Stories about Western Europe from April, 2011
Greece: Protesting football fans rampage in Thessaloniki
In an unexpected flareup up of football violence, fans of two local football clubs, Iraklis and PAOK, clashed in the center of Thessaloniki, Greece on April 26, 2011. They attacked storefronts, apartments buildings and parked vehicles, while riot police flooded the downtown area with tear gas.
Arab World: Royal Wedding Fever in the Air
The hype surrounding the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton tomorrow (April 29) has reached the Middle East, where some tweeps took a break from covering the ongoing Arab revolutions to remark on the ceremony and reception, which will follow at Buckingham Palace.
Azerbaijan: Royal Wedding Frenzy
Scary Azeri offers her own acerbic take on tomorrow's Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Despite a reported close friendship with the groom's Uncle, Prince Andrew, the blog says that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev doesn't appear to be among those invited and also comments on media coverage of...
Russia: New round in the TNK-BP row
Streetwise Professor points to the parallel buyout of a partner in TNK-BP oil company by the Russian state oil company Rosneft and British Petroleum, with the abolition of a tax release, possibly resulting in decreased company value for the upcoming sale.
Serbia-EU: Belgrade at a crossroads
Ari Rusila's BalkanBlog argues that Serbia may find too many obstacles to continue its accession to the European Union, and instead might find other alternatives more appetizing.
Featured Author and Translator: Asteris Masouras
In this Global Voices contributor interview, author and translator Asteris Masouras talks about how he started writing for the site. Based in Thessaloniki, Greece, Asteris has been writing for Global Voices since 2008 about his country of Greece and other topics around the world. In addition, he has been one of the leading translators for the newly formed Global Voices in Greek
UK: The Royal Wedding's “Russian Connection”
Siberian Light writes about “a Russian connection” in the UK Royal Wedding story: “the George III Tiara, or the Russian Fringe Tiara” that Kate Middleton may wear for the April 29 ceremony. Also, “even if you’re in Russia, there’s no escape [from the Royal Wedding Mania], because you’ll be able...
Portugal: Employment and Social Inclusion for the Physically Disabled
On the blog 52 Histórias (52 Stories) [pt], journalist Lúcia Crespo writes about Aristides Santos, a portuguese social entrepreneur who has been fighting against social exclusion through a business he created in 1995 to employ the physically disabled people.
Russia-Switzerland: New magazine for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
Gedankenbörsen Blog draws attention to [GER] a new magazine in Switzerland – Echo – about Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Memories of Portuguese Decolonization
“In their dreams they still revisit Africa”, and they share their memories on the blog Retornados da África [pt]. Read the stories of those who returned to Portugal from the African colonies, after the end of the dictatorship, on April 25th, 1974.
Global: Bloggers Take Issue with Anti-Niqaab Punditry
On April 16, 2011, France's ban on the niqaab and burqa went into effect, re-stirring emotions on the subject and sparking protests in the European country and beyond. In cyberspace, bloggers are taking issue with popular pundits on the subject, focusing particular attention on Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy's pro-niqaab ban stance.
Pakistan: In Support Of The Burqa Ban
Kalsoom at CHUP! Changing Up Pakistan highlights Nabiha Meher Sheikh, a freelance writer based in Lahore, who explains why she supports the burqa (full face veil) ban in France.
Russia: Play on the swansong of the Yeltsin era
British playwright Thomas Hirst guestblogs at Siberian Light, writing about his new play The 17, about the demise of the Yelstin era in Russian politics.
Germany: A blog of rare German records from flea markets
Berlin Beatet Bestes is a blog by Andreas Michalke of rare out of print German 45 rpm records found at flea markets. For instance, this 1959 tune of Trinidadian singer Mona Baptiste singing a mambo in German.
South Asia: Reactions On The Burqa Ban In France
The recent ban imposed by France on burqa (niqab), the Islamic face veil, has created a lot of buzz across the different blogosphere of the world. Some South Asian bloggers are discussing this issue.
France, Japan: Debating President Sarkozy's Visit to Japan
When French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Japan on March 31, 2011, less than three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami that caused a nuclear emergency, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is reported to have said: "When it rains, a friend who comes is a true friend". Bloggers ask if Nicolas Sarkozy really came to visit out of friendship alone.
Ukraine: Chernobyl Charity Walk on April 22
On April 22, a group of volunteers from the British and French embassies in Ukraine will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe and fundraise for the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund (CCRDF) and the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association (BLESMA) by walking 63 miles (110 km)...
Palestine: Remembering Murdered Italian Activist Vittorio Arrigoni
Long before the deadline set by his captors arrived, kidnapped Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was killed, apparently hanged. Bloggers in Gaza and elsewhere have reacted with disbelief, anger and sorrow.
Palestine: Kidnapping of Italian Activist in Gaza
Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped on Thursday 14 April, 2011, in Gaza by a Salafi-Jihadi group, who said that they would kill him if Sheikh Abu Al Waleed Al Maqdisi, recently arrested by the Hamas government, was not released. It was reported on Friday 15 April by various international media outlets that Vittorio Arrigoni has been found dead.
Gabon: Issues in the Oil industry Sector
On Monday, April 8, oil industry workers returned to work following an announcement made to AFP by Arnauld Engandji, spokes-person for ONEP (the National Organization for Petrol Industry Workers), stating "the demands have been met. We do not want to cause chaos". ONEP, an organisation of between 4000 and 5000 members, went out on strike (fr) to obtain new regulations relating to the employment of foreign workers within the sector, who "they accuse of taking the place of Gabonese workers".
Portugal: Squatting an Empty School in Porto
A group of citizens called ES.COL.A (school) [an acronymn for self-managed collective space] has occupied a Portuguese public school that had been abandoned by the municipality of Porto 5 years ago. Read the manifesto for the creation of a community center on their blog [pt], and find out about the legal...
