4 August 2012

Stories from 4 August 2012

Guatemala Celebrates Erick Barrondo's Silver in Race Walk

  4 August 2012

Guatemalans are celebrating Erick Barrondo's silver medal at the Men's 20km Race Walk. As the news broke, social media users clapped and celebrated Barrondo's well-deserved victory. Barrondo comes from one of the poorest areas of the country which has been particularly affected by the war on drugs.

Africa: Africa Tumblrs to Follow

  4 August 2012

Here are Apostrophekola's top African photo tumblrs: “…I think you should be following if you have any interest in Africa. With these tumblrs, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words”

Africa: Post-feminism in Africa?

  4 August 2012

Simi Dosekun intends to blog about the concept of post-feminism in Africa: “My posts will cover my research interests: African feminism, how as African women we think of ourselves, media and popular culture, the dubious concept of post-feminism which I think is, ironically enough, infiltrating popular discourse in Africa.”

Russia: Pussy Riot & Russian Courts in Perspective

RuNet Echo  4 August 2012

On August 2, four days into the Pussy Riot trial, another hearing began in Yekaterinburg, the regional center of the Urals. Unlike its more famous counterpart, this trial has failed to garner major attention both online and in the media, though it is in certain ways just as indicative of dysfunctional Russian approaches to law and order.

China: Illegal Ivory Trade Ban Gains Online Support

  4 August 2012

Support for a ban on the global illegal ivory trade has recently gained support from Chinese netizens. From 2000 to 2011, whilst East Africa was the centre of illegal ivory trafficking, China and Thailand were the major destinations for ivory products.

Mauritania: $10 Million Aid Grant Comes Too Late

The World Bank has approved a US$10 million grant to help the Government of Mauritania provide emergency food and agricultural supplies to rural communities in the face of the country's ongoing drought. The funds are intended to provide fertilizers to rice farmers; veterinary products and livestock vaccines to herders; cereal...