Tensions resurface in Madagascar

Per Reuters, those in Madagascar are preparing for the worst as "[d]issident soldiers said they deployed tanks in the capital on Friday and the president urged the population to repel the mutineers."

The U.S. Embassy "is encouraging its diplomats and citizens to leave while they can" according to the article. The ongoing political conflict in the nation the last few months has severely hit its $390-million-a-year tourism industry, per Reuters.

Recent tweets from Madagascar have reflected on the lingering crisis:

@tandriamirado (Antananarivo, Madagascar): #madagascar TVM (Télévision Nationale) is out of service.



@barijaona (Madagascar): Précision pour personnes hors de #madagascar : sauf les rumeurs, les 2 derniers jours étaient paisibles : manifs pacifiques (pro et anti) (Accuracy for people outside #madagascar: despite the rumors, the last 2 days were peaceful demonstrations peaceful (pro and anti))

@layshiyuut (Tamatave, Madagascar): #madagascar all we need is peace and love.



@thierry_ratsiz (Antananarivo, Madagascar): RT @layshiyuut #madagascar all we need is peace and love. (I totally agree. Plz no more drama!)


One Antananarivo blogger has used Twitter to provide live tweets for at least the last month. She posted these updates recently:

@ariniaina (Antananarivo, Madagascar): #madagascar 12.40pm TGV protesters r shouting in Antaninarenina planning to take the ministry of finance
@ariniaina: #madagascar 01.54pm Antaninarenina is now quiet. TGV protesters r all gone n I heard they r in Anosy now.
@ariniaina: #madagascar No MIDI M/kara newspaper published today. A group of people frightened to burn this media company last night.

Following along, Liberian twitterer @oso recognized the work of @ariniaina.

@oso (Monrovia, Liberia): @ariniaina It really shows the importance of bloggers like you when so many mainstream malagasy media outlets are being threatened.


She responded:

@ariniaina (Antananarivo, Madagascar): @oso cuz of this crisis, citizen media improved a lot in #madagascar and are the most "trustable"



UPDATE: @tandriamirado tells Breaking Tweets that two local radio stations were jacked in Madagascar, making civilians in danger. Threats against local media continue, making citizen reports all the more valuable.

Related Breaking Tweets articles:
Feb. 21, Madagascar adversaries meet to quell violence
Feb. 7, Madagascar protest turns deadly

Tensions resurface in Madagascar

Featured TwitPic: Silhouette château in France

"Sillouette rendition taken at the top of the Château de Chambord" (Posted by @randomlines, March 13, 2009)

Featured TwitPic: Silhouette château in France

Hamas condemns rocket fire

Per BBC, a recent round of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel has drawn a warning from Hamas leaders to those responsible. The attacks were "ill-timed," Hamas said in a brief statement, claiming it had nothing to do with the rockets and would seek out those who fired them.

Hamas is in the middle of Egyptian-brokered talks to achieve a long-term ceasefire with Israel. The cessation of rocket fire — which killed 20 civilians in the last 8 years — is one of Israel's conditions for making a deal. Hamas wants Israel to lift its border blockades which are preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching the impoverished region.

Some Twitterers responded to the Jerusalem Post's coverage of the events.

@JerusalemBureau (Jerusalem): @raffale What I don't know = why the #Israeli press now reports on #Hamas stoppng #Gaza rockets. Maybe bcz it wants new truce with #Hamas



@JerusalemBureau (Jerusalem): It's a rhetorical question @raffale The reason why #Israeli reporters didn't report it b4 bcz it'd make #Hamas look sincere #gaza #palestine



@raffale (Las Vegas, NV): @JerusalemBureau have you tried ask Israelis?...:) #israel #middle east #gaza #palestine


@JerusalemBureau (Jerusalem): ?? Why is #Israeli press reporting on #Hamas trying to stop #Palestinian rockets as if this were new? RT @pa5fn: http://tinyurl.com/b35kqh


Others pointed to the continued hostilities since each side declared ceasefires in January.

Al Jazeera wrote that the Israeli military has reported 176 missiles have hit since the cesssation of fighting, though none fatal. Meanwhile Israel continued air strikes on Gaza tunnels.


