· May, 2010

Stories about War & Conflict from May, 2010

Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia make Eurovision Top Ten

This year's Eurovision Song Contest drew to a close on a Saturday in a televised final which attracted around 125 million viewers worldwide. But while some media reported lagging interest in the 54-year-old competition and concerns about spiraling costs, countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to take it very seriously indeed.

31 May 2010

MENA: Rage after Israel Attacks Gaza-bound Flotilla

Emotions are running high across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), after Israel attacked a peaceful flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza - and the Twittersphere is ablaze. Also, are tweets commenting on the situation being censored?

31 May 2010

Pakistan: Minorities At Peril

“The thirty years of state sponsored “true” Islam is showing its colors. In Pakistan all the minorities are constantly harassed and state’s protection has often proved completely ineffective when a...

28 May 2010

Caucasus: Social media, cleavage, and rare unity in Eurovision

Although last night's second semi-final for this year's Eurovision Song Contest has been and gone, Twitter was alive with commentary and updates throughout. The annual international competition, noted more for its kitsch entries than for its music, is viewed by well over 100 million people worldwide. Its presence online is nowhere near as large, but is increasingly becoming an important consideration.

28 May 2010

Ghana: Our first batch of refugees

Togo's Security Minister is quoted by the BBC saying that 3,500 refugees have crossed into Northern Togo from Ghana following ethnic conflict and land disputes. Ghanaian blogger and journalist Ato Dandzie discusses the issue in his post titled Our First Refugees.

27 May 2010

Jamaica: Latest Updates

Twitter has been buzzing with the latest developments regarding Jamaica's state of emergency. Things began to look "much better" late yesterday: wanted men were turning themselves in, one international mainstream television station was reportedly going to "apologise for [its] 'inaccurate report'" (although some tweeple were of the opinion that "an apology [was] not enough") and all seemed quiet in areas that had previously been fierce battlegrounds.

27 May 2010

Jamaica: Situation Improving?

Four days into the state of emergency imposed on the Jamaican capital, the situation is becoming clearer - not simply in terms of statistics - but in understanding the chain of events that led to the current impasse. There are also reports that life in the capital city may slowly be returning to normal.

27 May 2010

Russia: Explosion in Stavropol

RuNet Echo

Miriam Elder reports at GlobalPost on the explosion in Stavropol, which took place next to a centrally-located concert hall shortly before a Chechen folk dance troupe was to perform there....

26 May 2010

Sri Lanka: Vanni One Year After War

Ruki at Groundviews visited Vanni, the war torn city in the North of Sri Lanka, and analyzes the situation there after one year since the end of the war against...

26 May 2010

Latvia: May 9 in Riga

Arnis Balcus posts photos from the May 9 celebrations in Riga and writes: “In Latvia 9 May is more than just a victory celebration, it is also an expression of...

26 May 2010

Jamaica: State of Emergency

Things are starting to unravel in Jamaica, as the drug money link between dons and politicians, starts to get the media attention it deserves. The United States want Christopher ‘Dudus’...

24 May 2010

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Conflict transformation

For the past two years Global Voices has covered the use of new and social media to overcome differences between Armenians and Azerbaijanis still locked in conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Most recently, it presented on the use of new online tools in conflict resolution and transformation at conferences in Romania, Macedonia, Georgia and Chile.

24 May 2010