whispers News certainly enjoyed the Ireland cricket teams’ victory over the West Indies on 16 February in Nelson, New Zealand: THERE were concerns this morning among the Irish Cricket Union after the success of the Ireland team at the World Cup caused massive strain on the...
Malawian Student Makes His Own TV Station
Chisomo Daka, a student at the University of Malawi’s chancellor college, has created his own TV station, Paul Ndiho reports: Innovation is happening across Africa, in all different sectors, from education to energy, banking to agriculture and in television broadcasting. In Malawi, a university student has created a community TV...
The African Union is Failing South Sudan
David K. Deng argues that the African Union is failing South Sudan after deciding that the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS) should not release its report: On the evening of 29 January, African heads of state gathered in Addis Ababa for a meeting of the African...
The Release of South Africa's “Prime Evil”: It's Time to Confront The Evil of Apartheid
Nicknamed “Prime Evil”, Eugene de Kock was the commanding officer a counter-insurgency unit of the South African Police that kidnapped, tortured, and murdered numerous anti-apartheid activists during apartheid era. He was recently granted parole after serving 20 years of his 212 prison sentence. Pierre de Vos reacts to his release...
Emerging Threats in Cybersecurity Legislation in Africa
Access, an international human rights organization is troubles by emerging threats in cybersecurity and data protection in Africa. Ephraim Kenyanitto explains: The Convention was originally scheduled to pass in January 2014, but was delayed for modifications after protests by the private sector, civil society organizations, and privacy experts—all of whom...
Two Latin Americans Nominated for Index Freedom of Expression Awards
The communication platform, Courage for Tamaulipas, and Ecuadorian sketch artist, Xavier “Bonil” Bonilla, were the only Latin Americans nominated at the Index Freedom of Expression Awards, which recognizes organizations and individuals in the fight against censorship. The awards were created by Index on Censorship, an international organization dedicated to defending...
Keeping Up the Fight on World Cancer Day
¡Hola! Mi nombre es Alejandra Baca, pero todos me dicen Ale, excepto los doctores, ellos me dicen “Karlita”. Vivo en Chihuahua, México. Me gusta estudiar, bailar, leer y salir con mis amigos. Estudio la Lic. en Administración y soy misionera. Hi! My name is Alejandra Baca, but everyone calls me...
Misbehaviour Trumps Murder in Trinidad & Tobago Headlines
While Trinidad and Tobago is in the midst of political woes and police try to determine the identity of the country's latest murder victim, at least one blogger thinks that mainstream media is doing its level best to ignore these pressing issues and capitalise on the pre-Carnival frenzy. (Trinidad and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Am Gay; Will Travel
What is it like to be gay in the Caribbean? The Travelling Trini occasionally gets emails from young gay Trinidadians who “have the burning desire to go abroad, travel, and see the world”. She deduces that this wanderlust stems from the fact that “the Caribbean is a incredibly homophobic place...
Roll Call to Never Forget the Missing Ayotzinapa Students
Since the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa, a group of citizens has decided to prevent the case from being forgotten by conducting a roll call of the students' names every day at 11pm Mexico time.
