22 February 2011

Stories from 22 February 2011

Azerbaijan: Assimilation Disorder

Known for its caustic humor and sarcastic insight, London-based Azerbaijani blogger Scary Azeri touches upon the sensitive issue of cultural (in)compatibility noting how a traditional mindset of her countrymen may...

22 February 2011

South Korea: Botched Spying Attempt Embarrasses Citizens

South Korea’s intelligence agency has made the headlines after its agents allegedly broke into an Indonesian delegation’s hotel room last week in Seoul, in an attempt to steal classified information on Indonesia’s arms trade plans. The three intruders - two men and a woman - fled after they were caught copying files onto a USB stick by a delegate.

22 February 2011

Uganda: No Signs of Egypt-Style Uprising

The 2011 Presidential Elections in Uganda have concluded relatively peacefully, with rolling results being announced over the course of the weekend. The blogging community and, in fact, the entire country are fairly quiet at this point, breathing a sigh of relief that things went as calmly as they did despite widespread accusations of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and other irregularities.

22 February 2011

Gabon: Mourning Unrest's First Casualty, as Bongo Meets Sarkozy

Gabon is mourning its first casualty since the beginning of the country's political unrest. The cause of Marie Memdome's death is still in dispute, as Ali Bongo travels to France to meet with French President Sarkozy. Protesters against Bongo in Paris were dispersed by police forces with tear gas.

22 February 2011

Cameroon: Police Brutality against Protesters

Patrice Nganang posted on Twitter a link to a video showing police violently dispersing a demonstration in Douala on February 21. Cameroonians are calling for large demonstrations for free elections...

22 February 2011

Angola: Mass Evictions Displace Thousands

A large-scale demolition in Lubango carried out by the government of Angola, has already left in its wake over 5,000 displaced people in the southwest of the country. Upon reconstructing this puzzle from blogs, the image that persists of the social consequences of the demolitions is tragic.

22 February 2011

Video: Learning a New Language Through Online Video

February 21st is the International Mother Language Day and this year's theme is Linguistic Diversity and New Technologies. With that in mind, we bring you a series of examples of how people are helping others to learn their mother languages using videos and websites.

22 February 2011

Poland: Ex-PM Jarosław Kaczyński Starts Blogging

On Feb. 18, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's national conservative Law and Justice party, started a blog, and his first post has generated over 1,650 comments in just two days. Below are some examples that show how many emotions surround this new blogger.

22 February 2011