News agencies subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to work in Tehran have been resorting to innovative ways in reporting the crisis in the Islamic republic.
Agence France-Presse have taken the unusual step of distributing photographs posted on Twitter and platform has been humming with comments from activists.
There’s also a neat application that will stain your Twitter profile image page with an emerald overlay — the colours of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.
A list was also posted this week — The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Protest Twitterers — in which it warned users, among other things, not to publicise their IP proxy address and to “keep your bullshit filter up”. This was in response to the Iranian security forces, who are apparently setting up Twitter accounts to spread disinformation.
As of Friday, Facebook lauched a beta version of the site in Persian.
This election has exposed a fault line in Iran, and younger Iranians are using online platforms as a conduit to spread the word. With almost two-thirds of the population under 30, the tech-savvy are starting to rock the boat in the conservative country.
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South Africa
The long-awaited Confederations Cup kicked off in South Africa last week to much acclaim, signalling the first test of South Africa’s readiness to host the World Cup. A great honour has been bestowed upon the country, and the reality of the World Cup is ever closer. |
 Dirk Prinsloo
Dirk Prinsloo was arrested in Belarus last week after allegedly being part of a gang that attempted to hold up a bank in Minsk. Prinsloo, who has been on the run from SA cops for a few years, is accused of a number of sex-related crimes in this country, including the sexual abuse of children. |
Most-read stories
June 11 to 18
1. SA rocked by R10bn Ponzi scheme
One of South Africa’s largest Ponzi schemes, estimated to be worth up to R10-billion, has been uncovered, reports said on Thursday.
2. SABC implodes
The SABC’s debt mountain is even larger than reported — the public broadcaster owes SuperSport nearly R100-million.
3. Cope ‘in financial, political crisis’
Political neophyte Congress of the People (Cope) is in the throes of a financial and leadership crisis, newspaper reports said on Friday.
4. What wounds him?
This week’s cover of Friday features a bald man seated at a large desk with his back to the camera.
5. Hogan is cuffed
Barbara Hogan is once again in trouble for talking sense. Parastatals that can’t be turned around should perhaps be got rid of, she suggests, provoking stern correction from Gwede Mantashe about straying from ANC policy. There is a history to all this.
6. BRT gets the green light
Johannesburg’s bus rapid transit system — which lurched to a halt after threats by taxi bosses — on Thursday received the go-ahead from the government. nt.
7. Is Microsoft’s new Bing search engine better than Google?
Although the core index is the same, Bing is not just a rebranding of Microsoft Live Search, but has new features – including instant preview of websites and videos.
8. SA businessman Tannenbaum denies $1,2bn fraud
South African businessman Barry Tannenbaum, accused of defrauding hundreds of investors in what may be the country’s biggest corporate fraud, denied any wrongdoing and blamed the economic crisis for his company’s woes.
9. Mystery deepens over missing Air France jet
Conflicting clues as to the cause of the loss of an Air France jet and the 228 people on board emerged on Thursday, deepening the mystery as the hunt for evidence intensified.
10. Dirk Prinsloo arrested in Belarus after bank heist
Sex-crimes accused and former Pretoria advocate Dirk Prinsloo was arrested in the Republic of Belarus, three years after skipping the country, national police said on Saturday.