Posted on May 16th 2012 by Neil Murphy
The potential Greek exit from the Euro, (or now called “the Grexit” – obviously made up by news-editors to save on ink costs, given the huge amount of analysis it’s receiving) continues to dominate the airwaves with the announcement that a new election on June 17th.
CNN report on the likely impact of an exit, which they think would probably mean a run on the banks and with €800m been pulled out of the country on Tuesday this may already be happening. A commentator on CNN claimed that the crisis in Europe means that it could be the end of the region as a major economic power with real growth and investment being centred in Asia.
One commentator on WSJ, believed that investors and Greek deposit holders would have already moved their deposits abroad, amidst the turmoil that is happening in their country.
Speaking on Bloomberg, financial expert Daniel Arbess gave a very insightful view on what he thinks the reality of the situation in Greece is. His take was that Greece simply did not have the capacity to reform itself, and Berlin is really only seeking for Greece to promise that it it can change, rather than any real structural reforms.
Wall Street doesn’t seem overly perturbed, however, as stocks gained after some positive economic data today. Facebook’s IPO on Friday also still dominates the headlines over there, with the Grexit still only marginally effecting proceedings. It’s not all bad news in the UK either, as BBC reports that unemployment has fallen and that their double dip recession may be soon over.
Keep watching the unfolding news on CNBCand Bloomberg with round the clock updates from world markets.
What do you think? Is Greece incapable of reforming itself, and is an exit now the only viable strategy? is Europe’s economic power now over?
Posted on May 16th 2012 by Neil Murphy
Today marks the opening of Ratko Mladic’s trial for war crimes in the The Hague, where he stands accused of ordering the 1995 Srebrenica massacre which resulted in the killings of up to 7,000 Muslim men and boys in the town, as well as other crimes committed against civilians in the region during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
CNN gives a background of the crimes that Mladic stands accused of, which they describe as the worst massacre in Europe since World War Two. In the report CNN brings up the point that many Bosnian-Serbs still think of Mladic as a hero who protected them from the possibility of genocide themselves.
Russia Today had an interview with Darko Mladic, Ratko Mladic’s son, who said that he was “proud” of his father who said that he was simply protecting his community and was not guilty of genocide.
Mladic had previously suffered from ill health which put an early halt to the trial, but journalists reported that his demeanour had changed back to that of a man who has very little respect for the proceedings. Al-Jazeera reporter Barnaby Philips claimed that Mladic was “defiant and showed no remorse” in court. Witnesses in the courtroom reported how he made a throat-slitting gesture to the family of the people he stands accused of killing.
Mladic is also accused of war crimes relating to the siege of Sarajevo which lasted for 4 years and also cost the lives of thousands of civilians. Watch the the continuation of the trial on Livestation.
What do you think of Mladic’s charges? Is Mladic guilty of the massacre he is accused ? Leave a comment below.
Posted on May 15th 2012 by Neil Murphy
With Facebook’s $100 billion IPO going ahead on Friday, excitement is building for what will be one of the most talked about stock flotations in stock market history. Facebook today announced that it is increasing its share price to $34-$38 a share, thus increasing it’s potential IPO to a massive $104 billion.
Wall Street Journal reporter Shayndi Raice reports on the hype which has spread far beyond Wall Street to the wider public, and who see Facebook as an exciting brand to invest in, with consequently sky high demand for shares.
However, an interesting report from CNN outlines how getting involved in Facebook’s IPO may not be such a great idea for novice investors, and a vox-pop from trading guru Warren Buffet outlines the reason he won’t be involved.
Newsy reported on a story on how Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said that buying Facebook shares would be a great investment for any potential investor, despite a lot of scepticism from many who believe the stock is over-hyped with a poor price to earnings ratio.
Despite the interest in the stock, the forecast on Wall Street is to be cautious about Facebook’s NASDAQ flotation overall, but Facebook’s potential for growth in China and it’s $1 billion year revenues and its low number of employees could mean that the stock might after all be an good investment.
Would you consider investing in Facebook, or as many are saying, do you think is the stock hype completely overblown and poor value for money? Leave a comment below and have a look at more business news on our partner news stations on Bloomberg and CNBC.
Posted on May 10th 2012 by Neil Murphy
Most media outlets are currently leading with the Syria crisis which has descended further into turmoil today after twin explosions rocked Damascus.
The death toll has continued to rise throughout the day with 55 people now being confirmed as dead and hundreds more injured. It is still unclear at the present time who carried out the blasts but the destruction was widespread as these pictures from Al-Jazeera show.
