Stories from 6 August 2012
Brazil: Will the Pioneering Internet Bill of Rights Pass?
The Marco Civil, a “bill of rights” for Internet users proposed in Brazil, will come to a vote on August 8. While the majority of the community seems to support the approval of the law, some are against the broad freedom that the initiative will bring about. Whatever the result, Brazil once again has the opportunity to pioneer in the arena of digital policymaking.
Tajikistan: Female Boxer Breaks Stereotypes
Mavzuna Chorieva, a female boxer representing Tajikistan at the London Olympics, has moved to the semifinals of the lightweight tournament after eliminating China's Dong Cheng. She is now guaranteed a medal. Jasur Ashurov writes on Twitter: “Go Mavzuna! You have already broken major stereotypes about Tajik women, particularly female athletes.”
Video: ‘Human Rights Now!’ Campaign Launched in Costa Rica
Last Friday, August 3, the group Citizens for Human Rights launched the campaign "Human Rights Now!", in which different Costa Rican personalities call for the need for the State to guarantee the human rights of all people. The promotional video discusses issues like same sex unions and the sexual and reproductive rights of women.
Afghanistan: Girl's Murder Sparks Anger and Protests
Shakila, a 16-year-old girl, was reportedly raped and murdered by a powerful politician in Afghanistan's Bamyan province some six months ago. Although the politician's supporters claim that Shakila took her own life, activists and netizens believe that the strongman is misleading the investigation and urge the authorities to ensure that he does not go unpunished.
Venezuela: Fencing Win Brings First Gold Medal in 44 years
Venezuela enthusiastically celebrated their first Olympic gold since 1968 as Rubén Limardo won a gold medal in fencing at the London 2012 Games. One blogger commented: "Known around the world for their beauty queens, oil richness, and love of baseball, the olympic gold of fencer Rubén Limardo deepens Venezuela's foray into the sporting world."
Bhutan: Trending On Twitter For Helping India
Last week, power grids across Northern India collapsed and neighboring Bhutan's hydroelectricity was used to run the Delhi Metro. Indian Twitterati were bemused by this fact and reacted on Twitter so much that ‘Bhutan’ ended up in the top ten trending hashtags on Twitter, reports Boaz Shmueli.
Armenia: Conan O'Brien's Yerevan T-Shirt
Ianyan curates responses to the appearance on air of U.S. TV host Conan O'Brien wearing a T-Shirt sporting the name of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. The Storify post also details how the garment came into the television celebrity's possession.
Angolan and Mozambican Politicians Among Most Influential Africans
Brazilian blogger Marcio Pessoa comments [pt] on personalities from Portuguese language countries who have been featured on the list of the world's most influential Africans of the magazine The Africa Report: the Angolan Manuel Vicente, former president of the state oil company (Sonangol), and the Mozambican Daviz Simango, the founder and...
Video: Dreaming of the Olympics in Colombia
The short film "Speed" by student Esteban Barros from Barranquilla, Colombia, shows an Olympic hopeful's dream of competing in the Olympics. Will hard effort, good results and perseverance be enough to get him to the competition? Watch the subtitled two minute video and find out.
Team GB's Super Saturday at London 2012 Olympics
After a slow start at the Olympic Games in London, on Saturday 4 August, the host nation's team (popularly known as #TeamGB) achieved some of its greatest victories in a single day.
Egypt: Celebrating Curiosity and the Man of Mars – Dr Essam Heggy
Egyptians watching Curiosity are celebrating the work and life of NASA researcher Dr Essam Mohamed Heggy, a planetary scientist who is a member of the science team involved in the discovery of life on Mars. Comments on Twitter note that Heggy's skills were better appreciated abroad.
Colombia: Caterine Ibargüen Wins Silver in Triple Jump
This post is part of our Special Coverage of our London 2012 Games. During the afternoon of Sunday, August 5, Colombian Twitter users expressed their emotion, expectation and tension due to the performance of Caterine Ibargüen, who represents the country in long jump, high jump, and triple jump at the...
Jamaica: 50th Celebrations Enhanced by Olympic Performance
Today, Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence from Great Britain - and thanks to the incredible performance of the country's track and field athletes at this year's Olympic Games, netizens are having a double celebration!
Mexico: Ranchera Singer Chavela Vargas Dies
Ranchera singer Chavela Vargas, born in Costa Rica but of Mexican nationality, died on the afternoon of August 5 after respiratory arrest at the age of 93. After learning the news, various netizens from Mexico and other countries published their condolences under the hashtag 'Murió Chavela Vargas' ("Chavela Vargas has died").
Colombia: Outrage Over Councilman's Racist Comment
Colombian netizens are outraged after a Bogotá councilman used a racist expression to call for order during a debate. Here is a sample of some reactions after a video of the councilman's comments began to spread on social networks.
Syria: “I Tweeted Prime Minister Riad Hijab's Defection First”
A Syrian Twitter user claims that he was the first to break the news that Syrian Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab would defect a week ago. The Twitter user goes by the name @THE_47th and is also credited with announcing other defections well before mainstream media.
Brazil: Sexist Reporting Taints Olympic Coverage
"Female athletes who got into this competition representing their countries, after long years of training.. are simply summarized to the excess or lack of weight, to their hair style, smiles and, of course: buttocks."
Italy, Macedonia: Funny (and Inappropriate) Country Name Translation
Macedonian portal Press24 published [mk] a photo posted by a Facebook user who discovered that instead of Macedonia, a display with telephone country codes at Milan airport featured the words “Fruit Salad” – which is synonymous with “Macedonia” in Italian, Spanish and some other languages. According to Google Translate, the...
Zambia: State TV Ignores Homegrown Sprinter for Jamaica's Usain Bolt
On the day a Zambian runner - Gerald Phiri - qualified in third place for the men's 100 meter semi-final at the Olympics, the national broadcaster, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), led instead with the qualification of Jamaican superstar, Usain Bolt.
Myanmar: Outrage Over ‘Buddha Shoes’
Myanmar netizens are outraged over the ‘Buddha shoes' created by a United States company called Icon Shoes. They flooded the website and Facebook page of the company with complaints and it seems to have worked because the controversial shoes have been removed from the online store
Ukraine: Andriy Shevchenko Retires From Football, Enters Politics
"By the standards of professional football, in which Shevchenko has [spent] his whole life, he has just transferred to another club that offered him a better contract, that's it."
