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· July, 2008

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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from July, 2008

Israel: Olmert to Resign Following Kadima Primary

Ehud Olmert said yesterday that he will not stand for the Kadima primary in September. According to Al Jazeera English, Olmert said: “I have decided I won't run in the Kadima movement primaries, nor do I intend to intervene in the elections.” Bloggers had a strong reaction to Olmert's resignation.

Written by Jillian C. York
31 July 2008

Saudi Arabia: Is Divorce an Easy Word?

With divorce rates soaring to an all new high in Saudi Arabia, Saudi blogger 3abira Sabeel [Ar] asks: “Has divorce become such an easy word?” Amira Al Hussaini translates 3abira's post from Arabic, which discusses how different today's women are from their grandmothers and why young women and men find it easy to dissolve their unions.

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
31 July 2008

Lebanon: Syria and Israel

“How much groveling (toward Israel) can advocates and propagandists for the Syrian regime do in one week? The answer is: plenty. And please: tell the Syrian regime not to speak...

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
31 July 2008

Lebanon: On Hizbullah and Hamas

“Hizbullah is effective in fighting Israel and ineffective in fighting its domestic rivals. Hamas is ineffective in fighting Israel but effective in fighting its domestic rivals,” notes The Angry Arab...

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
31 July 2008

Palestine: Anger at Young Boy's Needless Death

Israeli troops shot and killed 12-year-old Ahmed Ussam Yousef Mousa during a peaceful protest against the barrier being erected in Nilin. Up to 18 others were injured by rubber bullets during the protest. Ahmed was the only person hit by a live bullet. Jillian York sums up blog reactions in this post.

Written by Jillian C. York
31 July 2008

No to Kuwait's New Internet Law

Kuwaiti bloggers are angry at a proposed new Internet Law, which they claim would make their days as free bloggers numbered, after Attorney General Hamad Al Othman announced that a new law dealing with Internet crimes will be issued soon. Abdullatif Al Omar takes a closer look at the Kuwaiti blogosphere and their reactions to the impending law.

Written by Abdullatif AlOmar
30 July 2008

Saudi Arabia: On the move…or not

The journey, not the arrival matters? Two bloggers from Jeddah would disagree. They have both been having problems getting from one place to another: one in Jeddah itself and the other back to Saudi Arabia from Canada.

Written by Ayesha Saldanha
30 July 2008

Syria: Forgotten Prisoners and Real Heros

An Egyptian prisoner is still being held in an Israeli jail, according to reports being posted by bloggers, in the aftermath of the Prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah. Razan Ghazzawi reflects on what the Syrian bloggers had to say about this and the exchange of prisoners in general.

Written by Razan Ghazzawi
30 July 2008

Libya: Beautiful Oasis

Libya holds number one and six of the world's seven most beautiful oases on a website, reports Anglo Libyan. Check out the post to see the pictures.

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
30 July 2008

Turkey is Typing….Bomb Blasts in Istanbul

While the city of Istanbul enjoyed itself with a Metallica concert, the party died down with the news of a bombing in the Istanbul neighborhood of Güngören, leaving at least 17 people dead and over 150 people injured. Reactions to the news in the Turkish blogosphere were slow, but between speculation as to who is behind the attacks and protests against terrorism, one thing has become quite clear....this hasn't been the first time, and it sure won't be the last.

Written by Deborah Ann Dilley
30 July 2008

Not Guilty: Egypt's Ferry Disaster

On February 3, 2006 Al-Salam ferry sank in the middle of the Red Sea killing more than 1,000 people who were coming to Safaga, Egypt from Saudi Arabia. The passengers were mainly Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia, who were returning home on vacation or who were bringing their savings home to retire in their homeland. The Egyptian criminal court has found the owner of a Red Sea ferry and four others not guilty of manslaughter. The families of the victims as well as Egyptian bloggers were shocked and angered.

Written by Marwa Rakha
30 July 2008

Arabeyes: Any Legal Foundations for Al Bashir's Indictment?

Since July 14, when the possibility of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir's indictment by the International Criminal Court was raised, bloggers around the world have reacted to the matter. Today, we visit blogs from the Middle East and North Africa to learn how they feel.

Written by Jillian C. York
30 July 2008

Arabeyes: Head Over Heels for Muhannad

A strange phenomenon has gripped the Arab world and Arabs seem to agree on something. It is an infatuation with a Turkish soap opera, dubbed in Arabic, and its stunning star Muhanned (played by Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ), whose romantic trysts are beamed on television screens across the region. The obsession of some people with the soap has also prompted the Grand Mufti of the Islamic world, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh, from Saudi Arabia, to issue a fatwa (religious edict) banning the drama, saying watching it is Haram (a sin).

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
29 July 2008

Bahrain: A Woman in a Workplace

“I pledge, as a woman in a workplace – mostly dominated by men who smell either like cheap cigarettes, cheap cologne, hardcore armpit odour -to maintain my good deeds and...

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
29 July 2008

Iraq: Thousands of Visitors

Iraqi blogger Najma, A Star from Mosul, gives us a brief run down of her life over the previous two years – where they literally had thousands of visitors in...

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
29 July 2008

About our West Asia & North Africa coverage

Walid El Houri
Walid El Houri is the West Asia and North Africa Editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.


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