See all those languages? The Lingua project at Global Voices works to bring down barriers to understanding through translation.

Learn more about Lingua  »

· October, 2008

Learn more about Global Voices switch away from “Middle East & North Africa”.

Stories about West Asia & North Africa from October, 2008

Egypt: Swingers Use Internet to Arrange Rendezvous

There are secrets behind closed doors. But to say that Egypt was shell shocked as news about its first swingers club emerged would be an understatement. And there is a small technicality - the couples first met online before arranging to meet face to face in cafes.

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
29 October 2008

Palestinian Football History

Palestinians made their own football history, being the only team - in the words of one blogger - with a stadium but no country. It was a day of national pride and despite the setbacks, bloggers hailed it as a day of victory.

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
29 October 2008

Morocco: Halloween Not Just for Expats Anymore

The Halloween tradition is a muddled one; with traditions in an ancient Celtic celebration, Halloween started in Europe and made its way to the United States, where it has been embraced as a holiday for children. In recent years, however, the American version of Halloween has spread to the rest of the world, with Morocco being no exception.

Written by Jillian C. York
29 October 2008

Israel: Heading Towards General Elections

The leader of Israel's ruling party, Tzipi Livni, gave up her attempts to form a governing coalition. Livni has been trying to put together a government since she replaced Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as head of the ruling Kadima party last month. Elections are now set for February 10. Gilad Lotan reports from Israeli blogs.

Written by Gilad Lotan
28 October 2008

BOBs: Global Videobloggers Compete for Award Part 1

The BOBs, Deutsche Welle's yearly contest for online products: blogs, podcasts and videoblogs has already chosen 176 nominees for the 16 different categories. In the video blogging category, participants from different parts of the world compete for the honor to be considered the best in their group, and voters will have until November 26th to choose their favorite.

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra
28 October 2008

Morocco: Barça Fan Jailed for Superlative Statement

Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor "crime." The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is "God, Nation, King."

Written by Jillian C. York
27 October 2008

Turkey: Blogspot.com Banned

In another long string of website services blocked in the Republic of Turkey, yet another blog service has been blocked Blogger/Blogspot.com. A court in Diyarbakir Turkey has banned Blogger in relation to an intellectual property infringement case. Adam Klempner, translates some of the Turkish bloggers' reactions.

Written by Adam Klempner
26 October 2008

Morocco: Tangier Experiences Massive Flooding

For the past few years, Morocco has been experiencing a significant drought. Unfortunately, recent rain storms have brought little relief, as Northern Morocco experiences massive flooding, claiming the lives of...

Written by Jillian C. York
26 October 2008

Palestine: Nahr el-Bared Update

It's been a year since the first Palestinian refugees were allowed to return to the Nahr al-Bared camp in Lebanon. Palestinian Haitham Sabbah has an update and videos in this...

Written by Amira Al Hussaini
26 October 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.


This site is licensed as Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Please read our attribution policy to learn about freely redistributing our work Creative Commons License Some Rights Reserved