Stories from 14 November 2012
Zambia's Gossip Girl
Do you know who Zambia's gossip girl is? Read Neelika's post on Africa is a Country blog: We’ve grown to love serious reportage coupled with compromising photographs and cheeky headlines, such as “Kambwili grabs Roan golf club, turns it into grazing field for his cows,” replete with a stock image...
Kenyan Elections 2013: What Has Changed since 2007
Mzalendo looks at Kenyan elections 2012: Though Kenya has recovered somewhat since the 2007/2008 post election violence. Somewhat because there are still several internally displaced persons. The economy though better than in the aftermath of the 2008 election is still in a slump. Ethnic tensions are still high as evidenced...
Call For De-weaponization of Karachi
Journeys To Democracy reports that some Pakistani activists have sent out a petition for peace and de-weaponization of Karachi city to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The brutal violence, armed robberies, kidnapping and extortion in this Pakistani port city have claimed lives of around 8000 people in past four years.
Jordanians Want to Overthrow the Regime
On YouTube, ThePrbj shares this video of a protest in Amman, Jordan, last night, in which protesters are chanting: “The people want the downfall of the regime.”
Is Expired Tear-Gas being used Against Protesters in Jordan?
Protests continue across Jordan for the second night, after a hike in fuel prices. Jordanian Ali posts a photograph of what he describes as an expired teargas canister used against the protesters.
Lurkmore or Lurkless? The Russian Internet Blacklist In Action
A new Russian law that threatens Internet censorship came into effect on November 1. This week, netizen outrage followed the blocking of one particularly popular website by Russian ISPs. The site in question was Lurkmore, a Wikipedia-like compendium of articles on Internet culture and memes, written in an irreverent style with heavy use of Internet jargon.
Israel and Alqassam Brigades Exchange Threats on Twitter
Alex Yudelson shares a screenshot of tweets in which the account of the Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson and Palestinian Alqassam Brigades exchange threats – on Twitter.
Guinea-Bissau: International Arrest Warrant Against Blogger
The most visible face of Guinea-Bissau's blogosphere, António Aly Silva, wrote [pt] that he is being accused of “the crime of incitement to war” and that an international arrest warrant was issued against him by the regime in power since the coup of April 2012. In an interview [pt] for...
Latin American Youth Against Corruption
Andrea Arzaba shares a video where she interviews Latin American youth leading projects in favor of transparency and accountability. These young leaders participated in the Third Global Voices Against Corruption Forum, organized by the Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network (GYAC) in Brasilia, Brazil on November 5 and 6.
Bridge Blog for Afghanistan and Pakistan: ‘Understanding the Neighbor’
In a fellowship program 22 journalists from Afghanistan and Pakistan gathered together twice, once in Islamabad and once in Kabul to understand each others, share value and make cultural exchanges. The documented their experiences in a blog titled ‘Understanding the neighbor' and are ready to challenge the decades old established narratives about their neighbors.
Côte d'Ivoire: Surprise Government Overhaul to Be Announced Today
Upon hearing that a government reshuffle [fr] will be announced today at 12h30 local time, blogger MacMady invites her readers to speculate on who stays and who will be let go [fr]. The government is also engaged in a vigorous debate on social networks [fr] on multiple office tenures by political leaders.
Cairo's Metro Strike a Success
The metro is back in Egypt - after a four hour strike. Train services, which ferry up to 2 million people across Cairo daily, came to a standstill as drivers stopped work in protest against the chairperson of the metro board of directors, who is being accused of corruption. On Twitter, netizens cheered the strike.
Hong Kong Gay Rights Parade
Beijing Cream has a collection of videos and photos from the Hong Kong Gay Rights Parade which took place in last weekend. GdotTV, a local LGBT video production team has also uploaded a video at Youtube on the parade.
Mauritania: RIP Constitutional Institutions
Various opposition groups held a demonstration in front of the Mauritanian Parliament in protest against the constitutional void that the country is witnessing with the Mauritanian president out of the country for treatment.
Interview with Salvadoran Indigenous Leader
“Our philosophy as indigenous peoples is to have our land, as she is our mother”, Shandur says. “We need to have our land, to have our fruit, rather than money.” Robin Llewellyn interviewed Salvadoran indigenous leader Shandur Kuátzin Makwilkali for Intercontinental Cry. Shandur is the President of the National Federation...
Freedamn is Just Another Word With Chinese Characteristics
A list of “English terms” has been circulating in Chinese social media in the past few days. The intentional mis-spelling of the English terms are used as satires to describe the political culture in China.
Madagascar: Journalists and Blogger Prosecuted over Rosewood Trafficking Report
Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) reports that four journalists and a blogger are prosecuted for defamation and “complicity in spreading false news” [fr]. The charges against the reporters were submitted by Mamy Ravatomanga, a billionaire who owns several news outlets and is the former employer of the Minister of Communication. Blogger...
New Hard Times for Russian Journalism
This week, one of the RuNet's biggest bloggers, Rustem Adagamov, posted a letter from Yevgenia Albats, the chief editor of The New Times, one of Russia's most prominent weekly magazines. In her letter, Albats announced a new subscriptions initiative, the fate of which will decide the journal's future, and set an important precedent for political journalism in Russia.
Lenin in Tajikistan: ‘Better Hitler’ or ‘Real Hero'?
Since independence, Tajikistan's authorities have taken down almost all Soviet-erected statues of Vladimir Lenin across the country. The removal of these monuments is quite controversial in Tajikistan, where some bloggers call Lenin a 'better Hitler' while others consider him a 'real hero'.
