25 July 2011

Stories from 25 July 2011

Bangladesh: Financial Inclusion Of The Poor Via Mobile

  25 July 2011

In Bangladesh 7 out of 8 people remain out of banking service but the interesting thing is that half of those people have access to mobile phones. BRAC has a solution for financial inclusion of these people, especially the poor and the marginalized, via mobile phones.

Uruguay Wins 2011 Copa América

  25 July 2011

Uruguay beat Paraguay 3-0 in the Copa América final yesterday, Sunday July 24. The Latinamericanist writes about Uruguay's victory and Mauricio Milano at Montevideo Blogger [es] shares some thoughts and pictures of the celebrations.

Bolivia: What needs to improve in La Paz?

  25 July 2011

Luis Ramos in Citizen of La Paz [es] asks, “what do we need to change in La Paz?”. He answers his own question with a list of ten ideas, including improving transportation, planting more trees, building a convention center, more malls, a theme park, among other things.

Mexico: The Knights Templar, Violence and Norway

  25 July 2011

Bloggings by boz points out that the criminal organization the ‘Knights Templar’ is present in Mexico and that “the killer in Norway's shocking massacre last week also considered himself a member of the Knights Templar”. He adds: “I doubt anyone thinks these two groups are linked. […] Yet, it raises...

Tunisia: Time to Register for Elections

Registration for electoral lists in Tunisia started on July 11 and will be closed on August 2, but statistics have shown that Tunisians are reluctant to register on the lists. A group of Tunisian bloggers have launched an online campaign to urge people to register for the October elections.

Brazil: “A Serbian Film” Banned from RioFan Festival

  25 July 2011

The controversial long feature “A Serbian Film” was banned [pt] from the RioFan film festival by its main sponsor, the Brazilian national bank Caixa Econômica Federal, as announced [pt] on the website of the organization. Brazilian citizens organized a protest against censorship. A video [pt] gathers several analyses of the...

Botswana: Ocean in the Desert

  25 July 2011

Read about Kelly's experiences of ocean in the desert in Botswana: “The Makgadikadi Pans are the largest salt pans in the world, located in the Kalahari Desert near the centre of Botswana. For Seretse Khama Day, I ventured out to the Pans for my first time and headed to Kubu...

St. Lucia: Jacques Compton Dies

  25 July 2011

Caribbean Book Blog, mourning the death of Saint Lucian author Jacques Compton, says: “The Caribbean has lost another literary and cultural icon.”

Jamaica: Reggae Sumfest

  25 July 2011

Tallawah blogs about the Top 10 performances at this year's Reggae Sumfest, here and here, while Active Voice posts photos.

Africa: Africa Cartoon Stirs Famine Pornography Debate

  25 July 2011

Natasha Elkington looks at satirical newspaper cartoon commenting on media priorities around the Murdoch scandal and the East Africa famine which has sparked debate about pornography: “The image, labelled “Priorities”, depicts three naked, emaciated children holding empty bowls, with swollen bellies, ribs sticking out and flies swarming above them.”

Russia: Upsides to Tandemocracy

Edward Lozansky at Russia Blog argues that so called Tandemocracy – power sharing – between Russia's President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, on the whole has had positive effects for the country, not least in foreign policy.