Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 January 31

31 January 2011

Daily archive · 10 posts

Stories from 31 January 2011

USA: “We Want Our Al Jazeera!”

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa, North America

In the wake of the Tunisian and Egyptian popular uprisings, Al Jazeera has received praise around the globe, yet remains unavailable through cable providers in the United States. Jillian C. York looks at reactions from Americans on Twitter and blogs, and finds that they want their Al Jazeera!

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Iran: “Our friend Mr. ElBaradei” in Egypt

Written by Fred Petrossian · Middle East & North Africa

Iranian bloggers from across the political spectrum continue to share their opinions on uprisings in the Arab world. One conservative Islamist blogger sees an opportunity for the Iranian regime if Mohamed ElBaradei were to come to power in Egypt.

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Egypt: Last ISP Goes Offline, Fears of Losing Mobile Networks

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa

Following a near-blackout of Internet service on January 27, it seems that the last remaining ISP--Noor Group, which has approximately 8% of market share--has now been cut off as well, leaving Egyptians without any form of Internet access.

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Iraq: A Salute to the People of Egypt

Written by Salam Adil · Middle East & North Africa

Salam Adil rounds up the Iraqi bloggers' take on the demonstrations in Egypt. Read it now before the world changes.

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Saudi Arabia: Netizens Support Egyptians in their Uprising

Written by Haifa Alrasheed · Middle East & North Africa

Saudi Arabia's netizens are lending their support to Egyptians in their uprising against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Many are watching, reporting on and reacting to the developments on the ground, as massive protests demanding a change in the regime enter their seventh day.

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Sudan: “Facebook Revolution” with the help of Twitter as a side kick

Written by Mahid (Sudanese Guardian) · Sub-Saharan Africa

Today we are witnessing a new trend in Sudan. Young Sudanese are growing up digital and are well aware of how the world is changing around them. Young people in Sudan are using social media tools to voice their opinions and challenge the regime. In this post, we are looking at how social media tools were used to help organise, document and report January 30 demonstrations.

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Venezuela: Cholera Cases on the Rise

Written by Patricia Acosta · Translated by Silvia Viñas · Latin America

During a wedding held in the Dominican Republic, a group of Venezuelans were diagnosed with symptoms of cholera after eating contaminated food. What were initially 13 cases has increased rapidly within a few days; the most recent reports speak of 135 people treated for cholera.

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Sudan: Tweeting #SudanJan30

Written by Ndesanjo Macha · Sub-Saharan Africa

Using the social networking site Facebook, Sudanese students called for a street demonstration on January 30 to protest against the government of Omar al-Bashir. The protests have claimed the life of Mohammed Abdulrahman, a student at the Ahaliya University. This is our latest roundup of #SudanJan30 tweets.

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Egypt: On Twitter, the Search for Wael Ghonim

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa

On Twitter, friends express concern for blogger and Google staffer Wael Ghonim, who's been missing since January 27 in midst of the demonstrations in Cairo.

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Israel: Social Media Offers Alternative Egypt Commentary

Written by Carmel L. Vaisman · Middle East & North Africa

On social media and blogs, Israelis express mixed feelings about Egypt: intuitive support of the demand for freedom alongside concerns. Carmel L. Vaisman reports.

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Updates from 31 January 2011

Russia

Blog-based address [RUS] to Russian leadership with demands to cancel educational reform has received more than 10 thousands voices of support [RUS] within two days. Bloggers protest against wide reform of the high school that would reduce number of compulsory subjects to 4 while leaving such disciplines like Russian language, mathematics, and history optional.

• Gregory Asmolov

Honduras

“The cables that Wikileaks have been releasing about Honduras, and that in the uproar over Tunisia and Egypt have been ignored by the mainstream media, make the level of US involvement in Honduran politics starkly clear. Very few people care at the moment,” writes Aaron Ortiz in his blog Pensive.

• Silvia Viñas

Russia

Irek Murtazin [RUS], blogger and former spokesperson of the Tatarstan's president, has been released today after spending more than 14 months in penal colony, “Novaya Gazeta” reported [RUS]. After published a gossip about the death of Mintimir Shaimiev, president of Tatarstan Republic, Murtazin had been accused of defamation and sentenced to 2 years of penal colony.

• Gregory Asmolov

Pakistan

Adil Najam writes about the very strange case of Raymond Davis, a said staff member of the US Consulate in Lahore, who shot two Pakistani men dead in a crowded part of Lahore.

• Rezwan

India

“So why exactly do we twitter?” asks Indian blogger Offstumped.

• Rezwan

Bangladesh

An Ordinary Citizen wonders whether there are any political reasons behind the indictments against Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus and asks: “does Dr. Yunus represent the 3rd force in Bangladesh?”

• Rezwan

Guatemala

Central American Politics reports that leaders from Guatemalan left-leaning parties have met with “representatives from the country's social organizations, unions, and peasant and environmental groups” to try to form a Broad Front for this year's legislative and presidential elections.

• Silvia Viñas

Egypt

Rich, in The Mex Files, compares the situation in Egypt with Mexico's past and present. He concludes asking, “what will happen if the Mexicans decide it is time for a giant leap in Mexican power, in which the people of the largest Spanish-speaking nation demand that they be allowed to fulfill their potential?”

• Silvia Viñas

Cote d'Ivoire

Mac-Jordan wonders why Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is included in Cote d'Ivoire's mediation?: “Instantly, I become very angry and annoyed at the decision of the African Union in appointing a dictator to mediate in the on-goings in Ivory Coast. Has the African Union become that much of a group of bad jokes? What do the AU understands by mediation? Maybe, they need some clarifications/explanations.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana

Kajsa discovers This is Africa website: It is a spanking fresh culture site that trumpets “Africa for a new generation!” and sports subheadlines like “city life”, “music” and “art&fashion”.

• Ndesanjo Macha