10 August 2012

Stories from 10 August 2012

Colombia: Gold for Cyclist Mariana Pajón

Colombians on Twitter anxiously awaited the performance of BMX cyclist Mariana Pajón. Hashtags like ORO (“gold”), #ÁnimoMariana (“Go Mariana”), or Mariana Pajón became local Trending Topics before and after Pajón won...

10 August 2012

Chile: Doubts Over Origin of Violence at Student Protests

Last Wednesday, August 8, 2012, thousands of students tried to march on the Alameda avenue in downtown Santiago in a non-authorized protest that ended up with three public transportation buses burnt. This caused the government to accuse students of fostering an environment for riots with their protests, while some protesters wondered if the thugs were actually part of a set-up.

10 August 2012

Cuba: Freedom of Press?

Blogger, journalist and Global Voices author Elaine Díaz analyzes [es] the nuances of the different practices and definitions of freedom of press, after being interviewed for the Boston Globe.

10 August 2012

Cuba: Celaya on Payá

On Sin EVAsion [es], Havana-based Cuban blogger Miriam Celaya comments on the death of rights advocate Oswaldo Payá: “I did not share all of Payá’s points of view, I was...

10 August 2012

Morocco: Students Demand Education Reform

In July, a group of Moroccan students launched a Facebook page called "The Union of Moroccan Students to Change the Education System". In less than a month, it attracted unprecedented support using social media.

10 August 2012

Kirani James Delivers on Grenada's Olympic Dream

Earlier this week, Kirani James won the Gold Medal in the Men's 400 Metres race at the London Olympics with a time of 43.94, making him the first person from Grenada and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to win an Olympic medal of any kind. The region celebrates.

10 August 2012

Should Singapore ‘Import’ Athletes to Win Olympic Medals?

The bronze medal victory of Feng Tianwei, a Chinese-born athlete who represented Singapore in the 2012 London Olympics, has ignited debate whether the Singapore government should exert more effort to develop local talent instead of simply 'recruiting' from other countries.

10 August 2012