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Latest update: 17/11/2009
- Algeria - Egypt - football - Internet
The Egypt vs Algeria match continues online
The clashes following the football match between Egypt and Algeria have shaken the web. The theory predicting the end of the world in 2012 fascinates bloggers.
Football: Egypt vs Algeria
Clashes occurred on Saturday following the 2-nil win by Egypt over Algeria, a football match which took place in a very hostile atmosphere. And with a new encounter planned for Wednesday in Sudan to decide between the two teams, their fans continue to feud online.
The two nations are battling for a place in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And in the run up to Saturday’s stand off, tension had quickly risen on the social networks, where http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=95945996504&ref=search&sid=680367895.1002808590..1 " target="_blank">provocations erupted between Algerian and Egyptian net users.
Virtual clashes which came mainly in video format. Here the film Braveheart has been altered so that Mel Gibson, dubbed in Arabic, expresses his support for the Algerian team.
In reply, an Egyptian net user composed this song to encourage his national side.
It was then on the hacking pitch that fans from both sides did battle. Sites such as ‘echoroukonline’, the official sponsor of the national Algerian team and the portal of the Egyptian Information Ministry were targeted by hackers.
Accusing each other of corruption, some, such as this Algerian video blogger, went as far as launching an online petition to call on FIFA to appoint an impartial European referee for the match.
Finally the Algerian-Egyptian artist, Ahmed Mekky used music to urge the two sides to put an end to this fratricidal war.
2012: end of the world?
The world will not end in 2012. NASA took the initiative of replying to the apocalyptic theories on its website, point par point. Theories which have been triggering upheaval for several months, particularly online.
On Youtube, videos supporting the prophecies are circulating. The root cause being a far-fetched idea that on December 21, 2012, a collision will take place between the Earth and planet Nibiru also known as "planet X". Furthermore, the Maya calendar is thought to have ended at the winter 2012 solstice, a date on which a series of natural catastrophes is supposed to cause the end of the world as we know it.
Dozens of sites, attempting to gather scientific evidence and offer survival information also appeared in recent months. The supposedly official, December 21, 2010 site even offers wind up radios and first aid kits online. A kit for four costs no less than 185 dollars.
And for some, this US study from the National Atmospheric Research Centre available online and predicting intensification in the sun’s activity in 2012 is the irrefutable proof of the future cosmic disruption.
On Facebook, dozens of groups asking the question, ‘what should we do before 2010?’ have been created.
Caught out by the rapid spread of these rumours, NASA, accused of misinformation, chose to publish a declaration on its site to end the debate. In this video, posted on the site, David Morrison, a scientist with the US agency, answers in images.































