· May, 2013

Stories about Western Europe from May, 2013

Disaster Highlights Roma's Struggle for Human Rights in France

A violent fire destroyed an abandoned factory in the eastern French city of Lyon squatted by families from the Roma community, killing two women and 12-year-old child. In the aftermath, the survivors relocated into a school open only in the evenings, leaving them outside in the rain during the day. The tragedy has put the spotlight once again on France's controversial policy toward the Roma.

31 May 2013

Guinea: Special Guest at the 2013 Turin International Book Fair

The 26th International Book Fair took place in Turin, capital of the Italian Piedmont region, between May 16 and May 20, 2013. The Francophone West African country of Guinea was the sole representative of the African continent to be invited as a special guest country. This news did not pass unnoticed in Conakry and on the Guinean blogosphere - both at home and abroad.

31 May 2013

From Guinea to Italy to France and Back: An Interview with Blogger Abdoulaye Bah

Global Voices author and translator Abdoulaye Bah, originally from Guinea, is a retired Italian citizen who has worked for the United Nations. He now splits his time between Rome and Nice. We spoke with Bah about his life, from his experience hiding in a bathroom to enter Italy without the proper papers, to his marriage in the Vatican, from his blog to his multi-belief family.

27 May 2013

Outrage over Arrest of Two Photojournalists in Spain

The news of the arrest of photojournalist Raúl Capín, in Madrid, was widely shared under the tag #RaúlLibertad on Twitter. Photojournalist Adolfo Luján was also arrested. Many online messages of indignation and against the repression of journalists who report on social protests are circulating.

24 May 2013

Ireland's Top Economic Crisis Blogger Calls it Quits

The anonymous blogger behind Namawinelake, a prominent watchdog blog that chronicled Ireland's efforts to deal with its economic crisis, has stopped publishing, triggering a wave of speculation as to the blogger's identity and his or her reason for quitting.

21 May 2013

Spain: Bullfighting Nuns vs. Animal-Loving Children

The children of "El cuarto hocico", a virtual animal protection group in the form of a blog created by children from Orba de Muel school (Spain), offered the nuns of the La Aguilera monastery all their money, 1000€, so they would discard the idea of holding a bullfight to raise funds.

14 May 2013

Italy: Art Historians Rally in L'Aquila

Four years after the devastating earthquake that hit L’ Aquila, in Abruzzo, Italy, little or nothing has been rebuilt and the picturesque old town remains largely uninhabited, while many residents live in...

12 May 2013

Catalonia's Sovereignty Declaration Suspended

The Spanish Constitutional Court just suspended Catalonia's Declaration of Sovereignty, which the regional parliament of Catalonia approved by majority on 23 January, 2013. Amid rising tensions between Spain and Catalonia,...

8 May 2013