· December, 2013

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from December, 2013

Iran: Two Poets Arrested

  29 December 2013

Poets Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari disappeared in Iran. News reported that the two have been detained since early December. More than two hundred people signed an online petition and called on the UN to take action about the situation of cultural activists particularly the case of these two young...

The Islamic Caliphate Car Number Plates Come to Syria

  28 December 2013

Zaid Benjamin shares on Twitter a photograph of the first car in Syria with the Islamic Caliphate state registration plates: The first car in #Syria registered under Caliphate State #ISIS pic.twitter.com/HdUsrxtacy — Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) December 28, 2013 The number plates are operated by the Islamic State of Syria and...

Lebanon: Don't Drink and Drive

  28 December 2013

Lebanon's traffic authorities have launched a don't drink and drive campaign ahead of New Year's eve celebrations. On Twitter, the traffic department shares this photograph:

Iran: Calligraphy Art

  23 December 2013

Farrah Joon tweeted about Iranian female artist,Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi.You can see her calligraphic oil paintings of Arabic lettering here. Calligraphy art by #Iran-ian artist Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi http://t.co/d2EusaVUxn pic.twitter.com/IHPosjGCXh — Farrah Joon (@Farrah_Joon) December 23, 2013

Iran: Revolutionary Guards “Hacked” Opposition Sites

  23 December 2013

Revolutionary Guards in Kerman province claims its cyber forces hacked nine opposition sites. A few weeks ago, several netizens were arrested in Kerman,accused of acting against national security and collaborating with foreign networks, providing content for counter-revolutionary sites.

Egypt: 27 Photographs from Hala'ib

  20 December 2013

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shares this slideshow of photographs from Hala'ib, a Red Sea port and town, located in the Hala'ib Triangle, close to the Sudanese border: View “undefined” on Storify

The Postcolonialist Calls for Submissions on ‘Sites of Home’

  20 December 2013

A recently launched online magazine and journal, The Postcolonialist, is calling for submissions for the upcoming edition of its academic journal. The Postcolonialist is an inter-disciplinary, multi-lingual publication featuring research, commentary, and creative production from and about postcolonial regions and perspectives. The About page of the website adds:  We are an alternative and interactive avenue by which scholars, journalists, writers...

Jihadists Online: The Dark Side of the Internet

  20 December 2013

Islamist Jihadists are online. Lebanese blogger – and occasional satirist – Karl Sharro tweets: I honestly sometimes can't tell anymore if I'm watching news from Syria or a period drama from early Islamic history. — Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) December 16, 2013 Syrian Noor Al Ali replies: @KarlreMarks Have you come...

Syria: The Free Women of Darayya

  20 December 2013

Darayya's Free Women have engaged in numerous protests and initiatives since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, in the spring of 2011. Today, they work from exile - and prison.

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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.