Stories about Egypt from May, 2008
Palestine: Sixty Years of Al Nakba
Celebrations are under way to mark Israel's 60th anniversary - but for millions of Palestinians whose grandparents and parents were made refugees in the process, today marks Al Nakba - a day they were forced to flee their lands or were forcefully expelled from their homes as the State of Israel was born. Following is a cross-section of reactions from Arab bloggers.
Egypt: Sad Day for Syria
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia reports that Syrian blogger Tariq has been sentenced to jail for three years for criticising security authorities.
Egypt: leading opposition website blocked
According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the website of the leading Egyptian Movement for Change – Kefaya, has been blocked in Egypt since May 4 by the government-owned Internet service provider TE Data, Egypt's largest ISP.
Award for Egyptian Blogger
Egyptian blogger/journalist Wael Abbas has received the Hellman-Hamlett Award from the Human Rights Watch, writes Ibn Al Dunya from Egypt.
Egypt: Nasralla's Press Conference
From Cairo, Zeinobia gives us a digest of Lebanon's Hizbulla leader Hassan Nasrulla's Press conference.
Egypt: Disabling SMS Messages
“[T]here had been news circulating saying that the regime ordered the three mobile phone operators in Egypt either to cancel all the accounts with unregistered data especially in Mobinil and Vodafone or to close the SMS service for these accounts,” writes Zeinobia from Egypt.
Egypt: Increasing Gas Prices
From Egypt, My Life Thinking writes about increasing gas prices in his country.
Egypt: You've Been Punk'd
Egyptian blogger Tarek says: “Egyptians, you've been punk'd,” following news that Egypt's parliament endorsed Monday a government bill to raise taxes and fuel prices less than a week after President Hosni Mubarak announced a 30 per cent salary increase for all government employees.
Egypt: War on Facebook
“The Facebook now is the official enemy of state.The blogs are no longer the danger on the State but it is the Facebook,” writes Egyptian blogger Zeinobia.
Arabeyes: Freedom for Fouad Al Farhan
Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan is now a free man, after spending 137 days in detention in Jeddah. While bloggers have all along speculated why he has been held by the authorities for this long, Arab bloggers are unanimously excited over his release. And they also share their hopes for the release of other jailed bloggers.
Egypt: No Freedom of Speech for Journalists
“Egypt has a funny way of celebrating May 3, World Press Freedom Day. Last year it marked the occasion by sentencing Al-Jazeera journalist Huwaida Taha to six months in prison for a documentary she made about torture in Egypt. This year press freedom watchdogs fear it will mark the occasion...
Jordan: Gearing Up for Strike
Jordan is gearing up for a strike on May 4, according to bloggers. Just like in Egypt, the message to strike was posted on Facebook, and later picked up by blogs, in protest against increasing prices and calling for better living conditions.
Global: The price of food, the cost of despair
The crisis of skyrocketing food prices is affecting all economic groups in every corner of the world. Every day, it seems, high-priced food sends another country lurching through some crisis: demonstrations, riots, rumors of hoarding, falling governments, even deaths. Global Voices is well positioned to follow the nuances of this...
Egypt:Hijab and Travel
An Egyptian Muslim girl writes about her experience wearing the Hijab (Islamic headscarf) and travelling to the US in this post.
Arabeyes: Looming Food Crisis
Inflation and rising food and oil prices are a reality around the world, and Arab bloggers are not only feeling the pinch, but writing about it too. Here is a snapshot of reactions from Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and Egypt.
Arabeyes: A Closer Look at Readers
Over the past month, several Arab bloggers have been taking a closer look at who follows their blogs and what keywords bring readers. Here's a review of what bloggers from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt had to say.
