Ongoing protests in Syria

Ongoing protests in Syria

The Facebook group at the centre of the anti-government demonstrations in Syria has adopted the slogan « One heart, one hand, one goal », and is calling for fresh protests.

Despite the announcement that Syria’s state of emergency was to be lifted, unrest continues across the country, and the movement even appears to be strengthening by the day. Although protesters were initially demanding reforms, most of them are now calling for an end to the regime, and are even attacking government symbols, like pictures of President Bashar al-Assad.

Ammar Abdulhamid is an activist in exile in the United States, and thinks the movement should now spread to the country’s largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, on a permanent basis. As we can see in this amateur footage, students took part in protests on the Aleppo University campus on Wednesday, demanding more freedoms.

The rebellion is intensifying as cyber activists denounce the violent repression. In this online video, a resident of Bayda relates the 12th of April attack on his village, which is located near to Baniyas, in the north of the country. During the raid, security forces reportedly looted houses and shops and arrested hundreds of people.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported on its web site that the detainees have since been released, and Amjad Abbas, the head of the local police, has been dismissed. According to the NGO, we can see the highly placed security officer in this video which shows the mass arrests in the village of Bayda.

Royal wedding 2.0

Kate Middleton and Prince William are to marry on the 29th of April, the big day is fast approaching and wedding fever has gripped the web. There are numerous ways for web users to experience the Royal Wedding as if they were actually there.

The British Monarchy’s official YouTube channel has announced the wedding will be broadcast live on the web, so that all those who were not lucky enough to be invited will still be able to experience this unique moment.

The Royal Family has also set up a Twitter thread: « #rw2011 », on which web users can access all sorts of information about the big day.

The people of Great Britain can also send in video messages for the happy couple. The clips will then be compiled and given to Kate and William once they are married.

And you can also follow last minute preparations on the web. There are numerous videos available on sharing sites, showing, for example, the Royal kitchens preparing for the upcoming wedding feast, or the Westminster Abbey choir rehearsing for the wedding ceremony (laisser vivre 3 secs). And Google has posted this 3 D animation online, detailing the route which will be taken by the Royal procession on the 29th of April.

And one telecom operator has imagined a very different scenario for the wedding ceremony … in this clip which is a reference to a video which created a huge buzz online at the end of 2009, we see excited guests making their entry into Westminster Abbey.

Nelson Mandela on Twitter

Nelson Mandela is now on Twitter. There was already a page set up under the name of the former South African President. It belonged to Richard Millington, a British Internet consultant. The foundation set up by the anti-apartheid hero has finally managed to convince the man to hand over the name. Around twenty people use ‘Nelson Mandela’ on social networks like Facebook or Flickr according to the foundation which is urging them to give up the name.

Philippine police puts pictures of traffic violators online

In Manila, in the Philippines, drivers caught speeding on automatic radars could well see a photo of their vehicle posted on the Internet. The municipality has set up a new page on its web site to try and dissuade drivers from speeding in the Philippine capital. According to the people behind this unusual project, it is already proving successful.

Video of the day

Kronum is presented as a revolutionary new sport … to succeed at this spectacular game, which is a mixture of football, basketball and hand ball, anything goes … as we can see in this demonstration video. The basketball rule where you score points depending on where you shoot from applies, and players can dribble using their hands or their feet. This sport was invented in Philadelphia in the US where it has enjoyed growing success since 2008.