· March, 2008

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from March, 2008

Morocco: Tourism Demands Pig Farms

  31 March 2008

“One of the last things you would expect to find in Morocco is a pig farm. Given that the consumption of pork is a religious taboo it may come as a surprise that this is a growth industry. And the reason? Tourism,” writes The View from Fez.

Brazil: March for the end of the Gaza Strip

  31 March 2008

“It is said that each Palestinian expelled from their land – and not just since 1948, when it the state of Israel was created – keep a key which they always carry with them. This is not the key for their car, office or a shed lost somewhere between Jordan,...

Egypt: Human Rights Defenders Harassed

  31 March 2008

Or Does it Explode… links to a report submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies to the United Nations Human Rights Council which says there has been “huge harassments of human rights organisations and defenders have been increasingly subject to abusive and suppressive actions by government actors… in...

Israel: Three New Jerusalem News Websites Launch

  31 March 2008

Interested in knowing all the happenings of the Holy City? Look no further. Three English-language Israeli websites have recently launched to bring you news of Jerusalem. Check out Jerusalem Blueprint, Janglo (Jerusalem Anglo), and Go Jerusalem.

Bahrain: Scorn for inflation package

  31 March 2008

To alleviate the effects of inflation in Bahrain, the government has introduced a BD40 million (USD105 million) aid package – and Bahrain's bloggers are unanimous in questioning how effective it will be, writes Ayesha Saldanha.

Lebanon: On censorship

  30 March 2008

Beirut Spring posts about “good censorship” versus “bad censorship” and on the difference between censoring the Da Vinci Code and censoring Persepolis in Lebanon.

Lebanon: Un-Banning “Persepolis”

  30 March 2008

“French Minister welcomed the news that Lebanon decided to reverse the ban on “Persepolis,” the award-winning animated film …” reports Bilad Ash Sham.

Lebanon: Banning “Persepolis”

  30 March 2008

“Marjane Satrapi’s ‘Persepolis’ [the movie] is the latest victim of our very “intellectual” General Security Censorship Department,” writes Bachir Habib

Israel: Yafo Residents Protest Corporate Greed

  30 March 2008

Yudit of Occupied writes about Land Day in Yafo (Jaffa), Israel: “Over one thousand people marched in Jaffa, against the ethnic cleansing carried out by big money in close cooperation with the public housing companies and the municipality… Jaffa's people, women, men and children, marched together for the future of...

Israel: New Technology Will Improve Organ Transplants

  30 March 2008

Israeli biotech company Core Dynamics may have found a way to improve organ transplants. A new technique in cyropreservation will change the way organs are frozen and thawed, enhancing their viability until time of transplant. Israel Start-Up News has the details.

Lebanon: Facebook Suicide

  30 March 2008

SLH shares this letter that he sent to his “facebook friends” explaining the reasons behind his decision to leave Facebook forever and to “rejoin real world interaction”.

Iran:”Defending animal rights =Westernization”

  29 March 2008

Mojgan Jamshidi, an environmentalist journalist and a leading blogger says[Fa] in Iran some believe defending animal rights is a kind of westernization. The blogger writes even reformist deputies while dominating Iranian parliament, considered animal rights is not a topic deserve to be discussed. She also published a photo of a...

Iran:Supporting Earth Hour

  29 March 2008

Mohammad Darvish, a leading environmentalist from Iran, asks[Fa] Iranians to support Earth Hour,an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of 29 March.

Iran:Beautiful Mountain

  29 March 2008

Kosoof, a leading photo blogger from Iran, has published a photo of Mount Damavand,a dormant volcano and the highest peak in Iran.

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Mariam A.
Mariam A. is the editor for the Middle East & North Africa. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.