Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2015
29 October 2015
A Tale of Two Presidents, an Audacious Kidnap Attempt and Misogyny in Turkish Football
"If we will die, we will die like a man, we will not live like a woman. Nobody has the power to make us live like a woman."
Iranian Student Held Without Charge, Pressured to Make False Confession
"Judicial officials...should not arrest youths and pass heavy judgments against them every time they criticize. My son should be sitting in class and studying right now.”
Mainstream Media Comes Under Fire for ‘Biased’ Coverage of Shia Religious Event
Every year, millions of Shia mark the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain bin Ali, killed 1,300 years ago. Netizens hit back on how mainstream media get it wrong.
28 October 2015
GV Face From Gaza: Living and Blogging Under the Occupation
In this episode we speak to Omar Ghraieb, a popular blogger and journalist based in Gaza. Omar talks about documenting life in the occupied strip and always managing to stay...
Kotatsu or Korsy? Is This Heating Method Japanese or Iranian?
Japan and Iran seem to have common techniques for keeping cozy during the winter seasons.
Defending Gaza Using Social Media's Double-Edged Sword
Palestinian social media power user Omar Ghraieb chronicles his journey through the minefield of social media.
27 October 2015
Free Alaa Campaign Takes Social Media by Storm on the First Anniversary of His Imprisonment
Alaa Abd El Fattah has spent a year in prison for his activism. He has four more to serve. Netizens are making noise on his first year anniversary calling for...
26 October 2015
Drowning in Refuse, Lebanon's Capital Is Now Zigzagged by ‘Rivers of Garbage’
It rained in Lebanon and Beirut's rubbish, which has been pilling up alongside roads for months, turned the capital's roads into "rivers of garbage." Fears of a cholera epidemic don't...
20 October 2015
‘The World Needs Tunisia’
Journalist Guy Sitbon reacts to the Quartet of Tunisian National Dialogue's Nobel Peace Prize win. "Here is what Oslo has revealed to me: the world needs Tunisia too."
Bahrain Government Renews Crackdown on Religious Rituals
Security forces and youth clashed in Bahrain today as police attacked villages, forcefully removing banners placed on roadsides to commemorate Ashura. Several people were injured from buckshot fired at protesters.
19 October 2015
Iranians React to the New Iranian-American Twitter Chairman
Twitter announces it's new executive chairman to be an Iranian-American. We take a look at what Iranian news and social media have been saying in reaction.
18 October 2015
He Crossed Nine Countries to Flee War—and He Was Just 12 Years Old
Gulwari Passarlay was only 12 when his mother sent him away from Afghanistan because she feared for his safety in the UK. He's written a book about his journey.
17 October 2015
ISIS Gunman Kills Five at Shia Mosque in Saudi Arabia
A Saudi gunman affiliated with ISIS opened fire at Shia worshippers in Saihat, killing five people. Netizens blame sectarian incitement against Shiites for the incident.
16 October 2015
No Arrests One Year After Acid Attacks Against Iranian Women
"“Whenever we try to follow up on our daughter’s case, they say they are working on it but so far they have not given any information."
14 October 2015
What's Personal When You're Syrian?
"How to disentangle the personal from the public in your animosity towards those who want to kill you just because you attempted to assert your personal and public rights?"
Egyptian Facebook User Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Putting Mickey Mouse Ears on Sisi
Egyptian Facebook user Amr Nohan has been sentenced to three years in prison by a military court for adding Mickey Mouse ears to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's image.
200 Days of War in Yemen
Many are likely unaware, thanks to the mainstream media's lack of coverage, that Yemen has been at war for almost seven months. This has been the fallout, so far.
11 October 2015
Is Beirut the Codeswitching Capital of the World?
In Beirut, most people don't just speak one language, but a mix of three: English, French and Arabic. It's what many in Beirut call Lebanon's mother tongue.
The Murky Ethics of Publishing Data on Russian Servicemen ‘Bombing Syria’
Ukrainian "civic investigation" project Mirotvorets, previously preoccupied with exposing the Russian military presence in eastern Ukraine, has published personal data of Russian servicemen allegedly engaged in airstrikes in Syria.
Execution of Palestinian Fadi Alloun, 19, in Occupied East Jerusalem Causes Nationwide Outrage
The horrifying video, showing how Alloun was killed, is being widely shared online, prompting Mondoweiss to call it the video that 'shocked global audience'.
About our Middle East & North Africa coverage
Joey Ayoub is Middle East and North Africa editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
Afef Abrougui is Advox Editor for the Middle East and North Africa. Email her story ideas related to freedom of expression online.
Lova Rakotomalala is the French editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
