Stories about French from July, 2008
Arabeyes: Mourning Youssef Chahine
Tributes are pouring in from bloggers from around the Middle East and North Africa, mourning the death of renowned Egyptian film maker Youssef Chahine. Born in Alexandria in 1926, Chahine has left behind a legacy, and millions of fans and followers across the region.
Philippines: Monthly salary of politicians
A Filipino politician reveals his monthly salary to belie popular perception that politicians are earning big.
Costa Rica: Concerts, riots and concerns.
Journalist Cristian Cambronero from popular Costa Rican blog Fusil de Chispas posts a recount of Sunday's Concert where youth rioted and destroyed the campus of the Universidad Latina in the capital city of San José. It seems that when around 3000 of them were not allowed entrance to the free concert venue where already 5000 spectators were waiting for the concert some of the irate teens destroyed the university buildings, storefronts,dismantled cars, damaged the church in the vicinity, looted, threw chairs, rocks and bricks everywhere.
Morocco: Analyzing Obama
Moroccan expat Ibn Kafka [fr] remarks on which Muslims U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama will have his photograph taken with.
AFRICOM is a “back door”
Parole de Democrate [Fr] thinks AFRICOM is a backdoor for expanding US influence in Africa and says that American troops are already conducting anti-terrorist activities on Algerian soil, according to an unnamed source.
D.R. Congo: Kinshasa's “baroque” style
From architecture to music, from dance to dress, in the throbbing capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, excess is in style.
D.R. Congo: Audit reveals US$1.3 billion diverted by government agencies
In Congo, the Office of the Prime Minister has accused ten government agencies, including those responsible for collecting taxes and customs revenue, and the national water, electricity, and insurance authorities of embezzling US$ 1.3 billion, reports Forum Realisance [Fr] via Le Potential.
Morocco: Another perspective on Faiza Silmi
Last week, Global Voices covered the story of Faiza Silmi, the Moroccan woman denied French citizenship for her beliefs and actions (which included, among other things, wearing the niqaab or full facial veil). Today, Moroccan blogger ...xoussef [FR] chimes in with another perspective on the issue.
French Ambassador expelled from Madagascar because he was bad luck?
Malagasy and French netizens debate the French Ambassador's expulsion from Madgascar. Was it a matter of superstition?
Serbia: African Bloggers’ Reactions to Karadžić's Arrest
After news broke on Monday night that former Bosnian Serb leader and one of the world’s most wanted men Radovan Karadžić had been arrested, astonished bloggers in the Balkans and all around the world started reacting to the story. And because of the recent request by the ICC's prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, some bloggers have been making comparisons between the two cases.
“La Chinafrique”: A book review
Théophile Kouamouo [Fr] reviews in his blog the book La Chinafrique: Pékin à la conquête du continent noir by Serge Michel and Michel Beuret, about the Chinese presence in Africa. He says: “The Chinese aren't angels sent by the God of South-South cooperation and they are as racist, if not...
Madagascar:Fistula and Early Marriages.
Mialy, a blogger in Antananarivo, describes the plight of young married girls in rural areas who are subject to health and social concerns stemming from early pregnancy (fr). She explains that fistula, a consequence of giving birth at an early age, results in incontinences and therefore health complications compounded with...
Cote d'Ivoire: On corruption
Théophile Kouamouo comments [Fr] on President Laurent Gbagbo's recent anti-corruption operation in Cote d'Ivoire. He says: “The coffee-cocoa industry barons will be judged. But we don't talk much about the credibility of those that will judge them. Now, Ivorian justice is as ill as the political class[…] We need a...
Blogger lampoons Senegalese singer's foray into politics
Blog Politique au Senegal thinks Senegalese singer Demba Dia's candidacy for public office is hardly serious. But neither is politics in Senegal!
Malawi: new treatment protocol to prevent mother-child HIV transmission
Le Pangolin writes about a new HIV treatment being tested in Malawi [Fr] that might be even more effective than the current standard at preventing mother-child transmission.
Heiva i Tahiti 2008, Festival of Traditional Dance
Jean-Marc posts photos of this year's Heiva i Tahiti, Tahiti's biggest festival of traditional dance. La Danse Tahitienne blogs commentary on each group's performance [Fr].
DRC: Kabila meets with Sarkozy
At his meeting with Congolese President Joseph Kabila yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy extinguished any hopes of more debt relief. Blogger Alex Engwete has this to say [Fr]: “the lesson to take from the diplomatic debacle is that the development of the DRC will not happen by way of the...
Benin: Competition for young writers
Babilown announces the first Golden Pen writing competition for young writers [Fr] under 30, to be held this September in Cotonou, Benin.
Europe tightens border control, Brazil returns in kind
Father LaCour, a missionary in Burkina Faso, writes about French tourists who were arbitrarily denied entry by Brazilian immigration authorities [Fr], apparently in retaliation for Europe's increasingly strict immigration policies.
Congolese blogger applauds Bashir ICC indictment
Forum Realisance applauds the ICC's decision to indict Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir [Fr] for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
France: Restrictions on marriages with foreigners
Racisme et Histoire writes it's getting harder and harder for French to marry foreigners [Fr].
