· September, 2008

Stories about Western Europe from September, 2008

Young Egyptian Women Do Not Want to Work!

  17 September 2008

While some women are still struggling to prove themselves in the workplace, the young generation of Egyptian men and women seems to be taking different route. Marwa Rakha brings us the story of how young Egyptians told a television show that they did not want their wives to work.

Azerbaijan: Gay Artist Detained in UK

  16 September 2008

Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that gay Azerbaijani artist Babi Badalov has been detained by British police. Badalov is currently seeking asylum in the United Kingdom and the blog posts details of a protest demonstration to be held in his support today.

Western Sahara: Summer is Over for Sahrawi Children

  14 September 2008

Traveling abroad to spend summer with a family in Spain, meeting movie stars like Javier Bardem, sharing special moments with volunteers who give them new school materials, summer is officially over for Sahrawi children, who are back in school, where they are learning valuable lessons about hope and a better tomorrow, writes Renata Avila.

Madagascar: Living abroad changes a man

  12 September 2008

In an article published in March, economists William Easterly and Yaw Nyarko noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, remittances (money sent by immigrants abroad back to their home countries) on average amounted to 81 percent of the foreign aid received by an individual country. The role of the diaspora in the...

Slovenia: Janez Janša and Magnus Berglund

  11 September 2008

Borut Peterlin thinks that Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund should be awarded “a Slovenian national medal of honor” for making public PM Janez Janša's graft allegations. There's even a Facebook group (with 662 members so far) devoted to Berglund and the story he broke.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Outcome of Hasan Nuhanović's Case

  11 September 2008

Café Turco writes about the outcome of Hasan Nuhanović's lawsuit against the Dutch state: “We are here upon a scandalous case of the spirit of justice being distorted. The victims cannot ask the UN for responsibilities, because the UN has immunity, but the dutch state cannot be considered responsible because...

Sympathy and Support for Qatari student killed in the UK

  10 September 2008

A 16-year-old Qatari student visiting Britain died as a result of head injuries sustained when he was attacked by local youth. Mohamed Al-Majed was in Hastings, East Sussex, attending an English language course. The circumstances of the death are still under investigation but the police “are treating his death as a murder inquiry, and are investigating it as racially motivated at this time.” Reactions out of Qatar have been strong.

North Cyprus: The Opera Comes to Town

  9 September 2008

“One thing that's definitely in short supply here in North Cyprus is opera, so I'm thrilled that no less than 21 opera stars are performing in Kyrenia on September 14th,” writes Kathy from North Cyprus Blogs. Opera singers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Northern Cyprus, Bashkor-tostan and Tatarstan will...

Cyprus: A New Water Solution

  6 September 2008

The Cyprus Blog posts a video of a humorous, yet innovative, way of solving the water shortage problem in Cyprus. Of course it does involve stealing the water from your neighbors’ water surplus tank and putting it into your own tank, but as long as no one has a video...

The Balkans: Florence Hartmann and the ICTY

  5 September 2008

Greater Surbiton writes about the case of Florence Hartmann, former spokeswoman for ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte, recently indicted “for allegedly disclosing classified information relating to the proceedings against Slobodan Milosevic.”

Bahrain: Traveller's tales

  5 September 2008

Bahraini blogger Cradle of Humanity, who studied in the UK, describes a recent visit to London, and the intensity of her feeling for Britain when there: ‘I’ve always been a victim of nostalgia, but did not quite expect it to be triggered by mere names in the street. … To...

Cote d'Ivoire: Toxic dumping case reaches court

  3 September 2008

L'actualite de Cote d'Ivoire writes that twelve people, including the head of Tommy, a local waste processing company, are set to appear before a court in Abidjan later this month; they are charged with “poisoning or conspiracy to poison” for illegally dumping 500 tons of toxic waste.  Tommy was under...

Parti Liberal du Tchad on illegal migration

  3 September 2008

Parti Liberal du Tchad calls for an “integral” solution to illegal migration from Africa to Europe and the establishment of a high commission to examine the problem.  “Without the flow of migrants, many European countries would not be where they are today.  So it is important to remember what these...

Sweden: A Newspaper Blog for Ramadan

  3 September 2008

The second largest Swedish daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, has launched a Ramadan blog, where three practising Muslim bloggers - a policeman, a student, and a lawyer - reflect on everyday life throughout the Holy Month. Subjects span the high and low in an attempt to portray what it means to be Muslim in Swedish society today.

Finnish voice on death of Ingushetian publisher

  2 September 2008

Istori posts a speech by and publishes a statement about the Ingushetian publisher Magomed Yevloev, who was killed by Russian police in the weekend. Together with Anna Politkovskaya, Yevloev – the publisher of closed-down news site ingushetiya.ru – was a frequent guest at the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum.