· 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.

Pakistan: Minorities At Peril

  28 May 2010

“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 serious attack occurs,” comments Raza Habib Raja at Pak Tea House while discussing the attacks on the religious sites of...

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.

Ghana: Our first batch of refugees

  27 May 2010

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.

China and Hong Kong: Responses to Cheonan sinking incident

  27 May 2010

The release of the international investigation report on sinking of Cheonan in May 20, 2010, concluding that the South Korean warship had been bombed by a North Korean torpedo has alleviating the tension in Northeast Asia region. South Korea suspended all trade and investment with North Korea while Pyongyang denied...

Jamaica: Situation Improving?

  27 May 2010

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.

Russia: Explosion in Stavropol

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. LJ user dimazelensky, whose office is inside the concert hall building, wrote (RUS) that the police had cordoned it off...

Sri Lanka: Vanni One Year After War

  26 May 2010

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 LTTE.

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 collective identity for local Russians.”

Jamaica: State of Emergency

  24 May 2010

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’ Coke – the notorious don man of Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston for trafficking drugs and guns. But will the ruling...

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.