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Western Europe

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Latest stories about Western Europe

12 May 2012

Spain: Many Reasons to Take to the Streets on 12M

Written by Lali Sandiumenge · Translated by Kathryn Morgan · Spain

On 15 May in Spain the first anniversary of the 15M will be commemorated. The events begin on 12 May (12M) in cities and neighborhoods. Spanish netizens have been anticipating the commemoration for days. The hashtags #YoVoy12M (I'm Going 12M) and #ALaPlaza (To The Square) have been TTs in Spain and throughout the world.

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11 May 2012

Robert F. Kennedy Award Will Recognize Social Media Journalism

Written by Bernardo Parrella · Italy

One of the foremost international human rights organizations, the Robert F. Kennedy Center, is calling for nominations to a new Journalism Award on International Photography and International Social Media hosted by their European office in Florence, Italy.

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10 May 2012

Europe: Economic Crisis Fuels Rise in Anti-Immigration Politics

Written by Lova · Translated by Ariane Defreine · Greece, France

The French presidential election may be over, but the fact that outgoing president Nicolas Sarkozy chose immigration as the core theme of his campaign is still the subject of much debate on the Web. Many netizens have wondered whether his choice to flirt with the far-right wing of his party helped temper his defeat or whether, on the contrary, it was one of the reasons his electorate deserted him.

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Spain: #NoMoreEuros for Bankia

Written by Lali Sandiumenge · Translated by Greg Ahlswede · Spain

The web in Spain has been seething since it was reported that the government is preparing a plan to inject public money into Bankia, the fourth largest bank in the country and the most exposed to the real estate market. Since the crisis started in 2008, the government has supported Bankia with more than 33 billion euros. The current bail-out plan could be as much as 10 billion.

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9 May 2012

Spain: Historic Battle of Almansa Remembered in Valencia

Written by Violeta Camarasa · Translated by udell.db · Spain

Valencian netizens enthusiastically used the internet to take part in an annual remembrance of April 25, 1707: the day that Valencia lost its political autonomy to the Kingdom of Spain.

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7 May 2012

Switzerland: An Initiative to Establish Basic Income for All

Written by Stanislas Jourdan · Translated by Vivienne Griffiths · France, Switzerland

An initiative to establish a new federal law that would give a basic monthly income to all citizens, regardless of employment status was formally introduced in Switzerland in April. Stanislas Jourdan looks into the details of the initiative.

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Spain: Barcelona Sieged During European Central Bank Meeting

Written by Chris Moya · Translated by Claudia Parra · Spain

On May 2, 3, and 4 the European Central Bank meeting took place in Barcelona, Spain, a city that became sieged by the police. For this meeting, Spain temporarily suspended the Treaty of Schengen on the border with France.

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Global Voices Partners with International Relations and Security Network (ISN)

Written by Solana Larsen · Switzerland

Global Voices and the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) in Switzerland have launched a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.

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6 May 2012

France: Reactions to Presidential Election Results in Photos

Written by Lova · Translated by Negarra Akili Kudumu · France

The 2012 French presidential election delivered its verdict on May 6, 2012. Francois Hollande collected 51.90% of the votes against 48.10% for incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy. Both happiness and sorrow is on display in online photos.

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5 May 2012

Best of the Blogs 2012: Winners Announced

Written by Leila Nachawati Rego · Germany

After a month of voting and jury discussions, the awards for this year's Best of the Blogs - the BOBs - have been decided. In addition to winners decided by user vote, a jury of bloggers, media experts and activists have curated the best blogs, campaigns and media projects in six multilingual categories.

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Updates about Western Europe

6 May 2012

Elections

Facebook group ‘Leme OCHI sti Chrysi Avgi‘ (We say NO to Golden Dawn) [el] already has more than 11,000 likes. Created on December 2011, the anti-fascist group declares that “Fascism is gangrene, either you rip it off or it kills you”. Group members try to persuade people not to vote for Greek neo-Nazi party Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) in forthcoming May 6, 2012, General Greek elections. Sofia Ignatidou in a Guardian article states that “Greeks shouldn't let their despair drive them to supporting the dangerous and opportunistic far-right party”.

