19 March 2011

Stories from 19 March 2011

Libya: Gaddafi Threatens as Coalition Starts Air Strikes

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi spoke for three minutes on the phone, in a call which was just broadcast by Libyan State Television, threatening countries around the Mediterranean Basin, and calling for help from Africans and South Americans. His speech comes as a coalition made up of the US and France, among others, have started air strikes against his forces.

19 March 2011

Libya: Air Strikes on Libya Begin

Air strikes on Libya, aimed at crippling Muammar Gaddafi's air defenses, just started, receiving mixed reactions from people around the world. A coalition made up of the US, France, Italy, Canada and the US have been formed for the offensive to uproot Gaddafi, whose people have called for his ousting since popular uprisings started in the country on February 16.

19 March 2011

Pakistan: Citizens In Action After Minority Minister's Assassination

On the 2nd of March, an unknown gunmen shot and killed Pakistan's Federal Minister For Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti. He was assassinated for their stance on the blasphemy law. A letter writing campaign initiated by a blogger to protest this received responses from over 15,000 people from different walks of life.

19 March 2011

Lebanon: Online Book Club

The Cube is a blog of a group of Lebanese who have one thing in common, their passion for reading and books. On their blog, they share their impressions of the books they are...

19 March 2011

Bulgaria: Offering Shelter to Japanese Earthquake Victims

The earthquake in Japan has become a tragedy for the entire world. This is evident from the willingness of people from different countries and continents to help the victims of the quake, which took the lives of thousands of people. Ruslan Trad reports on the Bulgarian online initiative.

19 March 2011

Armenia: Opposition rallies again

Ianyan presents its readers with a curated comments on last week's protest demonstration held by the extra-parliamentary opposition in Yerevan, Armenia. Unzipped also comments on the rally attended by 12-15,000...

19 March 2011

Libya: Mourning Mohammed Nabbous

Mohammed Nabbous, founder of Libya's AlHurra TV, died while reporting from a firefight in Benghazi. Known as "Mo" to his many fans, he brought the brutal repression of Muammar Al Gaddafi's forces home to viewers and journalists from the Middle East and around the world. He leaves behind a wife and an unborn child.

19 March 2011

Japan: “The Light and Darkness of Social Media”

It's human nature for rumors to run rampant in a high pressure situation, and social meda tools can be a double-edged sword in expediting this situation. Yasuhisa Hasegawa gives an analysis in his blog post "The Light and Darkness of Social Media", drawing parallels between social media usage and consumption of mass media.

19 March 2011

Hungary: Waiting for the Hungarian Guard

The conflict between the Roma and the Hungarian community of Gyöngyöspata, a village north of Budapest, escalated drastically when paramilitary organizations appeared in the settlement some two weeks ago, after the far-right Hungarian political party's rally. Marietta Le reports on the online response to the situation.

19 March 2011