Stories from and

Iraqi Startups One Year After the Rise of ISIS

  15 August 2015

Ahmed Marwan shares stories about a few Iraqi startups one year after the rise of ISIS, at Wamda. He explains: But what is more uncertain than calculating the success probability of a startup working in a city less than 50 km away from the turmoil caused by ISIS? That is...

ISIS Fighters Capture Ramadi in Iraq

  18 May 2015

Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Al Anbar province, has been captured by ISIS fighters. Joey Ayoub is putting the story together, tracking citizen journalists reports, news and testimonies, on Global Voices Checkdesk, a partnership project between Global Voices and Meedan's Checkdesk. The city, in central Iraq, is about 110 kilometres...

Question Time: How Many Jihadists Have Military Backgrounds?

  25 April 2015

Taking the cue from a Der Spiegel report on the mastermind behind the structure of ISIS, Palestinian blogger Iyad El-Baghdadi tweets: After that Spiegel story about the "mastermind" behind ISIS's takeover of Syria – noticed just how many Jihadists have military backgrounds? — Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) April 21, 2015 Der...

Photo of Peshmerga Combatant Breastfeeding Her Child Captivates Kurdish Media

  11 December 2014

Kurdish media outlets are abuzz with a photograph of a Peshmerga woman, sitting beside an automatic weapon, breastfeeding her child. The picture has been widely distributed on social networking sites, highlighting the strength of Kurdish women and the resilience of female combatants in the ongoing fight against ISIS. In contrast...

Libya Vs Iraq: Who Wins in the Explosives Finale?

  24 March 2014

This bumper sticker (more of a windshield sticker) from Libya says it all. Egyptian Bassem Sabry explains: Humour as coping mechanism RT @ILPADRINO0 "Two more explosions & Libya will qualify for semi-final with Iraq" pic.twitter.com/uCzkihMi4u” — Bassem Sabry باسم (@Bassem_Sabry) March 24, 2014

Five Arab Countries Among Top 10 Corrupt Worldwide

  3 December 2013

Five Arab countries have been named among the top 10 most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International's newly released annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Egyptian Amro Ali reacts: Congrats Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia & Sudan – 5 Arab states top most corrupt list http://t.co/7rsD6xErlA Egypt needed a break from rankings —...

Protests in Iraq Crowdvoiced

  12 October 2013

Crowdvoice is a platform that “works to provide first-hand reports, occasionally coupled with the top mainstream media coverage.” By curating and putting to the forefront the sound bytes of these working to change the world, Crowdvoice compiles a wide range of resources in a meaningful whole thus enabling access to...

Iran:“Massacre” of 52 unarmed Iranian dissidents in Iraq

  2 September 2013

Iraqi security forces carried out a “massacre” of 52 unarmed Iranian dissidents early Sunday at their camp north of Baghdad,Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the Iranian exiles said. Netizens in Balatarin, a popular link sharing site, shared several photos, films and posts regarding this attack.  

MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012

  29 December 2012

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Only Citizens Fall in Iraq's Car Bombings

  27 November 2012

Around 29 people were killed and 126 injured in eight car bombings in Iraq today [Nov 27, 2012]. Iraqi blogger Wamith comments [ar]: @wamith: Many citizens fall but no one from the government falls in the Iraq bombings

Bulgaria: Syrian and Iraqi Refugees on Hunger Strike

  18 August 2012

Bulgarian newspaper Dnevnik reports [bg] that 25 asylum seekers (21 Syrians and four Iraqis) went on hunger strike to protest the slowness of the asylum-granting procedures at the detention center for foreigners in the Bulgarian village of Lyubimets. Comments to the Dnevnik article reflect the general indifference to the plight...

Tunisia: The Plight of Palestinians in Iraq

  31 July 2012

Tunisian blogger Nawel Abdullah posts an interview [ar] she conducted with the founder of The Australian Society for the Palestinian-Iraqi Refugee Emergency Yousef Alreemawi, who speaks to her about the plight of Palestinian refugees living in Iraq and efforts to resettle some of them in Australia.

Arab World: Detect Dialect Search Tool for Twitter

  16 July 2012

On Twitter, @Detect_Dialect is pushing for Detect Dialect – a dialect-specific search tool for Arabic content on Twitter. In addition to Classic Arabic, Arabs speak their local dialects, which sometimes differ even between neighbouring villages. This new tool claims to detect the dialects of Gulf, Iraqi, Levant, Egyptian and Maghreb...

Iraq: 162,000 People Killed

  5 January 2012

Iraqi Mojo says about 162,000 people were killed in Iraq up to the end of last year (2011). They include 114,212 civilians, according to Iraq Body Count, an anti-war group. Click here for the details.

Iran:Iranian exiles killed in Iraq

  11 April 2011

Iraqi forces attacked Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin of People, in Iraq's Camp Ashraf killing at least 25 people. Here is a film shows Camp Ashraf under attack.

Iraq: “My Twitter Account was Hijacked!”

  23 January 2011

Iraqi Layla Anwar complains that her Twitter account was hacked. “This person not only hijacked my name but is selling it on Twitter and Facebook. The only follower this new laylaanwar has on Twitter is a PORN site,” she says.