22 March 2011

Stories from 22 March 2011

Côte d'Ivoire: After Failed Mediation, Is the Worst Yet to Come?

  22 March 2011

The meeting of five African Union (AU) heads of states about Côte d'Ivoire's state of electoral deadlock made it briefly possible to believe for a short while that a détente in the country's political crisis was within reach. Alas, this mediation, called by many the "last resort meeting", seems to have failed, after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo's representatives rejected the panel's conclusions.

Caribbean: Caribe Wave 11, the first simulated tsunami alert

  22 March 2011

On Wednesday, March 23, the first full-scale simulated tsunami alert exercise will take place in 33 countries in the Caribbean to test the effectiveness of alert, monitoring and warning systems (Hashtag on Twitter: EXERCISE – NOT REAL #CW11) . Open Street Map France [Fr] and Crisis Camp Paris [Fr] will...

Trinidad & Tobago: “Bocas” Launches

  22 March 2011

“Literature doesn’t just mean fiction and poems — it’s also about ideas, questions, and debates, and using the tools of reading and writing to understand the world”: The Bocas Lit Fest announces its programme and list of participating authors for its inaugural event.

Cuba: Curating Clandestinity

  22 March 2011

“In my neighbor city of Holguin, they are about to inaugurate the Museum of Clandestinity”: Crossing the Barbed Wire explains why, to him, it is a “museum of violence.”

Barbados, Bermuda: Cost of Development

  22 March 2011

“As Barbados citizens question the government’s decision to allow development at Cove Bay, our friends to the north in Bermuda are rising against a similar decision by their government to kill green space in pursuit of the almighty dollar”: Barbados Free Press reports.

Morocco: The Winds of Change

For the past month, Moroccans have taken to the streets to call for a reform of the constitution and for the establishment of a democratic parliamentary system. On March 20, 2011, the peaceful protests, which took place in cities both large and small, continued, inspiring bloggers in Morocco and the Diaspora to share their thoughts.

Haiti: Was Wyclef Shot or Cut by Glass?

  22 March 2011

Early on Sunday 20 March, 2011, while Haitians headed to the polls for the second round of a historic and controversial presidential election, a story about Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-born hip hpp star, being allegedly shot in the hand monopolized the mainstream media news cycle about Haiti for a good portion of the day.

Africa: African Youths and Internet Governance

  22 March 2011

Gamel discusses the role of Africa youths in Internet Governance issues: “Young people can play a variety of roles as Internet users: developers, designers, researchers, content builders (bloggers, writers, etc), technical people, policy makers, activists, community coordinators, marketers and end-consumers.”

Ghana: Are bloggers under threat?

  22 March 2011

Are Ghanaian bloggers under threat?: “Governments and corporations have approached bloggers and those active in social media in Ghana, to find new avenues to disseminate their information. We can be sure they are doing the same thing in other countries.”

Africa: Democracy in Africa

Computer language explanation of the democratic developments in Africa: “IVORY COAST: 60% [Alert: Virus-Gbagbo detected_Trojan Horse-Ouattarra in Quarantine], CONGO: Connection lost since 1997, NIGERIA: Starting Connection, ZIMBABWE: 404 Error – Server not found…”

Nigeria: Popular blogger arrested

  22 March 2011

The Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) on Sunday arrested popular blogger Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe (ukpakareports.com) for allegedly attempting to blackmail Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, a House of Representatives member representing Aniocha, Njikoka and Dunukofa Constituency in Anambra State.

Russia: Bots To Look For Extremism Online

RuNet Echo  22 March 2011

Lenta.ru reported that Roskomnadzor, Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communication, intends to use a special software designed to spot extremist content online. The software will check text, audio and video footage on the Web for words and phrases containing calls for violence and social and...

South Korea: Students Arrested for Breaking Security Law

  22 March 2011

Three members of a college study group were taken into police custody for violating the National Security Law. While the student claimed the group a purely academic one, the police asserted that the organization has ‘praised and aligned with the national enemy- North Korea’. Twitterer @againthedayz posted photos of the...

Syria: Implementing Ushahidi to track protests

Syrian Revolution Map is a new Ushahidi instance launched in Syria to track ongoing protests in several cities based on citizen reports of protests, security patrols, dangerous locations, clashes, and anticipated gatherings. Six protesters have reportedly been killed in Daraa, and dozens have been arrested. The website is in Arabic...