cafebabel.com

Almost 50 journalists behind bars: 'all young Iranians are potential journalists'

('Jude Lister',) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0000

On 11 February 2010, both opponents and supporters of Ahmadinejad were in the streets to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. We speak to the Iranian lawyer and 2003 nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

The world in an Eau de Cologne bottle

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0000

It’s no lucky mistake; Eau de Cologne, or Cologne, world renowned for centuries, has benefitted from the ideal geographical location of the city that has given the perfume its name. At the heart of Europe, Cologne is putting the finishing touches to its strategy to form international links

Notes: mid-twenties crisis of a journalist going round the world

('Lydia Bigos',) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:22:18 -0000

The day that I turned 25, I decided to just leave everything - work, my family, the flat I rented with some friends. I bought a round the world ticket and embarked on a year-long journey. Summary of a blog recognised by as 'the best non-English language blog' at the 'Lonely Planet travel bloggers’ awards

EU reactions: Russian human rights activist murdered

('euro topics',) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:37:47 -0000

On 15 July Natalya Estemirova, 50, was kidnapped and murdered by unknown assailants in the Chechen capital Grozny. The mother-of-one worked for the human rights organisation Memorial and was a close friend of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, also murdered in 2006. Pressbites from Poland, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and Spain

Vjollca Dibra on being a young poetess in pre-war Kosovo

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:38:08 -0000

The thirtysomething works at OSCE logistics in Pristina when I meet her in late 2007, four months before Kosovo declares independence from Serbia. Who you might brand your average blonde, bespectacled working mother-of-two is also one of Kosovo's youngest recognised female poets

Iran's colourful presidentials: Facebook, fights and first wives

('Metsa Rahimi',) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:00:37 -0000

A week earlier, the EU campaigned to mobilise voters for the European parliamentary elections. Opposition candidates know that a similar effort may be their only chance of beating the incumbent in the Iranian presidentials. Iran's campaign officially rounds up as former PM, military chief and mullah go up against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 12 June. Overview

Drug trade: Chefchaouen, Morocco is Spain's Amsterdam

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:45:00 -0000

'Le Rif – paradis du Kif” (The Rif – paradise for Kif). The rhyme has become the tourist slogan for Chefchaouen, a mountainous village in North Morocco well renowned for its blue medina quarter and it’s cannabis plantations. These plantations are the point of origin for tonnes of the drug that are headed for Europe

Air France or Airbus? Brazilian vs French media on air disaster

('rhiannon_nicolson',) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:47:45 -0000

On 1 June I took a flight from São Paulo to Paris, parallel to the one that disappeared from Rio de Janeiro. Hours later, whilst flicking between the Brazilian and French media, I got the impression that another disappearance was occurring, but this time, with words. A communications strategy or mere coincidence?

India, the world’s largest democracy? Voted!

('Julia Karlysheva',) — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:23:46 -0000

By direct suffrage, India has just elected its representatives at the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. 714 millions of voters went to the polls between 16 April and 16 May to designate 543 deputies. The new government is announced on 2 June. Latest world news

34 swine flu cases in UK: is Europe prepared?

('Kate Robinson',) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:29:06 -0000

The highly contagious respiratory disease has infected hundreds of people and led to 29 deaths in Mexico alone. Cases have also been confirmed in a number of European countries, including France, Germany and Spain. Is Europe properly prepared to face a pandemic?

Subculture: sexes, hairdos and jeans in Iran

('Andrew Christie',) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0000

1 April is Islamic Republic Day, a national holiday in Iran. Thirty years after the Islamic revolution, an unpopular government is once again struggling with a dissatisfied young population. However, the Iranian resistance against its own regime has no strategy behind it, only tactics. A portrait of the mood in the land of the red squares

Hear the one about the six men on a Mars500 space shuttle in Moscow?

('Hayley Worsley-Carter',) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:36:42 -0000

They'll be closed off from the world for 105 days - but it's all in the name of research. The Mars500 experiment simulates the journey to the Red Planet and focuses on the effects of isolation

Greenland: Europe’s arctic window closes up

('laurenthompson',) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:00:00 -0000

On 21 June, Greenland will become yet more independent with regard to Denmark. A new system voted via a referendum will give inhabitants the right to their own energy resources, concerning about thirty domains

The Bronx, another European overseas department

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:56:23 -0000

Well, almost. As the fountain on the north lawn of the White House ran green in celebration of St Patrick's Day on 17 March, we take a look at how newcomers from Europe have breathed new life into old ethnic neighbourhoods in New York’s five boroughs, long a destination for immigrations. With the EU at 27 and Brussels far across the ocean, is Europe but an abstract notion?

No European asylum support office until 2010

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:15:00 -0000

As MEPs, the UN high commissioner for refugees and a number of NGOs voice concerns over the failings of the Dublin II regulation, the European commission has decided to establish an office to improve the processing of asylum applications. The Roure report on asylum seeking in the EU highlights particular points of concern

Baby soldiers and peacekeeping in Kosovo: why choose the army?

