2 April 2012

Stories from 2 April 2012

Jamaica: Counting Crayons

  2 April 2012

“Yes, the crime rate and garrison communities are atrocious. Yes, the decline in public morality is a cause for concern. But there are bright spots that shine beyond Jamaica's geographical boundaries”: Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp highlights one of them.

Pakistan: What Are You Smoking?

  2 April 2012

Shisha smoking has bacome a craze among youngsters in Pakistan in recent years. Hina Safdar reports that a ban on Shisha smoking/selling is in effect in the Sindh province and violating the law can lead to 6 months of imprisonment.

Colombia: Lawmakers Rush Bill on Author Rights and Intellectual Property

  2 April 2012

On March 20, a bill was hurriedly presented to reform the legislative and regulatory framework of authors' rights and intellectual property as part of the government's implementation of the requirements for a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Activists and citizens on social networks have rejected the lack of debate on what many are calling a new version of the "Lleras law."

Egypt: Your ID, Your Rights Targets Women

As many as 4 million Egyptian woman don't have ID cards, and as such cannot benefit from legal, social and economic services and rights. "Your ID, Your Rights" is a campaign which aims to cover 2 million women, providing them with ID cards, as well as create awareness online about the situation of such women and the importance of gender equality.

Bolivia: Health Workers’ Priorities During Protests

  2 April 2012

Much of the Bolivian public health sector is protesting the government's decision to raise the workday for doctors from six to eight hours a day. Patricia Almanza, a child anesthesiologist, tweets where she was instead, “My colleagues are blockading Arce Avenue [in protest] and here I am in surgery to...

France: Lyon Hosts the World Wide Web 2012 Conference

  2 April 2012

The World Wide Web 2012 conference is hosted this year in Lyon, France, from April 16 to 20, and will feature many prominent figures of the Web, historic and current ones. Global Voices Online author Danica Radovanovic is presenting on the first day a paper about “one of the very popular social and communication...

Nigeria: Online Furore Over #DominionAir

  2 April 2012

Why would the advent of another brand name into the Nigerian aviation space generate so much public discourse? It happens that this is no usual airline: it is alleged to be owned by a Nigerian Evangelical “prosperity” minister, Bishop David Oyedepo.

Myanmar: New Currency Exchange Rate

  2 April 2012

The Central Bank of Myanmar set the new currency exchange rate of 818 Kyats per 1 US Dollar, as part of the move to implement a new floating currency exchange system. Previously, the official rate was 6.4 Ks. per 1 US Dollar.

Nigeria: Ify Omalicha's Last Dance

  2 April 2012

Nigeria's arts community recently lost a  theater artist and poet: Ify Agwu Omalicha. She died in an auto crash on her way to Abuja. Ayodele Olofintuade laments that Ify death is a consequence of years of neglect and corruption that leaders of Nigeria “have perpetuated over and again”. As such denying...

Kyrgyzstan: The Internet on Trial?

The ongoing trial of an ethnic Russian journalist accused of inciting racial hatred in a series of online articles may have profound implications for Kyrgyzstan's regulation of the Internet, as well as testing the neutrality of the country's moribund judicial system.

Is Facebook Trying to Re-enter China?

  2 April 2012

Several local journalists and netizens spotted Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, in Shanghai on March 27. Once more, rumors spread like fire through the Internet: Is the king of social media working on Facebook's return to China?

Guinea: Of the “Good Old Days” and Guinea's Future

  2 April 2012

Ma Guinée Plurielle  wrote the following [fr] on the  Salte Afrique blog : “I became downright pessimistic about the future of Guinea. When I was a little boy, I heard that yesterday was better than today but tomorrow will be alright eventually. Twenty-five years later, I am still hearing the same...