Russia Today queried whether foreign terrorist organisations were to blame for the explosions by groups seeking to destabilise Assad’s regime.
A Press TV analyst claimed that “reactionary feudal Gulf states” had to answer for their financial support of anti-Assad groups which may be to blame for the explosions. Given the lack of information about who may have planted the devices Press TV did not go on to blame anyone specifically.
CNN outlined in their report the precarious nature of the conflict in Syria and showed Kofi Annan’s response who warned that Syria could be on the brink of civil war and blamed both sides for escalating the conflict.
What do you think about the crisis? Who is to blame for the blasts and what can be done to stop the escalating violence do you think?
Neil Murphy – Goldsmiths College, University of London
Posted on May 10th 2012 by Neil Murphy
US media was digesting President Obama’s interview on ABC News last night, where he outlined his belief that gay marriage should be allowed for same-sex couples throughout the United States.
The Twittersphere was abuzz with talk about it and many celebrities online endorsed the move greatly.
Piers Morgan on CNN was clearly in support, and the consensus was that this would help Obama in his election chances at the end of this year due to the positive sentiments coming from his liberal base. A heated exchange with Morgan and with Catholic League leader Bill Donoghue who claimed that gay marriage was comparable to incest, and outlined how divisive the debate around gay marriage remains in America, despite softenuing stances eleswhere.
The issue had initially been pushed into spotlight earlier in the week as residents of North Carolina rejected the idea that same -sex couples could marry in the state. Al-Jazeera provided a some coverage previously about the polarising nature of the debate in a state with a strong conservative base.
Obama had previously not supported gay marriage and it is thought that Obama will outline his reasons for the change in stance.
Judging by the coverage on most US media outlets, President Obama may have re-energised his supporters but at the present moment it’s not clear how this will effect his re-election chances. Time will tell if this is a critical issue for voters in a country still deeply divided by the issue of same-sex marriage.
Was Obama right to publicly explain his support for gay marriage? Will it help him in his bid to win the Presidency again?
Neil Murphy, Goldsmiths College – University of London
Posted on May 9th 2012 by Neil Murphy
Yesterday’s news that the CIA foiled a plan to bomb a US bound jet took a new twist today when it emerged that the would be bomber was a double agent working for the CIA.
CNN broke the news of how the agent, working for US intelligence in Yemen, managed to pass himself off as an al-Qaeda operative and gained possession of the bomb designed to look like underwear, and passed it back to the intelligence agency. CNN managed to obtain the information from a source within the CIA but has drawn ire from the agency following the leak.
The issue of airport security now looks likely to stay in the news as it seems only the most sophisticated systems would have managed to pick up the bomb during screening. Governments such as in the US may try to push forward even more sophisticated security measures which will anger civil liberty organisations.
Press TV ran a story on discrimination faced by Muslims at the hands of airport security across Europe and the US, and interviewed human rights and Islamic organisations in the UK about the issue. Many claimed that current practices were humiliating and discriminatory to racial minorities.
Also in the news was the Queen’s speech which outlined the coalition government’s new legislation and aims for the upcoming year, with talking points being reduction of the deficit, House of Lords reform and also a pledge to increase fairness for families looking after a disabled family member. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, has put pressure on the Conservative party to make the House of Lords to be a mainly elected office as opposed to the current system of appointments.
Al-Jazeera today concentrated on the European debt crisis and the renewed pressure on Eurozone countries to find an alternative to austerity cuts following the election results in Greece and France. Statements from Jose Manuel Barroso outlined the need for both growth and cuts in an economic plans for Europe.
Do you think that the foiled bombing of a US jet in Yemen will increase airport security around the world? Are these measures discriminatory? Will politicians in Europe find an alternative austerity hampering growth in the region?
Neil Murphy, Goldsmiths College – University of London
Posted on May 9th 2012 by Olga Mascolo
In these times of general economic crisis, it’s a good question to ask whether the European policy of austerity being imposed by the ECB and being put into action from by various European governments, has enough popular support from citizens in Europe?
As recent results highlight, there is widespread unhappiness with national governments across the EU and election results have shown an increase in support for more extreme or populist parties.
France
Despite the fact that Francois Hollande won the Presidential election on Sunday, the first round of the French elections (22 April 2012) resulted in a very high percentage for the right wing National Front party, headed by Marine Le Pen with 20% of the vote share. Here you can find the report for the results (Guardian)
Greece
In the last 6th of May election resulted in left wing parties such as communist KKE party and New Democracy surging votes at the expense of established parties in the country. Ultra-nationalists Golden Dawn saw their vote share reach 7% and won 21 seats in the poll. Anti-austerity parties have made large gains though it seems it is proving very difficult for parliamentary parties to form a coalition government.