@DeTocqueville: Since the end of hostilities in Gaza, Hamas has fired 160 rockets. So much for peace.




@Jew4palestine: RT @AntoniaZ: RT codepinkalertrt @Kim1811: We just heard bomb blasts. Isreali F16s are dropping bombs on Rafah. #gazacp #gaza #iwd #israel


Some looked to put the issue in historical context.

@markc (Marouba, Australia): @cameronreilly They did. It was called the Balfour Declaration http://is.gd/e1aI (expand)



@cameronreilly: @markc if Israel accepted the two-state solution that the UN has been pushing for since 1975, maybe Hamas wouldnt send the rockets.

Hamas condemns rocket fire

Oil spill ruins beaches in Australia

Per The Courier-Mail, "Around 100,000 litres of oil from the cyclone-stricken Pacific Adventurer have washed up on the shores of Moreton and Bribie island and parts of the Sunshine Coast."

The areas have been declared disaster zones, allowing for state and federal assistance, according to the article. The latest report by The Courier-Mail adds that leaked oil has now reached the Brisbane River.

Oil spill tweets flowed in throughout today in Australia.

@dessessopsid (Sunshine Coast, Australia): @turtley bad, but not too bad at Maroochydore. The water was very dirty, beach is obviously closed, but some idiot was surfing #oilspill


@Lisa_Eigi (Brisbane, Australia): is really mad about the oil spill. There was no excuse 4 it happening in the first place.



@ryanbooker (Brisbane, Australia): On this beautiful Friday the 13th, I'm heading out on a boat toward an oil spill and the tail of a cyclone. What could possibly go wrong?


Many twitterers voiced their environmental concerns.

@machroi (Sydney, Australia): Poor animals. Bad oil spill in Queensland :-(



@CGMorley (Brisbane, Australia): Oil spill on SE Qld Coast shows high vulnerable our environment is to relatively minor mishaps and flow on effect has long lasting effects.


Local politicians Lawrence Springborg and Anna Bligh toured the affected area and used Twitter to share their thoughts.

@TheRealBorg (Queensland, Australia): Leaving moreton island, what a disgrace, oil everywhere, no one cleaning up, yesterday was told by gov only a light spill, what a stuff up


@anna4queensland (Australia): Have just toured oil spill in a helicopter over Moreton Island - a terrible environmental disaster...Clean up crews on beaches after high tide recedes this morning - they're doing great work in tough conditions


Calls for help were also tweeted. Per @abcsunshine, "Call 1800 216 723 to volunteer to clean-up the #oilspill on the coast."

The Courier-Mail has posted photos and video of the oil spill.

Oil spill ruins beaches in Australia

China expands use of renewable energy

Per China Daily, China plans to construct two hydropower stations and two wind farms in an effort to boost sources of renewable energy.

Twitter users added context, shared emotions, and relayed facts and figures on the environmental plans.

@teddyacuna (Portland, Ore.): at Beijing, meeting with Goldman Sacks renewable energy department in regards to Carbon trading in China and possibly in LatAm


@ArupPeterHead: Reflecting on passion I found in China to be self sufficient in energy AND grow transport services AND have low emissions. UK is way behind.


@hlbiotech: (Berlin, Germany): GREENTECH: Renewable-energy investments jumped 91%in 2007 in China and India expects add 6 gigawatts of wind power between 2007 and 2012.


@VerdantHFC: (Chicago/Kansas City) China's green revolution: Prioritizing technologies to achieve energy and environmental sustainabilityhttp://www.mckinsey.com/locations/greaterchina/index.aspx


@eschlaik (Washington, D.C.) Extra, extra! New China environment blog: "New Energy and Environment Digest 新能源与环保参考" http://needigest.wordpress.com/. Welcome E.Balkan!


@greenbang: Biomass energy could fuel 1/3 of rural China: Biomass energy could meet about one-third of rural China’s e.. http://ping.fm/skDY5



@poiesis (Taipei, Taiwan): RT @WWF_Climate: China will speed up energy-saving measures. Leaders promise to make every effort to save energy http://cli.gs/4GWTp6 - CC

China expands use of renewable energy