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:31:53 -0000

Tomi, a lively and remarkably blond 24-year-old Finn, speaks candidly about the six months he spent in Kosovo as a volunteer in the NATO-UN peacekeeping campaign. Along with 105 other young compatriots, among them four girls, he was deployed to the Balkans to serve for the UN

Global crisis boosts the world social forum in Belem

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:45:00 -0000

Tired but hopeful. From 27 January to 1 February 2009, a hundred thousand participants joined the WSF in Brazil to share information and ideas. The void left by the financial crisis is a chance for civil society to make its alternative ideas count. Report

Aviv Geffen: 'Israel is a paranoid country'

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0000

Hopeful sounds from Israel: the 35 year old pop singer was one of the first conscientious objectors in Israel. Today, he sings about peace in the Middle East and wants to lend a voice to a 'new generation' with his songs

Kosovo declared independence one year ago. Is the region really destabilised?

('Mira Galanova',) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:39:48 -0000

As the authority of the world’s newest country moved to the EU, Belgrade asks the international community for a role in shaping Kosovo's future. But there are signs that the government would like to put the issue aside

Vito Kolelishvili: rugby player on 'unpaid managers and sportsmen' in Georgia

('Nino Gogua',) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:42:15 -0000

In 2004, Vito Kolelishvili became a professional rugby player with Lelos, the national rugby union team. At 19, he is one of the few rugby players nominated ‘best player of 2008’, shortly after the Georgian national tournament ended. Interview

The EU: new home for Guantanamo's innocents?

('Lindsey Evans',) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:13:36 -0000

The European Union may soon be welcoming the 62 Guantanamo detainees found innocent in the US. Latest titbit of news from Brussels

Biofuels: how green is the green gold rush in Senegal?

('Helen Swain',) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Europe’s Sustainable Energy Week takes place in Brussels from 9 to 13 February, with biofuel at the centre of the debates. Is it possible for Europe to go green without causing famine in western Africa? Feature

Brazil vs. Italy and ex-terrorist Battisti: will politics meet football in London?

('Gemma Smith',) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:30:00 -0000

From the front pages to the football pitch. After the controversy surrounding the Italian former terrorist Cesare Battisti, previously a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, a political refugee in Brazil, the two countries involved now face each other on the pitch. Two journalists from either side of the Atlantic answer our questions

Turin in the Israel-Palestine crossfire

('Andrea Giambartolomei',) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:30:47 -0000

During the military campaign against Hamas on the Gaza Strip, a wave of Muslim immigrants across Europe, stretching from London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels as well as Milan and Rome – protested against Israel’s actions, supporting their Palestinian ‘brothers’. Perspective of the communities in Turin, a twin city of Gaza and Haifa

Middle East conflict: the EU has to be more proactive

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:55:27 -0000

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, visits the members of the European parliament in Strasbourg to discuss the EU’s role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Interview with French MEP Catherine Boursier-Mougenot

Israeli sculptress Nathalie Alony: ‘Palestinians in Gaza should be given something to lose’

('Helen Swain',) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:15:00 -0000

The Italy-based artist says her viewpoint on the Middle East is fairly ‘balanced’, but Europeans do not realise what it is like for ‘Israel to be attacked in its sleep and continually threatened with annihilation’

Got a solution for a powerful Europe?

('Lindsey Evans',) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:55:06 -0000

Voter abstention, traditionally high in European elections, reveals more about the lack of politicised debate about Europe than it does about any real apathy among its people, who seem – in fact – to be looking for a meaning in this project

Martha Roque: ‘The European Union treats Cuban opposition like dirt’

('Lydia Bigos',) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:17:20 -0000

The tiny Caribbean island has again become the centre of attention throughout the world after the US detention facility Guantanamo Bay was closed on 21 January. President Raul Castro is due in Russia on 28 January. Interview with the economist and dissident

Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova: ‘Russian murders shocking, but hardly a surprise’

('Iryna V',) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:44:50 -0000

As we mourn our lost Russian colleagues, Belarusians do not forget our own Baburovas, Politkovskayas and Klebnikovs. We remember why they perished. Expresso

Spaniard in Washington DC: Obama remakes America

('eugenie stephenson',) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:30:19 -0000

In America, the word ‘remake’ has two meanings - the simple act of rebuilding or redoing something, but also the creation of a new version of an old film. The storyline doesn’t change, but the characters are different. On 20 January at the Capitol, president Barack Obama wrote the perfect script for a new country. Testimony

Eyewitness Israel: Gaza, war and the wall of incomprehension between Europe

('Helen Swain',) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:00:02 -0000

From Jerusalem to Sderot, Israelis are lamenting the pro-Palestinian stance of European public opinion, as well as serious anti-Semitic acts. They have warned that dialogue with Hamas is impossible

Obama election images: once upon a campaign in Atlanta

('fabien campoverde',) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:17:42 -0000

From Georgia to Paris: one of three official photographers at the democrat rally on 4 November 2008, shares his last moments of election history. Barack Obama is inaugurated president of the US on 20 January

Climate change, health, economy: three European tips for Obama

('Steven Hill',) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:18:09 -0000

The inauguration of the 44th president of the US on 20 January is starting to look like the most spectacularly dramatic debut since the Beatles arrived in New York. But soon the buildup and the hype will be over, and it will be time for Team Obama to produce

Post-Bush syndrome in Europe

('Dave Keating',) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:11:26 -0000

Europe watches with baited breath as Barack Obama is inaugurated the 44th president of the United States on 20 January. After eight years of deterioration in the transatlantic alliance, has Europe’s confidence in the US been irreparably shaken?

