Latest posts by Diana Rhudick
Minister accused of rape gets appointed. What does this say about France?
The appointment to the ministry of the interior of a man under investigation for rape and sexual harassment raises questions on normalization of sexist remarks and actions in France.
Detention of Gaspard Glanz is a sign of France’s increasingly authoritarian treatment of journalists
The French government is increasingly using security and defense secrets as excuses for clamping down on journalists. The industry has pushed back.
44,000 Malagasy Children Die Every Year for Lack of Care. How Can We Stop It?
Children's healthcare is dismal in Madagascar, but some organizations are doing their best to change this terrible reality.
France Sees Great Potential in the Chinese Tourism Industry
The number of trips abroad for the Chinese has gone from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012. A look at this booming market from France.
Why Did Mali's ‘Soldier of Death’ Go Viral?
This photo of a French soldier wearing a scarf depicting death's face has been shared around the world and has become a concrete symbol for many of the start of French military operations in Mali. But why has this soldier captured imaginations on the Web?
Eastern Europe: An Informal Economy Develops in Times of Crisis
“Governments should be worried about this [trend], because it leads to potentially negative consequences for competitiveness and growth, harms social programs, undermines social cohesion and law and order, and erodes...
D. R. of Congo: M23 Rebels Take Their Offensive Online
The M23 movement has made headlines by entering into open conflict with the Congolese army. But the rebel group is not stopping at armed conflicts on the ground - they have also gone on the offensive on the Internet and social networks.
Senegal: University women's group helps the needy
On the blog dakar.bondyblog.fr, Mamadou Sané presented the initiative of a group of female students from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. “The association called ‘Regard de femme [A...
Lebanon: “Mabrouk” to Lebanese Women
Rita Chemaly congratulates Lebanese women on recent progress toward gender equality in Lebanese law. Several laws have been modified to grant women more rights in the areas of income tax,...
Sub-Saharan Africa: Fighting Malaria, 2011 Report
On the occasion of World Malaria Day, April 25, 2011, the blog santelog.com reports: “Although funds to combat malaria have increased significantly since 2003, current levels of funding have reached...
Sub-Saharan Africa: Surge in Use of Mobile Phones
André-Michel Essoungou writes the following on the site reseautelecom.com: “According to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], investments in the African mobile phone sector, the prime mover of information and communication...
Côte d'Ivoire: Gbagbo Rulings Ridiculed on Twitter
In the ongoing struggle between presidential candidates Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, that has been going on in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire since the presidential elections of November 2010, each day brings a new batch of surprising rulings.
Will Algeria Follow Tunisia and Egypt?
The two attempts by the National Coordination for Change and Democracy to organize a march in Algiers on February 12 and 19, 2011, failed, mostly because of the security measures set up to prevent Algerians from protesting, but also due to the weakness of the organizations calling for the demonstrations. Will Algeria match Egypt and Tunisia's protest successes?
Egypt: Witnesses to a National Revolt
In the Bondy blog [Fr], Inès reports on the eyewitness accounts of her family and friends living in Egypt, in a neighborhood of Cairo called Shobra, and in the coastal city of Hurghada, and...
COP 16: Agreement on Form But Without the Funds
The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended in Cancun last December 11 with the adoption of a host of decisions. Bloggers in Bolivia, Mexico, and Togo give a lukewarm reception to the decisions, which don't seem to have a clearly defined roadmap for their financing.
Thoughts On World AIDS Day (December 1st)
Gayvox.com reminds (fr) everyone that December 1 was World AIDS Day, and adds, “Since a UN resolution of 1987, when the epidemic was officially recognized, this first of December marks...
France: Youth against Pension Reform
October 19 was the seventh consecutive day of nationwide demonstrations in France against the pension reform bill. As the foreign press is reporting the protests mainyl as a social conflict, broadcasting images of urban guerilla warfare and giving very little press to the reasons, bloggers go in depth about the motivation of the youth and its implications
France: Magazine Tells Fairy Tales about Polygamy in Immigrant Families
Le Point, a French weekly news magazine, was the victim of a “militant” of the new kind that is rising up against the portrait being painted of residents of immigrant communities. By pretending to be a mother in a polygamous family, Abdel provoked quite a media firestorm