Extinguishing the flames of the Arab Spring
Residents of Tunisia’s Sidi Bouzid, the city that ignited the 2011 uprisings, say the revolution has failed them.
Ahmed El Amraoui | | Politics, Middle East, Tunisia, Arab Spring
Tunis – Five years ago today, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor, set himself on fire outside a local municipal office in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid to protest against police corruption – a solitary act that would set off a stunning chain of events throughout the Arab world.
In the years since Bouazizi’s death, Tunisia has gone through tremendous change. After street protests forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile after two decades of his rule, Tunisia adopted a new constitution and held national elections in 2014.
Earlier this month, the country’s National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for assisting Tunisia’s transition to democracy.
But despite the changes that have taken place around them, residents of Sidi Bouzid say their lives are no better than they were before the uprising.
US sees fewest executions in quarter century, study shows
A report from death penalty analysts shows that this year there was the lowest number of executions in a half-century
Massoud Hayoun New York
The United States saw the fewest executions this year since 1991, a new report says.
And the report’s author says Oklahoma’s “ineptitude” in a mix-up over lethal injection drugs helped lower both support for and the implementation of the death penalty.
The US executed 28 people as of December 15, according to a report from Washington-based capital punishment think tank Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) published Wednesday. Of those executions, 80 per cent happened in Texas (13 executions), Missouri (6) and Georgia (5), DPIC said.
The number of death sentences decreased, with a total of 49 handed out across the nation, a 33 per cent decrease since last year.
Riverside County in California handed down 16 per cent of all death sentences — more capital sentences than any state except Florida, the report added.
Five reasons why DIY is the future of computing and will get kids into coding
Call it a counter movement, call it what you will. But kids – and adults – want to make things, including computers. Falling prices for components and a need for coding skills herald the advent of DIY.
Whether you’re a school kid who is into electronics, a budding programmer, or a parent keen to bridge the gap between gaming and education this Christmas, there’s still time to get something blinky and bleepy under the tree.
Computers have always made great, if extravagant, Christmas presents for kids.
My parents clearly had more money than sense (it didn’t last) when they asked me whether I wanted a computer or a saxophone one year. It was no contest. I could have been a wicked jazz man, but I jumped at the computer.
And sure enough on Christmas day, there under the tree, were two huge boxes. An Atari 1040 ST was within my greedy reach. Problem was, when I set it up and plugged it in, the monitor didn’t work. Oh, how I sulked. If only I’d been more of a hacker or a maker, I would have whipped out my tools and had it running by Boxing Day.
Meet the Bangladeshi woman converting her village to solar power
Marjina Begum
When she installed solar panels in her home, a Bangladeshi mother named Marjina Bagum changed life for her family. Now, her children have light to do their homework at night, her family has lower electricity bills and they feel both safer and more comfortable. Marjina has started a trend in her small village, Kulia, which is located in the southern part of the country– now many of her neighbours are also investing in solar power.
Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by global warming and climate change. As global water levels rise, the country is experiencing more and more flooding. Thousands of Bangladeshis have already become climate refugees. While most individual Bangladeshis can’t do anything to counter the rising water, a result of the thawing of ice at the north and south poles, many people are realizing the urgent need to take action against climate change.
While facing problems linked to global warming, the country is also trying to develop at the same time. The Bangladeshi government aims to install electricity in all households by 2021 with the help of the World Bank and a network of NGOs and businesses, both local and international.
It’s a hefty mission: Bangladesh’s population is 156,600,000 and 45% of those people don’t have access to electricity. About 15 million Bangladeshi people currently use solar power.
In rallies against president, S. Africans reveal deep grievances over corruption
A majority of South Africans believe corruption is on the rise, despite reports that say otherwise – a reason many are now calling for President Zuma’s resignation.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — As thousands of South Africans across the country marched Wednesday morning in protest of the administration of President Jacob Zuma, their banners targeted, in a hundred different ways, a single grievance.
“We need leaders, not looters,” read one sign. “Corruption must fall, Zuma must fall,” read another.
The march capped a year of official scandals – including President Zuma’s refusal to pay back $20 million in public money used to upgrade his personal home, and government officials’ purchase of $43 million worth of train cars that didn’t fit on the country’s tracks.
But the final straw came last week, when Mr. Zuma abruptly announced that he had fired his finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, replacing him with a nearly unknown politician, David van Rooyen. Many speculated that Zuma was looking for someone more willing to accommodate his expansive spending on controversial projects, including a $100 billion deal to obtain nuclear reactors. But the move sent the South African currency into a tailspin, prompting Zuma to replace Mr. van Rooyen with former finance minister Pravin Gordhan after only four days.
Migrant crisis: Dutch town riots over asylum centre plan
A meeting in a Dutch town to discuss whether to build a new centre for migrants had to be abandoned when some opponents rioted.
Protesters in Geldermalsen tore down fences and threw fireworks at police who responded with warning shots.
European countries are facing record numbers of refugees and other migrants entering Greece illegally from Turkey.
Dutch State Secretary for Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff said the protesters had crossed a line.
“Finding shelter for asylum seekers poses difficult questions but there is a limit when it comes to expressing your opinion,” he said on Dutch TV.