· January, 2011

Stories about Western Europe from January, 2011

Netherlands: Dutch-Iranian woman executed in Iran

Dutch-Iranian Zahra Bahrami has been executed in Iran after having been found guilty of drug-related crimes and sentenced to death on 2 January. Zahra Bahrami was arrested on 27 December 2009 when she reportedly attended an anti-government demonstration.

29 January 2011

Puerto Rico: Violence Continues as Students Engage in Civil Disobedience

On January 20th, students from the University of Puerto Rico started staging acts of civil disobedience as part of their strike against the $800 dollar annual fee imposed by the administration. The Police has arrested almost 100 protesters and assaulted journalists who have been covering the incidents. Social media and blogs have been an important tool of dissemination and a space for analysis.

28 January 2011

France: Our Embarrassing Ex Friend, Monsieur Ben Ali

It has finally dawned. After decade of state amitié (friendship) with the Ben Ali regime, and total indifference from French politicians and mainstream media, French bloggers and twitterers are now aware that France has been living in a prolonged state of denial - thanks to history in the making in one of France ex-colonies, Tunisia, and a week of historical diplomatic blunders and shameful silence in France.

16 January 2011

France: A Show of Tunisian Pride in Paris

Today, January 15, marks the "day after" and the first day of a Ben Ali free Tunisia. Despite their concern for the continuous violence in Tunisia, their relatives and the future, the 600 000 Tunisians in France granted themselves one day to rejoice, celebrate and share an overwhelming collective emotion. Here are a few pictures from a Tunisian show of pride in Paris.

15 January 2011

Mozambique: Drugs and open secrets “wikileaked”

Documents made available by Wikileaks reignited scrutiny of a Mozambican businessman earlier accused by the US Treasury of large-scale narcotics smuggling. However the leaked documents also suggest complicity by high-level cabinet officials. Bloggers, activists and parliamentarians reacted strongly.

12 January 2011

Nigeria: RIP Harold Smith

Jeremy remembers Harold Smith: “Harold was a courageous man who took on the corrupt dying embers of colonial rule in Nigeria and paid a heavy price for it.”

10 January 2011

COP 16: Agreement on Form But Without the Funds

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended in Cancun last December 11 with the adoption of a host of decisions. Bloggers in Bolivia, Mexico, and Togo give a lukewarm reception to the decisions, which don't seem to have a clearly defined roadmap for their financing.

6 January 2011

Lusophone Traditions in Malacca

Baragül, a Brazilian blogger, investigates the lusophone influence in Malacca (Malaysia). In this post he argues about some gastronomy traditions shared between Brazil, Portugal and East Timor that are also...

4 January 2011