31/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The role of the “new media” in the Arab spring. The role of the “new media” - internet, Facebook, Twitter - in the Arab spring from Tunisia to Egypt and embracing Libya and the other countries aspiring to democracy, was discussed in Parliament on Tuesday 31 May during a “business brunch” attended, inter alia, by EP Vice-President Gianni Pittella and other MEPs, diplomats, specialists and journalists. In their addresses, Daniela Viglione, AGI (Agenzia giornalistica Italia) president, Aldo Amati, deputy head of the Foreign Ministry press service, and Augusto Valeriani, of the University of Bologna, underlined the failings of the press in the countries concerned, the lag in diplomacy and the rise in the “new media”. (Gp/transl.jl)