Germany
Last Sunday in regional elections Merkel’s CDU party couldn’t maintain its previous popularity and faces a challenge from the Free Democratic Party. Berlin now faces a huge fight in whether it can force other Eurozone countries to continue with radical cuts in expenditure that has seen growth rates drop across the region. Read the news (Spiegel).
Italy
Last Sunday many Italian cities had to change their administration in local elections. Neither the left or the right wing technically won in this contest, even though the PDL (ex Berlusconi) and the Northern League lost a lot of votes.
The 5 Stars Party, headed by the ex-comedian and cabaret man Beppe Grillo increased its votes; as well the abstention has risen.
Looking for more news and analysis of EU election results? Watch the European news on France24 and BBC News on Livestation.
Olga Mascolo, Goldsmiths University London.
Posted on May 8th 2012 by Neil Murphy
Today’s news is still dominated by François Hollande’s election win on Sunday night, which saw the Socialist Party candidate win just under 52% of the vote to become France’s first left-wing president since 1989.
Hollande mentioned in his victory speech that he would move away from ECB led austerity and the fiscal pact agreed by the 17 Eurozone countries earlier this year, which imposed strict spending limits on signatories.
All this will not be well received in Berlin with Germany claiming that the pact cannot be revisited despite growing calls in Europe to end the austerity which has seen growth fall in countries across Europe.
Elections were also held in Greece which resulted in an electoral hit for major parties with voters moving to the fringes of the political spectrum. Left wing parties such as communist KKE party and New Democracy saw a surge in votes at the expense of established parties in the country. Ultra-nationalists Golden Dawn saw their vote share reach 7% and won 21 seats in the poll.
Markets fell steeply on the news of the Greek results, and speculation continues to grow that Greece may now pull out of the Euro and return to a national currency. Bloomberg reported that despite widespread scepticism in Greece about the currency, 77% of Greeks want to remain in the Eurozone and that a move back to the Drachma would be worth about half of what the Euro currently is.
Meanwhile, US media last night was led by the story of an attempt by an al-Qaeda to bomb a US plane through an “underwear bomb” echoing a previous attempt also foiled by the CIA in 2009. The BBC reports that the device was stopped in Yemen though no specific plane had been targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Jazeera led with the story of Interpol’s Red Notice arrest warrant for Iraq Vice-President Tariq Al-Hashemi. Interpol have claimed that Al-Hashemi has paid for and sponsored terrorism in the country but the allegations have been condemned by Al-Hashemi, who is currently being tried in absentia in Bagdad, and claims they are politically motivated.
Posted on January 20th 2012 by Johannes Ledel
Livestation is the largest platform for live news in the world with over 75M unique visitors in 2011. Today we are delighted to announce a major design upgrade to our website.
Last year we received tremendous feedback from our audience. We have taken this feedback to heart and made several substantial improvements to make watching live news even more pleasant and exciting:
- Discovery: Content and language filters now make it much easier to browse and discover new channels
- Quality: The stream quality has been doubled (premium channels are now near DVD-quality)
- Social: You can now share a live stream on Facebook, track what your friends are watching and share a screenshot on Twitter
In the coming weeks we will be announcing several new channels and product announcements. Until then, please enjoy the new Livestation on www.livestation.com.
All the Best
The Livestation Team
Posted on November 17th 2011 by Johannes Ledel
Last week we rolled out the beta for Livestation’s new design and even though it’s certainly a visual update this is not just about making things look pretty.
We want to emphasise that while this update is definitely easier on the eyes the update is far from shallow.
The first change is that we’ve rebuilt the Livestation page from the ground up so that it now features more modern web technology such as HTML 5 so that it will be cross-platform and ready for future devices.
But perhaps more importantly is that we’ve made Livestation truly social by giving our users some powerful tools to engage their friends via their social networks, by letting you share a live stream directly to Facebook and grabbing a screenshot to attach to your tweets and we also allow users to chat with other users watching the same channel in real-time. Check out a list of the changes to the site here.
These changes are important because it’s through the discussion and debating of the day’s events that news become alive. The digital space allows us to connect almost everything and this is a key difference between traditional TV and TV in the digital age. Online TV is not only a driver and instigator of conversation, it is physically connected to it, and with this update we help facilitate this connection.
So enough talk from us. Now go be social.
Access the BETA site here.