• Veroniki Krikoni

5 May 2012

Elections

Before the May 6, 2012, General Election in Greece, Friday 4 was the last day political parties could organize public speeches and rallies. Heavy criticism was levelled at PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos's choice to give a public speech at Syntagma Square in Athens, center of anti-government and anti-austerity mass citizen protests so far. Netizens on Twitter mocked [el, en] the political party for its “audacity to hold a public speech” and the low audience turnout, criticizing also the presence of Pakistani immigrants, reportedly paid or forced to swing green flags in favor of PASOK.

• Veroniki Krikoni

Elections

Under hashtags like #grelections, #electionsgr and #ekloges12, Greek netizens share their opinions, feelings and related media about the forthcoming general elections in Greece on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

• Veroniki Krikoni

Elections

A video by user BrutalTruthOps on Dailymotion shows reportedly a message by Anonymous #OpGreece, who warn about an online attack on Sunday evening May 6, 2012, implying that their target will be the country's election results system.

• Veroniki Krikoni

1 May 2012

Breaking News

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Sunday April 29 [es] that French journalist Roméo Langlois was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) during clashes [es] on April 28 with the counter-narcotics battalion. The journalist was accompanying the military to make a documentary. Neither the government nor the Colombian rebel group have confirmed the kidnapping, which has generated solidarity, bewilderment and criticism on Twitter [es] due to the ambiguity in the information.

• Lully

30 April 2012

Arts & Culture

Google paid tribute to the 77th birthday of the late Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer Theodoros Angelopoulos by releasing a doodle on April 27, 2012, depicting him behind a camera. Angelopoulos died in January, when he was hit by a motorcycle at Drapetsona (Port Piraeus, Greece) during the shooting of his latest movie ‘The Other Sea'.

• Veroniki Krikoni

28 April 2012

Arts & Culture

Saint George's Day (Diada de Sant Jordi in Catalan) is a unique celebration in Catalonia. Tradition holds that the festival revolves around roses and books. April 23rd has always been a day of protest in the name of Catalan language and culture. This year will see more protest than ever because people will also be organizing against government cutbacks that affect education and Catalan culture.

• Mireia Bel Garrit

25 April 2012

Breaking News

French group Rhodia and German company Tantalus announced the signing of a Letter of Intent to exploit a 300 km-long region filled with rare deposits [fr] in the Ampasindava peninsula in the North-West of Madagascar. The group expects to produce 15,000 tons a year within the next 18 months, a total value estimated at 2 billion euros [fr]. Madagascar is still marred in a political crisis that was triggered by a land grab scandal. Meanwhile, the head of the transitional government Rajoelina has seemingly kicked off his presidential campaign [fr] [photos] after announcing two years ago that he would not run [fr] for president.

• Lova Rakotomalala

24 April 2012

Freedom of Speech

Though peaceful protests are scheduled for April 25 throughout Portugal (a national holiday that marks the end of dictatorship in 1974), mainstream media reported [pt] that “police prepares zero tolerance”. For Miguel Cardima from the blog Arrastão, the news intends [pt] to “insufflate fear” and to “justify violence in anticipation”. In Porto, citizens have organized Meditation for Change and a Clown Brigade.

• Sara Moreira

23 April 2012

Freedom of Speech

Youtube user MinisterioDaVerdade published a video of a large parade on Saturday by Guinea-Bissaun residents of Lisbon, and their Portuguese families and friends, protesting the military coup which took place April 12. Marchers occupied the streets of Lisbon's Baixa neighborhood. Signs read “We have a consensus: No to dictatorship” and simply “peace.”

• Janet Gunter

Comments on "Western Europe"

Isn't this just a tactic to keep CH's economy rolling while the Eurozone crashes? It's like what happened in Australia last...
Right now it's the bankers who cream off this slice of the wealth of the country, and they should really...
Yep, you got it. Except that maybe those who are doing this kind of jobs won't necessarily leave if their employers...