Stories from 30 January 2011
Egypt: Sixth Day of Uprising Tweeted
The Egyptian protesters have been defying the night curfew on Sunday, as they continued demonstrating against the 30 year-old rule of Muhammed Hosni Mubarak. In a dramatic day that saw the closure by the Egyptian government of the Al Jazeera TV network's bureau in Cairo, the rapidly changing situation on the ground was largely relayed by social media networks on the Internet, especially on Twitter.
Palestine: Netizens React to First Batch of Palestine Papers
On the 23rd of January, 2011, Al Jazeera released the Palestine Papers. Shaden Abdulrahman rounds up reactions from Palestinian and pro-Palestine blogs to the first batch of 1600 documents.
Egypt: “We are No Longer Afraid”
It's past midnight in Cairo, Egypt, where anti-Mubarak demonstrations continued for the sixth day. As the protests grow stronger, so does the will of the people to oust president Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years.
Saudi Arabia: Jeddah's Youth Come to the Rescue in Floods
Following Jeddah's flood at the end of January, the young generation of Saudis used social media websites to help with relief operations by providing aid, shelter, food or transportation to those who got affected by the rain.
Venezuela: Explosions Rocked the Maracay Night
Early Sunday morning the city of Maracay was rocked with explosions from 5 government ammunition warehouses which caught fire. Some are calling it gross negligence while others suggest it might not have been accidental at all.
Qatar: Thousands of ticket-holders turned away from Asian Cup final
Qatar hits a snag with Asian Cup final, as thousands of ticket-holders are banned at the gate for security reasons. Irate, disappointed and heartbroken fans fill the Internet with their stories. Shabina Khatri reports on some of them.
Egypt: El Baradei – Protesters’ Friend or Foe?
Egyptian opposition figure Dr Mohamed El Baradei paid a short visit to thousands of anti-Mubarak protesters, camped at Tahrir Square in Cairo, a few minutes ago. Reactions from Twitter follow.
Egypt: Military Jets Fly Over Protestors as US Policy Questioned
As thousands of protesters continued to chant anti-Mubark slogans in Tahrir Square, Cairo, with military jets flying overhead, criticisms started pouring on over the lack of a definitive stance for the US administration with regards to Egypt. Here's a snapshot from the conversation on Twitter.
Egypt: Solidarity Pours in from Around the World (Videos)
On Saturday, in different cities around the world, people demonstrated in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters. This is a round up of some of the videos of the marches posted online.
Brazil: Exclusive Internet Interview with the Founder of WikiLeaks
Brazilian netizens were invited to participate in an exclusive and collective interview with Julian Assange, founder and editor of the polemical WikiLeaks. Assange explains why he works with mainstream media – though he never fails to criticize it.
Egypt: Trouble for Mubarak as Protests Continue
Mass protests are continuing for the sixth day in a row. Despite attempts at a total news blackout, against both citizen and mainstream media, news from Egypt continues to dominate the scene about demonstrations across the county, from Cairo and Alexandria. More trouble is also in store for Mubarak as journalists from government-backed papers change sides.
Egypt: Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Shut
Egypt just shut down Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau, drawing outrage online. This comes after it switched off the Internet, in a bid to stop the world from seeing its people's revolution, where demonstrations against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule continue for the sixth day in a row.
Liberia: Improving Liberian Education
Jenny discusses the works of Concern Liberia, which involve constructing classrooms, separate toilets for boys and girls, providing furniture, textbooks and other essential learning items like blackboards, pencils and copybooks.
Malawi: Meet Malawi's studio wizard
Gregory Gondwe writes about Malawi's studio wizard: “Tapiwa Bandawe is a producer who can lionise a musician none of us have ever heard of and how he does this is...
Sudan: People's Revolution in the Making?
Following mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt, a group Sudanese activists have chosen January 30, 2011 to be the beginning of peaceful demonstrations to bring down Omar al-Bashir and his government. Here is a roundup of latest tweets using the hashtag #SudanJan30.
Maldives: In Solidarity with Egypt
The ongoing protests in Egypt have ‘electrified’ netziens in the Maldives. These uprisings have a special significance to the Maldivians as it brings back flashbacks of pro-democracy protests held only a few years ago to bring democracy to the Indian Ocean island nation.
Taiwan: Animal protection “cockroaches” on Facebook
Boogier warns facebook users to think twice before clicking “like” or “share” button on those pitiful stories and photos of stray dogs and poor dog carers. He criticizes this kind of tactics used...
Egypt: The World is Watching
As Egyptian demonstrators take to the streets for the sixth day in a row, netizens continue to pull all the stops to keep the world informed of what is happening on the ground. Here's a snapshot of reactions from Twitter this morning, compiled by Jordanian Nadine Toukan.
Saudi Arabia: Jeddah Rain .. Again
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah has been lashed with rain again, bringing back the ill-fated #Jeddahrain hashtag to our Twitterfeeds. Following are reactions from netizens, who poured their wrath on corruption and Jeddah's deteriorating infrastructure.
Philippines: SIM cards – to register or not to register?
The mandatory cell phone SIM card registration proposal continues to generate an intense online debate in the Philippines as bloggers share their views whether the measure will be an effective anti-terror tool. Here are more voices from the Philippine blogosphere.
Maldives to Egypt: Can a Revolution be Censored?
When the Egyptian government decided to go for a total Internet shutdown of the country to curb the growing anti-government protests, people in the Maldives were reminded of 13 August, 2004, when the government of Maldives blocked Internet in the country following a massive pro-democracy demonstration.
