PR executive Justine Sacco fired for lousy tweet about Africa

A PR executive for major media company IAC who tweeted a racist 'joke' on Friday that sparked a social media revolt has been fired from her position following the incident.
Justine Sacco - the now-former Communications Director for IAC, a company owned by Barry Diller - was about to board a 12-hour flight from London to Cape Town when she Tweeted: 'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just Kidding. I'm White!'
The post had been retweeted over 3,000 times and was picked up by media outlets around the world, however Sacco remained completely unaware of it all because she was in the air.

Mandela’s legacy as a health campaigner

Mandela during a visit to HIV program in 2002 (c)irinnews.com

It’s not often that we see politicians celebrated the way former South African president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has been celebrated the past two weeks.  As I watched the remains of the 95-year-old activist committed to mother earth last Sunday, something in me wished we had him a little longer.  Many in South Africa would wish same. But alas Madiba’s long walk to freedom has ended.
For quite some time now, South Africans battled with the difficulty of dealing with the prospect of losing the man who not only led the country out of apartheid but saved it from the precipice of a civil war.  So deep is the affection for Mandela among South Africans of all races that the thought of his death seemed incomprehensible.  It seems too high an aspiration to place on one individual, but in the eyes of many in Africa, Mandela represents hope, freedom and peace, virtues that are very short supply on the continent.
Mandela stands out as a human rights icon and a remarkable lesson in leadership.  In no other part of the world is that lesson most needed today than in Africa.  In many ways, what Robert Mugabe is today in Zimbabwe is what Nelson Mandela could have been in South Africa; but he chose a different path. He opted for reconciliation, reconstruction and restoration and in doing so united a broken nation.  His life and the causes that he lived for resonates among people of all race, creed and persuasions.

Selfie: Danes surprised by global attention

L-R: PM Cameron, PM Thorning-Schmidt and Obama (c)afp

"More Scandi stylein politics would do the world a lot of good." I totally agree.
While reactions in the US and UK has been heated and largely negative over the selfie involving President Obama, PM Cameron and PM Thorning-Schmidt.  Citizens of Denmark, home country of the lady that initiated the controversial selfie, careless.
Distasteful? Inappropriate? The Danes don't think so:

Cute PM Thorning-Schmidt and huzzy (c) dailymail

"Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt made headlines after snapping a selfie of herself nestled in between UK Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama at Mandela's memorial service on Tuesday.
The "selfie" went viral online almost immediately. But you could be forgiven for not knowing who this blonde beauty taking a photo with a smartphone of herself with two political power houses is, unless you are Danish, like myself, or up to date on your current affairs.
Many newspapers are calling into question whether it was appropriate for "Gucci Helle," as she is called by many Danes for her sense of style, to take a "selfie" during Tuesday's memorial service.
The Times wrote that Obama tested the limits of "funeral etiquette" (despite the memorial not being a funeral) with the self-portrait. Although they may have been acting less than gracefully at the moment the snap was taken, they did seem to be enjoying each other's company and Thorning-Schmidt just couldn't resist the urge to document the moment for herself. She may after all never have the opportunity again.

It's just a selfie, Presidents are humans after all

Two key moments dominated today's memorial service for the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela in the social media. The first is President Barack Obama's historic handshake with Raul Castro, the Cuban president, and brother of Fidel Castro.  The other is Obama's selfie with Danish prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and British PM, David Cameron.

I can understand why the handshake is of interest.  America's 50-year-old diplomatic face-off with Cuba has meant leaders of two nations just don't interact. I am not sure Fidel Castro ever shook hands with any US president and he tenured through at least ten of them.

On the selfie, the reactions on Twitter and Facebook have been mixed.  It's amazing how it turned out to be such a social media feast.  Here's the take of some of the mainstream media on it:

Islamist militants attack airforce base

Scene of a recent Boko Haram attack

Hundreds of Islamic militants in trucks and a stolen armored personnel carrier attacked an air force base and international airport on the outskirts of a Nigerian city before dawn Monday, officials and witnesses said, possibly leaving scores of people dead in one of the insurgent group's most daring attacks.
Two helicopters and three decommissioned military aircraft were "incapacitated" in the attack, said a statement from Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, the Ministry of Defense spokesman. He said some army bases also were hit.
Twenty-four insurgents were killed and many were wounded along with two air force personnel, Olukolade said in a statement.

2 French journalists killed in Mali by Al Qaeda affiliates

Slain French journalists Ghislaine Dupont, left,
and Claude Verlon, right

Gunmen abducted and killed two French radio journalists on assignment in northern Mali on Saturday, French and Malian officials said, grabbing the pair as they left the home of a rebel leader.
The deaths come four days after France rejoiced at the release of four of its citizens who had been held for three years by al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa.
It was not immediately clear who had slain the French journalists. France launched a military intervention in January in its former colony to try and oust jihadists from power in Kidal and other towns across northern Mali. Separatist rebels have since returned to the area.
French President Francois Hollande expressed his "indignation at this odious act."
Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont were grabbed by several armed men in a 4x4 after they finished an interview, officials said.

Kenya goes hi-tech in bid to protect rhinos

With poachers getting more sophisticated in their approach, Rhino conservation has gone high-tech and will now employ specialised rhino horn tracking systems combined with forensic DNA technology to strengthen rhino monitoring. This will protect the animals on site and also support anti-trafficking mechanisms nationally and regionally.
With the support from the WWF Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) says that with the use of microchips and scanners, there will be 100 per cent traceability of every rhino horn and live animal within Kenya.
KWS Director William Kiprono says that with the technology, every rhino horn will be tracked globally and matched to the rhino from which it was taken. In this way, investigators will be able to link any poached case to a recovered or confiscated horn.
These technologies are now being used internationally in support of criminal justice responses to wildlife crime as well as strengthening inter-agency collaborations (between customs, police, justice, wildlife agencies and defense).
This new technology will ensure that every marked rhino in the country is traceable.