· May, 2009

Stories about Egypt from May, 2009

Egypt: Cairo Refugee Film Festival

  30 May 2009

Integrating refugees in society is the aim of a film festival with a difference. Marwa Rakha learns about the Cairo Refugee Film Festival, being held from June 16 to 20 from the event's blog through a fellow blogger, and shares her findings in this post.

Palestine: Israeli Armed Police Disrupt Literature Festival

  26 May 2009

The Palestine Festival of Literature is a traveling cultural roadshow touring across the West Bank, in Palestine, from May 23 to 28. The aim is to take literary activities to Palestinians, who aren't allowed to travel under the occupation. However, the opening was marred when armed Israeli police ordered the theatre where the event was hosted to shut down. Bloggers from around the world reacted to the incident.

MENA: Introducing, “The Circumventer”

  24 May 2009

Alexandra Sandels, from MENASSAT, writes her interview with Walid Al-Saqaf, a Sweden-based Yemeni Internet expert, regarding the launch of his new program Al-Kasir (means the circumventer in Arabic) – during...

Arabeyes: The launch of Yamli bookmarklet

  24 May 2009

Earlier this morning, Tunisian blogger Slim Amamou, announced on Twitter the launch of the Yamli bookmarklet that he, along with other Arab Techies, have developed in their Arab Techies Code...

Egypt: Message to Obama

  24 May 2009

The Arabist linked to Voices for a Democratic Egypt head Dina Guirguis’ message in The Washington Post to US President Barack Obama, ahead of his expected visit to Egypt next...

Egyptian Tycoon Sentenced to Death

  23 May 2009

Egyptians witnessed the most unexpected verdict in the history of their judiciary system: Billionaire Hesham Talaat Moustafa, along with his hired hitman Mohsen El Sokary, have both been sentenced to death for their roles in the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tameem. The gruesome murder took place in Dubai, UAE, and Thursday's sentence was met with shock and bewilderment as the blogosphere comes to terms with the verdict.

Egypt: President's Grandson Dies

  19 May 2009

Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak's eldest grandson, Mohammed, has died at a Paris hospital after a brief illness. Bloggers were quick to react to the 13-year-old's death - which was met by silence in the Egyptian official media when the story first broke.

Egypt: El Korba Annual Festival Allows City's True Beauty to Shine

  19 May 2009

El Korba, one of the oldest Cairene districts, celebrated its fifth peace festival on Friday. Many Heliopolis and Cairo residents from different districts await this annual event, where they can enjoy themselves and indulge in the beauty of the all time over crowded Heliopolitan district - which is closed to traffic on the day. Entertainment and cultural activities are the order of the day, when peace and diversity meet in one place.

Egypt: Court bans Porn Sites

  15 May 2009

Lawyer Nizar Ghorab (Ghorab translates to Crow in Arabic) filed a lawsuit calling for banning porn sites because they destroy the core values of the Egyptian society. The Administrative Court in Cairo ruled in his favor. Between anger and sarcasm, Egyptian bloggers react to the ruling.

MENA: Does Swine Flu Spread from Touching Pigs?

  14 May 2009

More than 14 centuries after Islam prohibited the consumption of pork, pigs are once again making headlines across the Arab world - this time in the form of tweets. Here's a quick snapshot of some of the messages from Twitter users across the region.

Arab World Reacts to Jordan's Twittering Queen Rania

  14 May 2009

After her debut on YouTube, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan is now courting microblogging service Twitter, allowing the world to catch up with the 140-character messages of the self-described mum and wife “with a real cool day job.” With 41,217 followers so far (she is only following 31), reactions from around the region on the Twittering Queen's adventure pour in.

Egypt: Obama to Address Muslim World from Egypt

  12 May 2009

The date is all set. US President Barack Hussain Obama will deliver his much anticipated speech on relations with the Muslim world in Egypt on June 4 and the Egyptian blogosphere is as divided as ever, with some questioning whether Obama will turn a blind eye to the country's human rights record. And although the speech and its content and impact on relations with the region are taking a backseat for the moment, the pressing question on many bloggers' minds is: "Why Egypt?"

Bahrain: Activists Blogs and Sites Blocked

  11 May 2009

Bahraini activist Ghada Jamsheer, who blogs at Bahrain Eve [Ar], links to a statement from the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), which reports that her blog is...

Egypt: New blog for human rights

  11 May 2009

Ramy Raouf started his new Egyptian blog for human rights (EBFHR) [Ar]. The blog monitors the development of human rights especially in Egypt, as well as the Arab world in...

Egypt: Combating H1N1 with pigs culling

  2 May 2009

While the world is busy trying to figure out a way for necessarily precautions to stop swine flu or H1N1 from spreading, the Egyptian government decided to take one more step forward and cull all pigs in the country. Since then bloggers, as well as mainstream media, have been engaged in a long debate whether this is a wise decision, or whether the crisis should have been managed in a better way.

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