· November, 2009

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from November, 2009

Iran: Students surprised Ahmadinejad's advisor in Paris

  30 November 2009

Iranian students in Paris criticized Iranian government and its repression policy against Iranian students and opposition in a meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian president's advisor in Paris. Here are the films [fa].

Egypt: Spotlight on Zabbaleen

  30 November 2009

Regine, at we make money not art, introduces us to photographs by Bas Princen of Cairo's Mokattam Ridge or Garbage City (Zabbaleen) – where a community of mainly Coptic Christians live and make a living out of collecting, sorting and disposing of Cairo's waste.

Iran: A blogger released, another arrested

  30 November 2009

Iranian authorities released Mohammad Ali Abtahi,former vice president and blogger on a $700,000 bail one week ago after his lawyer said he had been sentenced to six years in prison. Human rights activists reported [fa] that a few days ago Sasan Aghayi, a blogger and journalist got arrested in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia: Citizens’ Fury At Flood Deaths

  30 November 2009

Saudi Arabia's second largest city, Jeddah, was struck by heavy floods last week, and the death toll has risen to more than 100 people. Poor infrastructure and mismanagement of city works construction have been blamed, and thousands have joined a Facebook group criticising the authorities.

UAE: .il unblocked?

  29 November 2009

samuraisam, from the UAE Community Blog, asks: “Has anyone else found the Israeli TLD to be unblocked from the UAE? On my Etisalat connection it seems to be open.”

UAE: Call for Action

  29 November 2009

UAE blogger An Emirati's Thoughts calls for action following the “recent slump in the confidence in Dubai's debt management capabilities.”

Yemen: An Architectural Gem

  29 November 2009

Yemeni Omar Barsawad shares with us information on the Yemeni capital San'aa. “Be it in Sana'a Old City or the mud bricked houses of Hadhramout, Yemen's architecture remains very much traditional and unique. And is still being preserved in most parts of the country,” he notes.

Egypt: A fine line between patriotism and chauvinism

  28 November 2009

The November 14 football match between Egypt and Algeria has turned into an ugly war and it got worse after Egypt's defeat on November 18 in Sudan. From the fury of Egyptian President's son to that of renowned actors and actresses, media figures, writers, and Facebook users, anger has blinded common sense. Marwa Rakha looks at a new initiative to put out the fire.

Algeria: An Open Letter to Egyptians

  25 November 2009

From a football match for a place in the South Africa World Cup in 2010 to a full fledged face off and diplomatic stand off, Egyptians and Algerians continue to score points against each other on the ground - off and online. One Algerian blogger writes an open letter to Egyptians in his blog.

Egypt/Gaza: “Trashy” music video clips

  25 November 2009

‘I wasn’t surprised to see during my my trip to Egypt and Gaza that no one watches music videos anymore. When I asked few people about their choice of boycotting music videos, the answer was similar, “they have gotten trashy”,’ writes Hanitizer at Arab-American group blog KABOBfest.

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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.