Stories about Breaking News from November, 2011
Egypt: Police Attack Aswan Protesters Angry Over Killing of Fisherman
Egyptian Salma Said reports on Twitter: “Egyptian police attacked people in #aswan who gathered in front of a police station to protest the killing of a fisherman yesterday by police.”
Syria: Arab League Suspends Syria's Membership
The Arab League slapped Syria on the wrist today for killing more than 3,000 of its citizens by suspending its membership from the pan-Arab group, starting on Wednesday. Netizens react to the League's decision.
Iran: Blast at military base
Tahririeh Khamoush reports[fa] an explosion occured at a military base in Azimieh district in Karaj, near Tehran. The blogger has published a photo regarding this story. Read more here.
Mexico: Netizens React to Death of Interior Secretary
Fernando Blake Mora, Mexico’s Interior Minister, died today -November 11- in a helicopter crash. Twitter users immediately began discussing the accident, and in a few hours #BlakeMora and 'Secretario de Gobernación' became worldwide trending topics.
Yemen: Taiz is Bleeding while the UN Envoy is in Sanaa
Yesterday's arrival of the UN envoy Bin Omar to Sanaa didn't seem to deter president Ali Abdullah Saleh or his forces from defiantly committing more violence and atrocities in Taiz. The continuous and random shelling by Saleh forces on Taiz's residential areas has caused many deaths and injuries to civilians and destruction of many homes. Noon Arabia takes us to the heart of the suffering of Yemenis in this post.
Central African Republic: Alleged Fire next to the Residence of President Bozizé
Hippolyte Donossio wrote on Twitter at 8:20 am local time that the residence of François Bozizé, president of the Central African Republic, was allegedly set on fire [fr]. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Colombia: President Santos Proposes Removal of Reform to Law 30 if Students Lift Strike
Seconds after President Juan Manuel Santos announced [es] that if students lifted their strike he would remove the project to reform higher education Law 30 from Congress, ‘Presidente Juan Manuel Santos’ [es] and ‘Santos‘ [es] became local Trending Topics on Twitter. This occurs on the eve of a protest scheduled...
Spain: Canary Islands Volcanic Activity at El Hierro
Although the community has been evacuated from the La Restinga in El Hierro Island of the Canary Islands due to increased earthquakes due to volcanic activity, scientists and journalists are staying posted to record the underwater volcano eruptions as can be seen on this video by local Guilletheplayer.
Russia: Drug Control Service Goes After a Blogger Who Commented on Steve Jobs Taking Drugs
Russian Drug Control Service had approached Habrahabr.ru, a popular IT-portal, and demanded [ru] personal data of the Belarus-based staff-writer Alizar [ru]. He is accused of drug propaganda in his post [ru] which speculates on Steve Jobs’ innovativity, marijuana and LSD, and the governments’ policies towards light drugs, citing Time magazine, the New...
Russia: Police Re-Branding, So Far Online Only
Bloggers discuss newpolice.ru [ru], a self-proclaimed website of the Russian police's new look. Despite beautiful design, the authenticity of website hasn't been confirmed by any government agency, which leads a confusion wherever it's a real yet unannounced reform or just a design prank.
Colombia: Top FARC Leader Alfonso Cano Dies
On November 4, top FARC leader Guillermo León Sáenz Paez, alias Alfonso Cano, died at the age of 63 in a military operation in the southwestern Cauca department. Reactions on Twitter [es] and online [es] media [es] are numerous.
Greece: The Prime Minister at Cannes, A Referendum And The 6th Tranche
Immediate and various online reactions emerged, after Greek PM Papandreou's appearance at G20 Summit in Cannes. Sarkozy and Merkel said that a Greek referendum must address the question of whether Greece wants to remain in the Eurozone or not, otherwise "the 6th tranche will not be disbursed if Greece does not respect the October deal."
Palestine: Israeli Commandos Intercept Gaza-bound Flotilla and Arrest Activists
Israeli soldiers boarded two ships heading to Gaza earlier today. The Canadian ship Tahrir (Liberation) and Irish Saoirse (Freedom) were en route to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli siege on it.
Kazakhstan: Blasts Spark New Fears Over the Rise of Extremism
Early in the morning of October 31, two blasts occurred in the downtown district of Atyrau, the major city in Western Kazakhstan and the unofficial "oil capital" of the Central Asian country, which has long been boasting of itself as a showcase of inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance.
Peru: Student's Death in the Andes Divides Media and Social Networks
Ciro Castillo Rojo had been missing for nearly seven months; the finding of his body put an end to the mystery regarding his whereabouts, but the controversy related to his death was revived. This particular case has managed to capture citizens' attention and stay longer than usual in the media's agenda.
Palestine: New Flotilla en Route to Break Gaza Siege
A flotilla made up of a Canadian and an Irish ship is en route to Palestine, to break the siege on Gaza, it emerged today. The covert operation was under wraps and was just announced. On Twitter, the news is being circulated under the hashtag #Freedomwaves.
Colombia: The 2011 Regional Elections
On Sunday, October 30, Colombia held regional elections for local public posts. Due to the importance of these posts, these elections are tracked in the same manner as the presidential elections. Citizens followed the voting closely and the elections were widely discussed on citizen media platforms and social networks.
Russia: Blogger from the Moscow Region Under Police Pressure
Novaya Gazeta publishes [ru] the story of Vladimir Pronin, a commenter from the Moscow region, who was publishing online materials that exposed corruption in Odintsovo city police. He was first accused of libel but during the search that was conducted in his house, police allegedly planted the ammunition. The court, however, dismissed...
Colombia: Gustavo Petro, Bogotá's New Mayor
Regional elections were held in Colombia on October 30. Although the right to vote was exercised throughout the country, the Bogotá election generated the greatest expectations since its citizens went to the polls during one of the capital city's biggest institutional crises.
Qatar: 2013 Parliamentary Election Date Announced
Qatar today announced it will hold parliamentary elections in the second half of 2013. The announcement was made by the Qatari Emir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and welcomed by netizens, who hope that Qatar's support for the Arab revolutions is shaping a new tomorrow for Qataris.
