Stories from 12 May 2015
Open Letter to President Obama From a Bahraini Human Rights Defender
AlMahafdah, a former political detainee in Bahrain, asks President Obama to "be the voice of the people of Bahrain" when he meets the crown prince of the kingdom on Wednesday.
Hong Kong Citizens Want Legal Protections for Their Metadata
Should government agencies really be able to look at Hong Kongers' telephone metadata without any oversight from the courts?
Can This US Presidential Hopeful Capture Republican and Latino Hearts?
Marco Rubio is one of the most-watched Republican candidates because of what he represents to a new generation of Latinos, but he has a number of hurdles to overcome.
‘Stop Destroying Our Communities For Coal We Cannot Use’
We were united in our message to end coal reliance and accelerate the transition to renewable energy that should have begun yesterday.
Second Deadly Earthquake Sends Nepalis Scrambling for Open Spaces
Fifty-seven deaths have been reported so far, with more than a thousand injured.
Ananta Bijoy Das Becomes Third Free-Thinking Blogger Killed This Year in Bangladesh
Das promoted critical thinking about religion, which sparked the ire of Islamic hardliners in Bangladesh. He was hacked to death by a group of masked people with machetes.
A Brazilian Girl Who Endured Racism at School Was Forced to Apologize to Her Aggressors
After weeks of suffering bullying and racism at school, Lorena decided to tell the school director what was happening. The school decided she was the one that needed to apologize.
Fed Up With ‘Political’ Blocking, Russia and Ukraine Appeal to Facebook
Ukrainians and Russians are unhappy about Facebook allowing "politically motivated" takedowns of posts they say are being reported for violations by masses of "Kremlin supporters."
Can Electronic Games Accelerate Ghana's Development?
Join Accra Technology salon that will take place on May 26th, 2015. The theme of the salon is Games for Ghana’s Development: Electronic games are a two trillion dollar global industry. Game development in Ghana is growing rapidly, fueled by the popularity of mobile phones and climbing Internet usage rates....
Can Africa Really Maintain Its Own African Centers for Disease Control?
Anna K. Mwaba discusses the future of the newly established African Center for Disease Control: The establishment of such a center in Africa is not a particularly new idea; talks on the need for more effective means to combat epidemics on the continent were held in July 2013 at the...
Amaal Said’s Portraits of Belonging: An Interview
Zachary Rosen interviews photographer/poet Amaal Said. Amaal was born in Denmark to Somali parents and is currently based in London: AIAC: Your photographs are remarkable in how they challenge and evolve notions of beauty in mainstream Western media by featuring intimate portraits of melanin-rich young people – with piercings, in...
Angani: First Operational Cloud Service in East Africa
Last month, Angani launched first operational cloud service in East Africa: Angani, the first fully automated cloud infrastructure company in the region, today officially launched their cloud and hosting services. Angani also announced their partnership with local data center operators that will make it safe and cost effective to provision...
This Is What Happened When a Musician Allegedly Said Ugandan Women Are Inferior to White Women
"I would date Ugandan girls for casual sex and not serious relationship," says Ugandan musician Coco Finger in an interview with Uganda's New Vision newspaper.
Human Rights Defender’s Hunger Strike Protests Torture in Infamous Bahraini Prison
Abulhadi Al-Khawaja has been on hunger strike for more than three weeks to call attention to the continuing violations and torture of inmates in Jaw prison.
Chinese Netizens See Symbolism in Viral Stage Collapse Video
"To celebrate the Mother's Day for our mother country, the Bijie city theatre in Guizhou Province puts on a grand performance of 'The Collapse of the Chinese Dream.'"