Writing > Articles

"Yoani Sánchez, one of Cuba's most popular bloggers and a recent victim of blocking by the country's authorities, was recently awarded the Ortega and Gasset prize in Journalism from the Spanish newspaper El País. Several of her fellow Cuban bloggers celebrated the award and hope that it draws more attention to the difficulties for internet access on the island."

"Elia Varela Serra reviews bloggers' reactions to one of the main news in the Bosnian blogosphere this week: the addition of the Višegrad stone bridge to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Also, she reports on the controversy caused by plans to build a memorial to the Serbian war victims in Sarajevo."

"Easter is a very important celebration both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, called Velikonoce - from Veliké noci or Great Nights. Although the religious connotations of Easter were suppressed under the communist regime, nowadays Czechs and Slovaks are again aware of the strong Christian background of Easter, although they regard it as mostly fun times. Many traditions are still observed, especially in villages. Several bloggers have been describing some of them."

"As the talk of an imminent declaration of independence by Kosovo next Sunday or Monday intensifies, and as leaders in Serbia and Russia make statements rejecting it in advance, bloggers in the Balkans have been busy discussing the issue since December. Here are a few of their views."

"Slovenia is a country with a very healthy blogosphere, which includes blogs from expats. Here's a roundup of what some of them have been talking about in the last few days, in English and Spanish."

"Two days after Kosovo's declaration of independence in spite of Serbia's opposition, the debate about the merits of recognising it as a state is still raging. Within the European Union, countries such as France, UK, Germany or Italy have recognized it, while others such as Slovakia and Spain have strongly opposed it as they consider that the declaration does not respect international law."