22 October 2007

Stories from 22 October 2007

Nigeria: Home-made helicopter in Kano

  22 October 2007

Afrigadget on the Nigeria's home-made helicopter: “Yahoo! News carries a story from October 21st about Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi of the Kano Plains of Nigeria who has built a working helicopter over the last 8 months using scrap aluminum and parts from a Honda Civic, an old Toyota and from the...

Africa: The Broadband Gap

  22 October 2007

Bankelele blogs about “the broadband gap”: Also as more and more local video content and jazzed up websites, go up online, it is unfortunately still not possible to for many intended viewers to access the content watch. Or even bother to try until speeds are fast enough.

Africa: Coming to a donation box near you

  22 October 2007

Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman writes takes a critical look at Western philantrophy in Africa: “I am intrigued by the recent proliferation of web-based giving and I have been keeping a curious eye on sites such as Kiva.org and Heifer International, in an attempt to understand what is going...

Kenya: The “Muslim vote” in Kenyan politics

  22 October 2007

Amir Ibrahim writes about Muslims and electoral politics in Kenya: “There has been a trend in Kenyan politics and this most prevalent among the media and political classes to speak of the Muslim vote, a collective that needs to be courted and won over by the parties and their candidates.”

South Africa: South African Becomes Rugby Player of the Year

  22 October 2007

Nich Harambous on Bryan Habana becoming Rugby Player of the Year: “The man is pure brilliance. He equalled Jona Lomu’s RWC record for tries scored (8) and definitely made his mark as one of South Africa’s all time great wingers and rugby players. His potent running rugby, brilliant balance and...

South Africa: Is online business a good idea?

  22 October 2007

Ramon Thomas believes that there is a future in online business in South Africa: “And even through less than 10% of South Africans have Internet access that is going to change with huge investment in infrastructure for the 2010 Worldcup. Don’t wait any longer, get broadband, get a website and...

Uganda: What Press Freedom?

  22 October 2007

Uganda Scarlett Lion discusses Press Freedom in Uganda: “While it appears that Uganda has improved in Press Freedom Rankings from 116 to 96 (a big jump), things are without problems in the Ugandan media.”

Zimbabwe: Eyes On Zimbabwe

  22 October 2007

“Eyes on Zimbabwe is a new feature on Zimbabwe on the Open Society Institute website. They are trying to raise awareness about the crisis in Zimbabwe in advance of Parliamentary, Presidential and local government elections to be held next year,” via Kubatana blog.

Uganda: Poverty and Paris Hilton

  22 October 2007

Wednesday's Public Poverty Forum in Kampala had one blogger, Tumwijukue, asking, “Did they (re)define poverty? Did they speak of poverty of the mind? Or did they merely use the event as a networking opportunity and an excuse to miss work for the day, rushing to the organizer's table at the end of the forum for the Ushs. 50,000 delegates' allowance?”

Trinidad & Tobago: Poli-tricks?

  22 October 2007

“Trinidad and Tobago politics is a lot like dentistry – the politicians constantly pull on our teeth,” says KnowProSE.com, while Francomenz is “so stunned” at the latest political ramblings, she “can’t think of a single witty thing to say”.

Haiti: Danticat Reviewed

  22 October 2007

“Brother I'm Dying, the latest of Danticat's books, is a climax of that characteristic folktale and memoir unveiling,” writes Matt at Haiti Innovation, as he reviews the author's newest offering.