Stories about Middle East & North Africa from August, 2012
Egypt: Are Tomatoes Christian?
Are tomatoes Christian? Check out Angie Nassar's blog post on Now Lebanon Blog, where she comments on news that a Salafist group in Egypt has posted reservations on tomatoes on...
Morocco: Jail Sentence for Ramadan's Public Eater
A court in Rabat has sentenced a young man to serve three months in jail for failing to fast in public during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. “[Individual freedom,]...
Chinese Weapons Flooding Africa
Deborah Brautigam from China in Africa provided more background information about the importation of Chinese Weapons in African countries and explained the incentive of arms sale is from private sector:...
Save Syria's Threatened Heritage Sites
Alongside the mounting death toll, a massacre is being perpetrated against Syria's heritage. Little is being said about this issue in both mainstream and social media, writes Thalia Rahme.
Assessing Quality of Life in African Cities
One study on the quality of life in cities across the world reports that, of the ten least liveable cities, six are situated in Africa. However, another finds that the...
Palestine: Governments are Afraid of the Internet
Palestinian poet and author Mourid Al Barghouti tweets [ar]: “By God, how can governments which fear the Internet scare their enemies?”
Jordan: A Black Day to Protest Internet Censorship
'Over 150 sites in Jordan are going black, including the country's top new sites, to protest laws that restrict internet freedom #blackoutjo.' - On August 29, websites went offline to...
Bahrain: Cleric Relocated After Fiery Speech
Internet activists have reported that Bahrain’s Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs Sheikh Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa has ordered the immediate transfer of Sunni cleric Dr Adel Hassan AlHamad from...
Lebanese Tourism Pays the Ultimate Price
Recent political upheavals in the region and kidnappings in Lebanon have made tourists, mainly Gulf nationals, flee the country. Lebanese and Gulf netizens react to the development.
Lebanon: At Odds with the Smoking Ban
As of September 3rd, smoking will be prohibited in public transportation, work places and closed public places, including coffee shops and restaurants. Mohammad Hijazi explains that the law is unrealistic...
Bahrain: Prominent Pro-Government Twitter Accounts Stop
Bahrain’s local twittersphere is experiencing the sudden disappearance of two of the most prominent anonymous pro-government Twitter accounts that were extremely active during the unrest of last year. Both @7areghum...
Palestine: A 1920 Eid Celebration in Jaffa
The Facebook page Tradition in Palestine shares a picture which reflects Eid celebration in Jaffa in 1920 with the following comment: as in my parents description to Eid: magic lantern,...
Egypt: Morsi’s Presidential Team
Yasser Ali, the spokesperson of the Egyptian presidency announced Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's presidential team. Zeinobia introduces us to the team – so did Julia Lugovska. It consists of 4...
Iran: Tehran's Non-Declared Curfew Amid NAM Summit
The 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement started amid heavy security presence in Tehran, August 26, 2012. The 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a holdover from the Cold War's pull between...
Iran: Blogger Arrested in Earthquake Zone
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, an Iranian blogger, his father and several volunteers who had gone to East Azarbaijan province to help earthquake‘s victims were arrested [fa] by security forces last week....
Tunisian Political Cartoonist _Z_: ‘Nothing Has Really Changed’
Tunisian anonymous political cartoonist _Z_ has been using his blog to express himself since 2007. His caricatures, which did not please the country's former autocratic ruler Ben Ali, do not...
France: An Epic Flight from Paris to Beirut – via Damascus
An Air France flight from Paris to Beirut on August 15, turned into a 20-hour nightmare for its passengers, including the French Ambassador to Lebanon. After diverting to Damascus, Syria,...
Iran: Opposition leader taken home from hospital
According to [fa] social media and news sites, leading Iranian opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, returned home from hospital on Friday, August 24, 2012.
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