Egypt: deadly clashes in Cairo

Egypt: deadly clashes in Cairo

Molotov cocktails rain down on protesters in Cairo… This video was apparently filmed on Wednesday at dawn, when unknown attackers stormed the Ministry of Defense where Egyptian demonstrators had been staging a sit-in for close to one week, demanding the military junta step down from power.

Cyber activists have posted photos on social media platforms, testifying to the fierce clashes that followed: at least 20 people were killed in the violence.

And as we can see in this amateur video footage, rioting had already broken out near to the Ministry of Defense last weekend, during a protest organized by supporters of Hazem Abu Ismail: an ultra-conservative Islamist disqualified by the electoral commission from running in the presidential election at the end of the month.

Recent events have raised all sorts of questions from web users, with many wondering who the assailants actually are. Some believe the attack was launched by people living in the neighbourhood, whilst others are talking about the authorities’ possible involvement, as witnesses are saying neither the police nor the army have intervened to quell the violence.

Dozens of Egyptians have marched towards the Defence Ministry in protest of the recent outbreak of violence. And always with the same demand: they want the ruling military council to step down immediately.

Republicans react to Obama’s new campaign slogan

On Monday, US president Barack Obama released a new campaign ad on his YouTube account, and it features his new slogan for his campaign for reelection in November: “Forward”. The video lasts 7 minutes and takes a chronological look back over his first term in office, claiming the White House occupant was able to overcome all the challenges he has faced over the past four years, and that he has done everything in his power to get the country’s economy back on track. The ad and its slogan have sparked lively reaction on the web, and particularly so from the incumbent president’s political opponents.

The Republican Party has taken to its Twitter account to criticize Obama’s new slogan; a slogan which asks the people of America to look to the future. The republicans tweeted a reaction just several moments after the campaign ad was posted online, saying that if the president is reelected, the US will soon see its deficit soar even higher.

Mitt Romney, Barack Obama’s likely opponent in the upcoming presidential election, was also quick to react. Within one hour of the clip going online, the Mormon candidate’s campaign team had released this video on his web site, criticizing the head of state’s time in power, slamming Obama’s unkept promises and claiming his reelection would put the country’s future in jeopardy.

And anonymous critics of Barack Obama have also turned to the web to poke fun at his new slogan, and have a bit of fun with it. Messages have been pouring in since Monday, saying if the current White House occupant stays in office, then Americans can expect to be worse off in four years than they are already and that national debt will increase substantially.

Movie mimicking

Allen Fuqua, from San Diego in the US, loves travelling and films and he has brought his two passions together on his website “Movie Mimic”. He reenacts scenes from his favourite films by taking photos of himself at the locations where the scenes were originally filmed. The pics come with all sorts of info on the locations and the films in which they featured.

Now trending on social networks

« Call of duty: Black Ops 2 » will be available in the shops from November 13, and ever since the official trailer was released online, the video game has been trending heavily on social networks. Gamers from all over the world have been eagerly anticipating the next installment of the “Black Ops” series, originally released at the end of 2010. It has enjoyed phenomenal success, and earned over one billion dollars in sales. Social networks are abuzz with messages from excited web users, happy they will soon being able to get their hands on the latest episode of one of the most popular video games ever.

Video of the day

A day in Venice, Italy, from daybreak to sunset … Swiss photographer Jörg Niggli has put together this wonderful tilt shift video aptly named “Venice in a Day”. So you can now take a trip down the legendary canals, from the comfort of your home…