Stories from 18 May 2010
Africa: On Africa’s Tech Entrepreneurs
“A Rising Tide: Africa’s Tech Entrepreneurs,” is Erik's post about technology entrepreneurs in Africa based on his talk at NetProphet 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ghana: Getting used to slow internet in Accra
Wanjiku writes about her experience with internet in Accra, Ghana: Long before Kenya was connected via fiber optic, we were used to the slow internet. We were used to waiting...
Technology for Transparency Review, Part IV
While San Francisco's residents may be eager to send their local government a photograph of a pothole via Twitter, the same program might not be as effective in other communities where expectations of political representation and responsiveness are lower. Here is our review of civic complaint initiatives worldwide.
Kenya: New book by Kenyan blogger available online
Kenyan poet and blogger, Njeri Wangari, reports that her new book is available on Amazon: “Some good news for all those with Amazon accounts, my book is now available on...
Kenya: Elderly women taking self defence lessons
Elderly women in Kenya are taking self defence lessons: “Elderly women in Korogocho, Kenya are sick and tired of the numerous stories of rape against their peers. So these feisty...
Kenya: Nairobi BarCamp is back
Nairobi BarCamp is back: “After giving it a miss in 2009, the Nairobi BarCamp's back this year. This time around, the venue of the event's what is easily becoming the...
Ghana: China colonises Ghana
Why does Ghana import unskilled Chinese workers?: “You had to ask yourself why on earth there would be a need to import unskilled Chinese labourers to do grunt work in...
Malawi: Barefoot Solar Engineers Win Best African Electrification Award
Japan-based Malawian blogger Clement Nthambazale writes about a Solar Engineers Project, run by barefoot engineers, which has won Africa’s biggest Rural Electrification Award. The solar project, which has electrified Chimonjo village in the central Malawi district of Salima has brought a new dimension to the rural villagers' lives.
South Africa: Nation mourns passing of Dr Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert
The day was July 9 1987. The place was Dakar, Senegal. The participants - members of the then banned African National Congress and a group of 61 influential white Afrikaners. The mission – sketch a new, democratic future for South Africa. Amongst this delegation was a man who would become a giant in South African politics – Frederick Van Zyl Slabbert.
Ghana: New Two Ghana Cedis Notes Unveiled
The wait for the new GHc2.00 [Two Cedis] note is over as the Central Bank of Ghana officially commissioned the note into circulation last Friday; 14th June, 2010.
Philippines: Tagalog and Filipino
Cribke muses on the difference between the Tagalog and Filipino languages.
Levant: Bloggers start warming up for World Cup 2010
The World Cup will kick off in about three weeks and bloggers across the Levant have already been busy using their keyboards and camera shutters trying to capture the hysteria that engulfs the world once every four years. Anas Qtiesh brings us the reactions of Syrian and Lebanese bloggers in this post.
Philippines: Linguistic Roots of Ancient Pot
Filipino academics retrace the linguistic roots of inscriptions etched in the rim of an ancient pot of high archeological value excavated in the Philippines.
Puerto Rico: Second national strike in less than a year
The student movement and the strike they have sustained for almost a month at the main campus of the state-run University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and in 10 of the...
Japan: The Strength of Soft Power
“If Japan is cool now, can it possibly stay that way?” Roland Kelts explains Why ‘Cool Japan’ is over.
Taiwan: Expecting Youth Power of New Generation
Aboutfish, former senior journalist and now the founder of TaiwanGoodLife(online aggregator of citizen media), talks about the moments of democratic enlightenment in her youth life(zht). Like most Taiwanese born before...
Peru: Lima Electric Train Project Resumes
The Lima electric train project has resumed, and as a result, 26 cement pillars have been demolished because of a new project design writes Living in Peru.
Guatemala: One Year After Death of Rodrigo Rosenberg
One year after the death of Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg and his post-humous video that accused President Álvaro Colom of being behind his death, but which was later found to...
Thailand: Red Shirt protesters remain defiant
The Red Shirts want a truce with soldiers but the government insists the protesters must first disperse before negotiations can proceed. Soldiers are already using live ammunition against protesters which the government justifies as a necessary step to restore order in the capital.
China: Blogger interrogated after criticizing Shanghai EXPO 2010
A blogger, A Bad Friend, was summoned by security police for interrogation over tea upon writing an article, 10 sins of EXPO 2010, on his blog. After the tea session, he wrote another article, “La Dernière Classe”, recording the conversation between the security police and himself. The exchange reflects the ideological conflict between a party-state nation represented by the security police and a people-orientated nation represented by the student blogger.
