· April, 2008

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from April, 2008

Kuwait: No to No Pants Day

  30 April 2008

yawWAR, from Kuwait, (Ar) writes about No Pants Day, being celebrated on May 2. He hopes that day won't find it's way to Kuwait any time soon.

Jordan: That Toyota Ferrari

  30 April 2008

Jordanian Lulu shares one of the stupidest things she has ever uttered in this post. She recalls: ‘Me: “I saw a cool car today.” Brother (15 at the time):”Really? What model?” Me: “I am not sure. I think it's a Toyota Ferrari”‘

Kuwait: Weird Dust Storm

  30 April 2008

Describing a recent sandstorm, Mark from Kuwait writes: “The dust went from maroon to orange to yellow to white and then decided to leave altogether.. Apparently it rained, which in turn brought the dust down.”

Lebanon: Remove the Mufti

  30 April 2008

“The Mufti (religious leader) of Mount Lebanon is a foul-mouthed demagogue who needs to be demoted as soon as possible,” writes Beirut Spring from Lebanon.

Jordan: A Day at Work

  30 April 2008

With tomorrow bring a holiday – Labour Day – Ola Eliwat, from Jordan, gives us a break down of her day at work today.

Egypt: Facebooking the Struggle

  30 April 2008

After little less than a month following the April 6 strike, during which a number of prominent Egyptian bloggers and internet activists were arrested, preparations for the next round of a planned general strike to mark the 80th birthday of President Mubarak, on May 4, 2008, are currently spreading all over the blogosphere and the Internet. Blogger and activist Nora Younis shares some of her ideas with us about the role of Internet in Egypt as a platform for political activism.

Qatar: Online Community Comes to the Aid of Workers

  30 April 2008

Qatar Living members are rallying to help an offline community of 600 workers who have lost all their belongings after a devastating fire broke out in their labour camp, writes Mohamed Nanabhay, from Doha, Qatar.

Iran: Hunger Strike in Sahand University

  30 April 2008

According to [Fa]Tabout, several students have gone on hunger strike in Sahand University in Iranian city,Tabriz, for 6 days. 8 students have already been transfered to hospital.They protest against moral and sexual harrasment of female students by employees.

Iran:Protest against Persian Gulf “renaming”

  30 April 2008

Tribun Azad says[Fa] that about 500 Iranians on Tuesday gathered in front of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Tehran and protested against renaming of the Persain Gulf by several Arab states.The blogger has published several photos of this event. He adds that security forces arrested several people.

Kuwait: Remembering Chernobyl

  30 April 2008

The birthday of Bashar, from Kuwait, coincides with the Chernobyl disaster. “I have had several bad incidents on my birthday before, I started wishing I could just skip it. It’s just in my mind I know, it’s a low probability that just happens,” he reasons.

Jordan: Mixed Signals

  29 April 2008

“Can the same facebook contact add an application called (The Latest Hunk) and within the same day join a group called (Proud to be a Muslim) ?” asks Hani Obaid from Jordan.

Saudi Blogger in Coma

  29 April 2008

Last week, Saudi Jeans announced that female blogger Hadeel was found in her bed in a coma. Saleh Al Zaid (Ar) updates us about her condition in this post.

Kuwait: Speeding Foreigners Unwelcome

  29 April 2008

A new traffic law which ejects foreign traffic violators from the country, is creating waves in Kuwait. While one blogger asks what the fuss is about when other countries have already implemented similar rules, another argues that the new clampdown is too strict.

Iran: Remember Iranian Cheetahs

  29 April 2008

Iranian Cheetah Association informs [Fa] us that in two days there will be a festival to let people know more about Iranian (Asiatic) Cheetahs.Festival is called “the children of cheetahs’ land.” Students, clerics,delegates of United Nations and many others are invited to this festival.

Armenia: Torchlight Procession

  29 April 2008

Life in Armenia posts an account and photographs from last week's torchlight procession held on the eve of the 93rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The blog says that the march brought a much needed sense of unity to Armenia after the recent post-election unrest that left...

Bahrain: Food, Money and Traffic

  29 April 2008

Bahraini bloggers are sticking to the important subjects this week: food, money and traffic congestion, writes Ayesha Saldanha who brings us the latest vibes from the local blogosphere this week.

Egypt: The New Governorates

  29 April 2008

Sandmonkey, from Egypt, wrote here about the presidential decree to create two new governorates, 6th of October and Helwan.

UK: Armenian Genocide March

  29 April 2008

Unzipped posts video, photographs and an account of a march staged by the London-Armenian community remembering the 1.5 million Armenians who died during the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The blogger from Armenia now living in the United Kingdom says the march reminded him to some extent of the...

About our Middle East & North Africa coverage

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