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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from June, 2011
Palestine: Two Boats Sabotaged as Flotilla Floats Onwards
The Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza will be missing an Irish ship, it emerged today. The MV Saoirse has been reportedly sabotaged while at berth in the Turkish coastal town of Göcek and will now not be able to take part in the flotilla, aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza and presenting humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Egypt: Khaled Saeed Murder Trial Postponed
Khaled Saeed, a young man from Alexandria allegedly killed at the hands of policemen in June, has been an icon of the Egyptian revolution. His murder fueled discontent among young Egyptians in the weeks leading to the revolution after images of his battered body went viral. The policemen accused of killing him stood trial today. Following are some reactions following the postponement of the case until September 24.
Egypt: The Battle of Tahrir Rages
Mayhem broke out at Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution, last night and spilled into today. Various accounts are circulating online on what really happened and how events escalated, all involving the families of the martyrs killed during the protests - and their call for justice, protesters, thugs and battles with the police. Reports speak of police firing tear gas at protesters, and protesters (or thugs) responding with stones and Molotov cocktails - not necessarily in this order.
Iran: Solidarity with Hunger Striking Prisoners
Protests were organized in at least 25 cities around the world on Saturday June 25, 2011, to show solidarity with the approximately 18 political prisoners who are on hunger strike at two Iranian prisons. The prisoners began their hunger strikes to protest the death of two political activists, Reza Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi.
Lebanon: “Welcome to Lebanon” as Seen By a Migrant Worker
In June 2011, Migrant Workers Task Force responded to three promotional videos launched by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism with three video clips. The Beirut based NGO parodies the official campaign...
Hijablogging: “Hijab Undecided”
The topics discussed and debated in the "hijablogosphere" are always wide-ranging, but a succession of recent blog posts delve into one particularly tricky topic: what happens when a woman decides to take off her hijab.
Iran: Greens, Democratization and the Aging Demon
Two years after the protest movement erupted in Iran, the Internet plays not only a vital role for circulating information, but also in stimulating internal democratization within opposition movements through checks and balances. Fred Petrossian reports.
Libya: Photographs from Rich, Vibrant and Historic Times
British-Libyan surgeon and humanitarian who writes under the pen name Amal Al-Leebi went nostalgic and published some old pictures from previous visits to Libya on his Twitter account, @libyansrevolt to show the Libya he remembers.
Lebanon: Bloggers Fight Negative ‘Looks Like Beirut’ Jibe
We've all heard it before. Perhaps at the glance of an untidy bedroom, or even on a television sitcom, the ‘looks like Beirut' jibe has widely become a common phrase to denote a chaotic mess. A Twitter and blogger stir was caused last week when a headline in Australia's The Age newspaper invoked the infamous phrase.
Egypt: Sawiris and the Niqabi Minnie Mouse
Egyptian Christian business tycoon, and recent politician, Naguib Sawiris, posted a cartoon on his Twitter today showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse in Niqab. He commented: “Micky and Minnie after…” The cartoon sparked a lot of criticism, forcing Sawiris to remove it.
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Syria: Black Comedy of the Revolution
Black comedy is one of the ways one deals with traumatic events. The recent events in Syria, while bloody and depressing to many people, have also brought about an explosion of blogs, Facebook pages and articles that try to satirize the events, and point out the absurdities in the official narrative - sometimes in very unorthodox ways.
Armenia: LGBT Persons Still Facing Discrimination
LGBT persons are still facing discrimination in Armenia and much of the rest of the South Caucasus, a new groundbreaking two-year study by the Council of Europe (CoE) has found.
Kuwait: Flip Your Avatar, Show Support to the Bidun!
Kuwait has around 100,000 stateless people or Bidun - meaning without nationality. They have no papers, ID cards, access to government education and health care, birth or death certificates. With Arabs rising this year, the Bidun of Kuwait are making their voices heard, both on the ground and via social media, asking people to "flip their avatars" in support.
Syria: The Revolution and the Economy
For 100 days Syria's economy has been frozen. Commerce has halted to a standstill and the coming tourist season does not look good. In addition to that, thousands of frightened Syrians have been changing their savings from Syrian pounds to US dollars or Euros, putting an enormous pressure on the Syrian pound.
Syria: French Embassy Website Hacked
On Saturday, June 25, since at least 3PM GMT, the website of the French Embassy in Syria appears to have been hacked: anyone connecting to the French embassy website is...
Lebanon, France: Amin Maalouf Elected Into The Académie Française
“My favorite novelist has just been elected into the Académie française“” write Khira [fr], from Morocco, and Patricia [fr], on behalf of the Lebanese diaspora, happy to announce on their...
Syria: Blogging Day for Syria
Today marks the 100th day since the protest movement found its foothold in Syria. A 100 days later, more than 1,400 deaths, and three presidential speeches, the protest movement is still in full force. This Friday is being billed "friday of delegitimization".
Africa: Maker Faire Africa 2011 : Cairo, Egypt
Maker Faire Africa 2011 is here: “Maker Faire Africa is pleased to announce our 3rd event, ‘Maker Faire Africa 2011 : Cairo‘ which will take place in Egypt, October 6-8th,...
A Syrian Solution for North Korea
Libyan and Syrian cases are significant to North Korea's possible change by exhibiting how quickly ruthless totalitarian regimes can become unstable in the face of resistance, wrote Joshua from the...
Syria: “It Feels as if Syria is Two Countries – With Two Different Realities”
CNN has officially been granted access to Syria and Arwa Damon is tweeting from Damascus, three months after protests calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime started. Syria has shut its borders to international and Arab media since the unrest. Here are some of Damon's first impressions.
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