· April, 2008

Stories about Western Europe from April, 2008

Armenia: Norwegians Abroad

  30 April 2008

Armenia and Me, the blog of an expat Norwegian in the country, reports on stumbling upon a bus crewed by 11 fellow countrymen and women touring the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The blog posts photographs of a brief excursion with the Strangeways crew who also have a...

Georgia: Parliamentary Election Digest

  29 April 2008

TOL Georgia reports on the latest developments in the run-up to next month's parliamentary election in Georgia. In the first of three posts, the blog comments on news that the country's parliamentary speaker, Nino Burjanadze, appears to have temporarily retired from active politics ahead of the vote. Meanwhile, the president's...

Armenia: Sirusho in London

  29 April 2008

Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports on the visit to London by Armenia's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, Sirusho. The blog notes that the young Armenian singer is one of the favorites to win the international song contest.

UK: Armenian Genocide March

  29 April 2008

Unzipped posts video, photographs and an account of a march staged by the London-Armenian community remembering the 1.5 million Armenians who died during the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The blogger from Armenia now living in the United Kingdom says the march reminded him to some extent of the...

Iran:Toilets and Nuclear technology

Kaghz Pareh (means a piece of paper) says[Fa] that according to news sites Spain signed a contract with Iranian government to construct 1000 toilets in Iran. The blogger says I got surprised by this piece of news because each day government announces new inventions and progress in nuclear technology but...

PangeaDay: Videos to change the world on May 10th

  26 April 2008

On May 10th 2008 at 18:00 GMT, 24 films will be broadcast during a 4 hour event. What makes this different is that this event, PangeaDay will be broadcast from six locations worldwide in seven different languages worldwide to be viewed through internet, television or cellphones with one unique purpose: to make each other know about the lives of others and focus on what makes us similar, instead of what makes us different and let us work together towards peace.

Lusosphera: Remembering the Carnation Revolution

  25 April 2008

On April 25 1974, 34 years today, Portugal's 40-year fascist dictatorship, the longest in the history of Western Europe, came to an end with the Carnation Revolution, which also brought independence for the remaining colonies in Africa and Asia. Today Portuguese speaking bloggers from all over the world comment and celebrate.

Angola: Remember April 25

  25 April 2008

Many Angolan blogs, such as Kitanda [pt], bring today videos, articles and posts about the anniversary of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the military-led coup d'état that changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy and brought independence to overseas territories.

Ukraine, Russia: “Hitler Toy” Story

  23 April 2008

Ukrainiana writes about the “Hitler toy” story that first appeared on the Russian TV and was later picked up by BBC: “To the extent that the Western media often cite Russian sources as an authority on Ukraine, they also partake in this smorgasbord of Soviet-style propaganda.”

Mexico: New Super Tunnel in the Capital

  22 April 2008

A new super tunnel will be built in Mexico City with a distance of 18 km and for exclusive use of cars, and would supposedly help alleviate traffic. However, México Para Los Mexicanos [es] believes that it will only encourage increased car use and will increase pollution and gridlock.

U.S. Papal Visit: The World Reacts

  22 April 2008

As Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal visit to the United States, the media and blogosphere are in a frenzy - primarily due to the sexual abuse scandal that shook the foundation of the American Catholic church six years ago. The Pope addressed the issue in Washington D.C. on Thursday, speaking with victims of sexual abuses, which pleased some bloggers but for others was too little too late.

China: One world, one dream, and one multi-front protest

  18 April 2008

The Chinese global anti-Carrefour boycott was supposed to begin on May 1, but with tempers flaring over CNN commentator Jack Cafferty's on-air remarks this past week, and a number of other recent incidents, people in a few cities across China decided to get a head start. So too did the Chinese hackers who had been planning a coordinated denial-of-service attack on CNN.com set for April 19.

Brazil, USA: Sex, Crime and the Vatican

  18 April 2008

Antônio Mello, from blogdomello[Pt], blogs about “Sex, Crime and the Vatican” — a BBC documentary (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)[En, subtitles in Pt] about children sexual abuse by catholic priests and the shelter provided by the Vatican to the accused ecclesiastics — and a Vatican internal document named Crimen...

Remembering Aimé Césaire

  18 April 2008

Aimé Césaire - Martinican poet, politician and consummate West Indian - passed away today at the age of 94. It is not often that politics and poetry go together, but when they do, the West Indies is as fertile an environment as any for the two to coexist. Césaire seamlessly blended his love for language, ideas and writing into his political life, which spanned almost 60 years.