Stories about Western Europe from October, 2009
Egypt: No Accolades for Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
Egyptian bloggers and Twitter users welcomed US President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize with shock and surprise: How can the president of a country waging wars against far away countries win a peace prize? Tarek Amr has more in this round up of reactions from Egypt.
United Kingdom: Tracking government information on transparency websites
Holding government accountable in the UK is becoming easier thanks to the gradual opening of public data and several new fantastic online resources by citizens.
Egypt: Niqab Ban Stirs Controversy
Egypt's top leading Islamic leader, Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi told a 13-year-old student to uncover her face, saying it was not part of the religious obligations of Muslim women. A few days later, Egypt banned female undergraduates from wearing the niqab in the country's public universities. Bloggers join in the debate.
Costa Rica: Streaming Video Discussions on Citizen Journalism
Last night 300 users tuned in to the video streaming from the Spanish Cultural center, where three journalists with extensive experience with citizen media from Spain, Costa Rica and Cuba: Rosa Jiménez Cano, Cristian Cambronero and Lazaro Rodriguez spoke about the transformation of journalism as it adapts to the new...
Pakistan: UK Visa Bureaucracy
Deadpan Thoughts describes the humiliations and complications faced by Pakistanis to obtain an UK visa and opines that the government of Pakistan should “link the renewal of all British diplomat’s Pakistani visas with the same process (we) ordinary Pakistanis have to go through.”
Turkey: Lighting the Eiffel Tower
For the next five days the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in red and white in honor of the Season of Turkey in France. According to The Istanbulian “This nice gesture is a sign of historical friendship between two countries, emphasizing the fact that not all the French people...
Israel: Film Clip of Anne Frank Released
The Anne Frank House has released the only known film footage of Anne Frank, taken on June 22nd, 1941. This 20 second video, sourced from Israellycool, features Frank at 12 years old leaning out of a window at a neighbor's wedding.
Turks & Caicos: Reactions
Repeating Islands features commentary “of international reaction to the British takeover of Turks and Caicos following the corruption scandal surrounding former Premier Michael Misick.”
