Stories about Western Europe from June, 2011
Palestine: Two Boats Sabotaged as Flotilla Floats Onwards
The Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza will be missing an Irish ship, it emerged today. The MV Saoirse has been reportedly sabotaged while at berth in the Turkish coastal town of Göcek and will now not be able to take part in the flotilla, aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza and presenting humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Vatican: A ”Historic” Tweet From Pope Benedict XVI
“Dear Friends, I just launched NEWS.VA.Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI“: this is how Pope Benedict XVI engaged Twitter users on June 28, 2011, with his first tweet, descrived as “historic” by Vatican News website.
Spain: Hundreds Protest Against the Syrian Regime
Hundreds of people in Madrid, Spain demonstrated in support of the Syrian people. They demanded the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador in Spain, and that the Spanish government sanction the Syrian government, amidst the biggest crackdown against Syrian activists in decades.
France-Senegal: Anti-Wade Demonstrators Arrested by French Police
Senegal is eight months from its presidential elections in February 2012. The country's civil society has already protested against various attempts by the incumbent president, 85 year-old Abdoulaye Wade, to hold on to power.
Video: Love Story, Short Film, Cellphone
The winner of the Nokia Shorts 2011 film competition, Splitscreen: A Love Story was shot using a mobile phone with HD capabilities. In it we follow two parallel lives through 3 different countries: USA, France and England until they finally meet.
Spain: Police Violence Against Peaceful Demonstrators in Barcelona
Friday, May 27, 7 pm had not yet arrived when the police raided Catalunya Square in the center of Barcelona where the camp of “outraged” of 15 May were located. The hundreds of protesters in attendance refused to leave and the situation escalated. Many calls were made through social networks and access to the Square was quickly blocked by a growing crowd who supported the people who slept there. Photo and video evidence of the brutalities quickly surfaced.
Video: Celebrating the Solstice
The celebrations for Summer and Winter Solstices were full of lanterns, dances, flowers and bonfires. Lets tour around the world to check out the different celebrations: Solstice at Stonehenge, Feast of Saint John's bonfires in Spain, Inti Raymi in Peru, we tripantu in Chile and Kupala Day in Russia or Midsummer's night in Poland.
Spain: Manuel Castells at #AcampadaBCN
Ivan Chaar-López posts the videos of sociologist and communications scholar Manuel Castells [es] speech on “Communications, Power and Democracy” which he offered during his visit to activists in Barcelona, Spain.
China: The politics of hydroelectricity
Sinologistical Violoncellist has a guest post by Kristiana Henderson of Pacific Lutheran University which addresses the politics of hydroelectricity projects in Tibet by looking into the history of conflicts between indigenous Sami community with the Norwegian government since 1850s.
Syria: French Embassy Website Hacked
On Saturday, June 25, since at least 3PM GMT, the website of the French Embassy in Syria appears to have been hacked: anyone connecting to the French embassy website is automatically redirected to another site (http://th3pro.pro/fr/), where, to the tune of the Syrian national anthem, a message in French and...
Lebanon, France: Amin Maalouf Elected Into The Académie Française
“My favorite novelist has just been elected into the Académie française“” write Khira [fr], from Morocco, and Patricia [fr], on behalf of the Lebanese diaspora, happy to announce on their blogs that Lebanese writer and novelist Amin Maalouf was elected a member of the Académie française on June 23, at...
Europe: “Greek Drama Doesn't Transcend Hellenic Borders”
Luboš Motl of The Reference Frame writes about the current economic situation in Greece and how it affects (or doesn't affect) other countries: “All the hysteria is man-made and unjustifiable by the real data. The Greek default will be just a formality because in practice, it has occurred a long...
Spain: Massive Demonstrations on June 19
The blog #Acampadasol, launched during the days of massive demonstrations in Madrid last May, chronicles [es] the most recent protests that flooded the streets of many cities in Spain last Sunday June 19.
Iran: Paris Flashmob Marks Two Years Since Election
On June 12, 2011, to mark two years since Iran's disputed election, United4Iran and Move4Iran coordinated a flash mob in a Paris metro station to draw attention to ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.
E Day: Discovering Celebrities’ Favorite Words
What do singer Shakira, actor Gael Garcia Bernal, chef Ferran Adria and writer Mario Vargas Llosa have in common? They are all part of the group of 30 celebrities who have shared through video their favorite word in Spanish as part of the celebrations for E Day by the Cervantes Institute.
Featured Translator: Fabienne Der Hagopian
Fabienne Der Hagopian is a volunteer translator for Global Voices in French. Being of Armenian descent, she has translated into French many posts about the Caucasus, but is also passionate about the world at large. Fabienne reflects on her experience as a volunteer translator.
Spain: Protests Evolve, but Tensions Continue
The mobilizations that started on May 15 in Spain have gradually evolved into local meetings, gatherings and different kinds of initiatives all over the country. But the tension on the streets is still high. On June 11 in Madrid, a sit-in ended up with police charging against demonstrators.
Moldova: A solution to the Transnistria conflict?
Zimbru of Morning in Moldova comments on and argues against rumours about an upcoming German-Russian proposal on the status of breakaway province Transnistria within a federal state of Moldova.
France, Syria: Syria's Ambassador To France Resigns
Syria's ambassador to France, Mrs Lamia Chakkour, has announced her resignation during a live audio interview with France24 [fr] TV chanel in Paris, today. “I cannot support this cycle of violence […] and ignore that protesters have been killed, that families live in grief” she said. “I invite President Bachar al-Assad...
World: Blatter's Back But FIFA's Future is Shaky
Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter has won his fourth term as the president of FIFA, the most powerful and lucrative sports organization in the world. One Zimbabwean blogger notes that there are many parallels between FIFA's and Zimbabwe's processes of conducting elections and wielding power.
Greece: Another victim of police brutality
Greek journalist and blogger Modestos Siotos on Protagon recounts being roughly accosted by police [el] when he tried to defend an immigrant they were beating. “Be more careful with your democratic sensitivities next time, you fake revolutionary rich kid!” they said, and threatened him with arrest for obstruction. Amnesty International...