US warms up to the global climate change consensus

('Gaia Pianigiani',) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:00:26 -0000

As Barack Obama inaugurates his mandate on 20 January, environmental scientists prepare their guidelines for a greener approach to energy production and usage. Is America ready to make the same changes? The word from Union Square farmers market and climatologist Dr. Stephen H. Schneider

Bush's 'very dangerous' Iran one of Obama's 'biggest challenges'

('Kourosh Ziabari',) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:32:36 -0000

Bush and Obama's comments came ahead of Iran's official 'wait and see' statement on 15 January. Cynics boast that the president-elect has not enough authority to fulfill his promise of unconditional talks because of the traditional pattern of politics in US. As 'day one' approaches on 20 January, a young Iranian blogger paints the wider Iran-US picture

Bosnia and Herzegovina: no gas makes for cold homes in Sarajevo

('Andrew Christie',) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:48:42 -0000

The countries of the former Yugoslavia are being hit especially hard by the dispute over gas between Russia and Ukraine. Above all, residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are having to wrap up warm: both countries are running short of gas supplies. Many homes in Sarajevo are still cold; electric heaters have sold out

Dalai Lama visits European parliament

('Helen Swain',) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:09:02 -0000

'China lacks the moral authority to be a true superpower.' Following representatives from other religions - Christian, Muslim and Jewish - the Tibetan spiritual leader visited the European parliament on 4 December

Dear Obama administration: Europe’s top five on the Christmas list

('Dave Keating',) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:36:12 -0000

After elections on 4 November, perhaps never before have so many expected so much of one man. But remember: Barack Obama is US president first, and world leader second. Focus on the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Russia

British MEP amongst others escapes Mumbai attacks

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:26:10 -0000

Jaume Duch, European parliament spokesman, says MEPs were surprised by the 26 November attacks in Bombay, but were ‘physically well’ and waiting in the French embassy to come home

Got a police investigation? Feel free to use EU passenger data

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:00:00 -0000

On 20 November, the European parliament passed a resolution allowing the 27 EU countries to access the ‘Passenger Name Record’ (PNR) register for police means

EU-Bosnia: the Muslim, Serb and Croat joint responsibility

('Mira Galanova',) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:56:05 -0000

The UN announced an extension of the EUFOR peacekeeping mission for another year on 20 November. EU foreign ministers confirmed that the EU would play a bigger role in Bosnia ten days before

Press review: EU-Russia summit in Nice, friends again?

('euro topics',) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:55:23 -0000

In a 14 November meeting in the southern French city, the EU wants to resume negotiations for a partnership agreement with Russia. Talks had been temporarily broken off after the August conflict in Georgia

Europe blogs Barack Obama’s presidency

('Darren Thompson',) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:00:00 -0000

Everything is possible. From waking up to utopia, European bloggers are discussing a black man in charge in the world’s most powerful nation. On 20 January, Barack Obama became president of the USA. But what will happen to him tomorrow?

US election reactions: ‘sleeping a little better’ after the Obama win

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:23:59 -0000

From London to New York on 4 November, a selection of correspondents trace the historic night when Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States

Barack Obama inspires art and fashion in Paris and Barcelona

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:59:45 -0000

Whether it's his face in gravel viewed from the air, or his face in sequins viewed from the catwalk, Cuban artist Jorge Rodríguez Gerada and French Moroccan designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac are inspired by the democratic presidential candidate. Cross-portraits

Europeans can expect a John McCain victory

('Susannah Readett-Bayley',) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:15:33 -0000

Don’t draw parallels between the republican candidate’s political ideals and those of his predecessor George Bush, perceived as largely negative by most

Videos: bye Bush, bye to an eight-year tragicomedy

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0000

In the end, the outgoing US chief wasn’t only at war with Iraq, but over climate change, the financial crisis and the English language. A look back at his biggest bloopers. The next president is announced on 4 November

‘W’ by Oliver Stone: what about Europe's improbable leaders?

('Helen Swain',) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:51:55 -0000

An unashamed America goes on the big screen to ruminate on its history. But in Europe, directors are too dependent on public subventions to dare make biopics about public figures during their lifetimes

Press review: why is Barack Obama so popular in Europe?

('euro topics',) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:15:07 -0000

Are we overly optimistic that the democratic candidate would improve the trans-Atlantic relationship, should he become US president in elections on 4 November?