Stories about Iran from May, 2010
MENA: Rage after Israel Attacks Gaza-bound Flotilla
Emotions are running high across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), after Israel attacked a peaceful flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza - and the Twittersphere is ablaze. Also, are tweets commenting on the situation being censored?
Iran: Two Bloggers and Student Leader on Hunger Strike in Prison
Two bloggers and one leading student activist - deprived of their pen and blogs in an Iranian prison - are now using a hunger strike to protest prison conditions and defend their rights.
Brazil: Bloggers React to Iran-Brazil-Turkey Nuclear Deal
Brazilian bloggers react to the deal reached between Brazil, Turkey and Iran concerning the uranium enrichment of the latter: from optimism to skepticism, here are some thoughts on the role of Brazil in such an international turnaround.
Iran: “Democracy is only the beginning”
“Democracy is only the beginning” is the name of a short film created by Franklin Pham and Arya Ghavamian. Several Iranian bloggers including Kamangir encouraged [fa] Iranians to vote for this film in Democracy Challenge site.
Iran: Economic problems and Green Movement
Culturallogic writes [fa] that Green Movement should learn lesson from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's humiliation in Khoramshar where protesters chanted “we are unemployed” during his speech. The blogger asks Green Movement talks about Iran's economic problems.
Iran: Student activist started hunger strike
Majid Tavakoli, Iranian student actvist, started his hunegr strike in prison in Tehran. Sight writes [fa] “Tavakoli is not only a name. He is a legned. He started his hunger strike but the world does not pay attention.”
Iran: “We are unemployed”
Several Iranian protesters at an outdoor speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday shouted their concerns about unemployment in Khoramshahr. Here is a video film where we can hear ” we are unemployed, we are unemployed” shouts.
Georgia: The Tehran-Tbilisi Connection
Matthew Collin in Georgia comments on news that the government of the former Soviet republic has entered into an agreement with Iran on cooperation in the media sphere. The Frontline Club blogger says that given the situation with freedom of the press in Iran, the move hardly fits in with...
Egypt: No Longer Jewel of the Nile
Four of the seven upstream Nile Basin Initiative countries have decided to sign a new Nile deal. Despite strong Egyptian and Sudanese opposition, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a new water-sharing agreement. Egyptian bloggers react to the news in this post by Marwa Rakha.
Middle East: “Blood Borders”
Martin W. Lewis from GeoCurrent Event blog reviews Ralph Lewis’ “Blood Borders” article on the idea of a complete reshape of Middle East borders in order to fit more appropriately the ethnic and religious affiliations of the region.
Iran: The Iran-Brazil-Turkey Nuclear Deal
In Brazil, Maria Frô describes the deal signed by Iran, Brazil and Turkey as the major victory of the Brazilian diplomacy in recent times [pt]; on the other hand, in India, The Acorn blog considers it as an Iranian attempt to acquire more time and diplomatic space.
Iran: Students challenge Ahmadinejad again
Hundreds of students from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran protested against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to their own university on May 10th. Hamid Tehrani reviews some videos uploaded on YouTube of the protests in this post.
Iran's Kurdish cities in strike in protest against executions
Life came to a standstill in several Kurdish cities in Iran as businesses and shops went on strike on Thursday,May 13th, to protest against the execution of four Kurdish prisoners. While mainstream media ignored the protest, citizen journalists recorded the rebellious act in photographs and video footage.
Iran: “Panahi, Iranian filmmaker started hunger strike”
Several bloggers such as Rahe Sabze Omid says [fa] that Iranian famous filmmaker, Jafar Panahi, started his hunger strike in prison in Tehran on Sunday.
Iran:Deal between Iran and France
Tahe Khand writes that France decided Monday to send home an Iranian agent it had jailed for murdering the Shah's last prime minister, two days after Tehran freed a young French academic accused of spying. The blogger with irony says [fa] why you do not want to believe french government...
Iran: Head of a leading blog provider service arrested
Alireza Shirazi, a blogger and head of a leading blog provider service,blogfa, was arrested in Iran. According to blogfa, he was arrested because somebody complained against one of the blogs hosting by blogfa.
Iran: A new computer game to ‘hit reformist leaders’
Several Islamist bloggers in Iran such as Nofuzi wrote about a new computer game where players can hit and destroy reformist learders. According to [fa] the blogger, this game was distributed in Isfahan and users can download it directly. In this game we see reformists’ heads come down and user...
Iran: Five political prisoners were executed
Iranian bloggers such as Sight reported that Iranian State executed five political prisoners including Farzad Kamangar,a teacher, on Sunday. They were accused of terrorist activities. Sight writes “news was short. they executed all of them. Tears stop me writing anything more.”
Iran: Who steals bronze statues?
Eleven bronze statues of Iranian national heroes have been stolen from public parks, leaving Iranian bloggers scratching their heads as to the motive behind the act. Hamid Tehrani sums up their reactions in this post.
Iran: Tennis Competition in Tehran
Zohre has published several photos from a Tennis competition in Tehran. You can see players and different hair style.
Iran: 126,000 Fans Cheer Mousavi's Opposition Facebook Group
Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hussein Mousavi's Facebook group has more than 126,000 fans. Hamid Tehrani speaks to the founder of the group and discusses the impact of citizen media on the Iranian political front.