WAR IN SRI LANKA

In Sri Lanka, 17 civilians fleeing combat zones were killed in an attack by Tamil separatists. The web is expressing concern for a people, caught in the middle of a war between government forces and separatists.

As shown by these photos published by a Sri Lankan blogger, the inhabitants of the combat areas, located in the north of the county, are the first victims of this conflict, which has been raging for the last 26 years.
http://chitrangi.wordpress.com/

The authorities are attempting to evacuate people from rebel hide-out areas. And according to the army’s web site, where we see photos of civilians reaching safe areas, over 35,000 people have supposedly been rescued over the last few days.
http://defence.lk/

The Tamil Diaspora is campaigning for a cease-fire. Initiatives, such as these protests in London and hunger strikes, are increasing in number and are widely broadcast on-line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjVaeHRJNFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_4UTZjOSEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFaps2uWTvg

YEAR OF FRANCE IN BRAZIL

The launch of the year of France in Brazil. France will be honoured in 2009. The aim is to strengthen exchanges between the two nations. The web is mobilised.

On the official event site, you will find an interactive map of Brazil giving information on the different events to be held. Over 700 projects have been selected.
http://anodafrancanobrasil.cultura.gov.br/

Emphasis will be placed on cultural exchange. In this video, appearing on Youtube the Brazilian singer, Lenine explains that he composed the anthem of the year of France in Brazil with French singer, Arthur H.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adO7DVaJB0

And members of the French Government are expressing their views. The Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Anne Marie Idrac, insists in this video blog on the importance of consolidating economic collaboration between the two countries.
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ann%C3%A9e+france+br%C3%A9sil/video/x8jha6_2009-annee-de-la-france-au-bresil_news

Finally, a web site dedicated to four centuries of relations between France and Brazil will be on-line as of September. Hundreds of documents from the 2 nation’s national libraries will be made available to net users.

TWITTER BATTLE

Ashton Kutcher versus CNN. The highly publicised battle, pitting the American actor against the news channel on the micro blogging site, Twitter has ended with victory for the actor. He attracted one million followers a few minutes before CNN. The actor celebrated his victory alongside his wife, Demi Moore via webcam and will now hand a 100,000 dollar cheque to a malaria charity.
http://twitter.com/cnnbrk?CNN=yes
http://twitter.com/aplusk
http://www.malarianomore.org/

MOVIES ON YOUTUBE

Youtube is now offering films and series to net users on the ‘Shows’ channel. The Google subsidiary has announced having signed agreements with 12 partners including Sony, to broadcast their content on-line. A first. The pay-per-use service is for the moment only available to US net users.
http://www.youtube.com/movies
http://www.youtube.com/shows