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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
