· October, 2011

Stories about Western Europe from October, 2011

Greece: When the Crisis Hit the Fan

Freelance journalist Kostas Kallergis started a blog in English about the Greek crisis, documenting on a daily basis various “small things that usually go unreported in the international press,” from...

31 October 2011

France: New Visa Restrictions for Foreign University Graduates

France has taken a legal step which makes it more difficult for foreign students who have graduated from French universities to work on French territory and thus change their student visa permit into a working visa. Julie Owono reports on reactions to the new immigration rules.

27 October 2011

Sounds of the European Podcast Award

The European Podcast Award has its own podcast featuring winners and nominees. The podcast is produced by Karin Høgh from Denmark and Dave Thackeray from the UK. The Global Voices...

27 October 2011

United Kingdom: At Age 77, a Life of Inspiration

Julie Kertesz started blogging and photographing at the age of 70. Now at 77, she has become a role-model to people of all ages who desire to lead full and active lives of learning and doing. Paula Góes reports.

27 October 2011

Libya: A Convenient Execution

Alain Gresh outlines in his post on Libya, “An Ambiguous Liberation” [fr], that Gaddafi's execution “puts an end to the possibility of a trial that would have shone light on...

24 October 2011

France: Tunisian Diaspora Open “The Blue Finger Club”

The three-day anticipated vote for Tunisian living abroad is now over and has established a new "blue fingers club" on social media networks. Tunisian voters in France flaunt their ink-stained fingers - proof that they are part of the select club of early voters in the historical Tunisian constituent elections.

23 October 2011

Spain: The October 15 Protests and Mass Media Coverage

The global October 15 manifestation that demanded the exercise of real democracy and protested against the corruption of elite financial corporations was truly massive in Spain. In this post, we reveal how a sector of Spanish mass media covered the event and the discussion among netizens.

22 October 2011

France: Tunisian Diaspora Set to Vote

Tunisian residents in France will vote ahead of their compatriots, from Thursday, October 20, until Saturday, October 22, whereas polls in Tunisia open on Sunday 23 October. There are an estimated...

19 October 2011

France: The Twittosphere Pokes Fun at the Presidential Election Campaign

As can be seen on social networking sites like Twitter, the 2012 presidential campaign is well and truly underway in France. The left wing Primaries have animated the media landscape over the last couple of weeks, and resulted in François Hollande being named the Socialist Party (PS) representative. On Twitter, many Trending topics make reference to the up coming elections and are provoking amused reactions.

19 October 2011

Portugal: Photos and Videos of October 15 Protests

The October 15 protests in Portugal, calling for “participatory democracy, transparency in policy and the end of the precariousness of life”, gathered around 80,000 in the main squares of the country. Citizen reporters used online platforms to share photo and video reports of events.

17 October 2011