Libya: Growing discontent in Tripoli

Libya: Growing discontent in Tripoli

It’s the middle of the night and an opponent of Muammar Gaddafi hangs the red black and green flag of the Libyan rebels over one of Tripoli’s main roads, and then quickly makes his exit. Amateur footage, like this video, which was uploaded last week, is emerging on the Internet, and bears witness to the ongoing unrest in the capital, where the popular uprising had been repressed.

But despite the fear, feelings of discontent are growing. These images are thought to show anti-government slogans written on walls in the city. Graffiti quickly painted over by government agents, as appears to be the case in this other video which has been uploaded by cyber activists.

The capital remains under the strict control of the Libyan authorities, but the opposition hopes to win control over Tripoli. In this online message, young rebels armed with rifles pledge their allegiance to the National Transition Council based in Benghazi.

And here we see residents of the city declare their support for the revolution, as they denounce the brutality of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime.

Other videos show everyday life in Tripoli, where supermarket shelves are empty. This sequence is thought to show the endless queues for petrol stations affected by the fuel shortage. These difficulties could end up weakening support for the government in the Libyan capital.

Chinese police clash with protesters at Tibetan monastery

Security forces deployed en masse in Kirti, in China’s Sichuan province. This amateur footage is available on the Voice of America web site. The images reportedly show the crackdown currently taking place in this Tibetan monastery, which has been raided by hundreds of paramilitary police who are blocking access to it.

Tension has been high ever since a monk named Phuntsoh died on the 16th of March. In this online video, we see the young monk after he set himself alight in protest against the Chinese government’s controls over Tibet and to mark the third anniversary of the riots in Lhasa. The monk was taken to hospital where he later died from his burns.

His death sparked mass demonstrations. As we can see in these images, hundreds of people attended Phuntsog’s funeral. According to organizations of Tibetans in exile, last week hundreds of monks are thought to have been arrested and two killed during a raid on Kirti monastery.

The situation has prompted one of the Temple’s leaders to launch an appeal for help in this document which has been picked up and relayed by Tibetan bloggers. In the letter he calls upon Buddhists the world over to mobilize support for Kirti. And support rallies have taken place notably in India and Nepal.

Web users have set up an online petition calling upon the Chinese authorities to respect human rights in the region and end the blockade of Kirti. The document has already been signed by over 22 000 people.

Web TV shows typical life in Paris

It’s the first web TV for the neighbourhoods of Paris … set up to restore the image of the streets of Pigalle, this local web TV now covers 21 districts in the capital. 40 professionals work in these areas to produce 150 new reports each week, focusing on local news, with interviews from traders, residents and associations.

Marital infidelities exposed online

A new site has been set up where web users can earn money by anonymously exposing the infidelities of friends, family and neighbors. The ‘victim’, receives an email warning him or her of their partners’ infidelities, they then have to pay to discover the identity of their partner’s lover. Here, the door is wide open for all sorts of problems, and because it does not guarantee the accuracy of the reported infidelities, the site absolves itself from all responsibility.

Video of the day

In this video Matthias Giraud introduces web users to ski-base, an activity which involves jumping from a cliff top, on your skis, and then opening up your parachute so you can finish the descent in the air. To capture these amazing images he attached a camera to his helmet and the footage illustrates all too well the potential dangers of this extreme sport. The French man narrowly escaped the avalanche he triggered when skiing over a cornice.