Stories about Middle East & North Africa from April, 2009
Mapping the Arab Blogopshere
Meedan announces that data expert Will Ward is “heading to Copenhagen’s New Islamic Public Sphere programme for a couple of weeks as a Meedan representative. The idea is to share ideas about our attempts to map the Arab blogosphere and get input on our growing Arab Media Index, which will...
Morocco: Al Quds Al Arabi's 20th Anniversary
From Morocco, Cinema and Movies marks the 20th birthday of Arabic language newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi. “In my country, it is sad to hear from time to time that some journalists are given bribes to keep their thoughts hidden.However,there are others just like our modest newspaper, Al qods Al...
Lebanon: Billboard Marriage Proposal
Lilane, from Lebanon, draws our attention to a billboard which contains a marriage proposal: ‘While driving on the highway towards Antelias from Jal el Dib, just near Antelias bridge on the left, this huge billboard (a bit blurry) caught my eyes (and the eyes of all Lebanese who drove by...
Japan: Tunisians in Japan
Blogger kuskusu, whose husband is Tunisian, makes some observations about the Tunisian people living in Japan. Dividing them into two categories, she observes that, since 9/11, immigration laws in Japan have become more severe and illegal Tunisian residents are very few nowadays. While many of them come to Japan as...
Iran: Armenians remembered 1915 Genocide
Zohere Sadrinejad has published several photos of Armenians marched in Iran in memory of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey.
Global Health: Swine Flu Threat Spreads Worldwide
Confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu, which was detected in Mexico earlier this month, have now been found in at least seven other countries around the world. The World Health Organization says that this outbreak constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern."
Armenia: Internal politics and international relations
The pro-opposition tzitzernak2 comments on speculation that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) might leave the coalition government after last weeks announcement of progress made in normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. The blog says the move is long overdue and blames the nationalist party for many of the problems the country...
U.K.: London Armenian commemorative march
Unzipped posts photos of yesterday's commemorative march held on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Books about Egypt
Blogger Kim wrote a review for a series of pocket guides for Egypt, published by AUC Press, by Alberto Silioti. The books are not in depth, but can give a glimpse into the area it covers for tourists. She also mentioned another book An ABC Escapade through Egypt, a book...
Palestine: Blog About Palestine Day on May 15
Palestinian blogger Za3tar invites bloggers to the second annual “Blog About Palestine Day” on May 15, which marks the 61st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba – the beginning of the Palestinian plight and suffering.
Syria: Damascus Real-Estate is the World's 8th Most Expensive
Syriangavroche writes [Ar] that commercial real-estate in Damascus is the 8th most expensive in the world, topping international hubs such as New York.
Armenia: Obama recognizes Genocide… kinda
The Stiletto comments on yesterday's statement by US President Barack Obama on the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The blog rounds up different reactions to the statement and also examines what this means for the president nearly 100 days into office.
World Book Day: Women's lives in the mirror of their men
Do women's lives paint themselves on- or against - the canvas "their" men provide them through the years ? A literary stroll gives us a bigger picture and takes us from Quebec, to France and finally, to some fascinating Algerian writers.
Armenia: Debate over campaign promise overshadows 94th anniversary of WWI killings
Yesterday marked the 94th anniversary of the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. Bloggers react to a statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama marking the occasion, but which avoided directly referring to the WWI events as genocide.
Iran: Ahmadinejad and his speech
Kamangir analysed [fa] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech in Sharyar in south western part of Tehran province.The blogger says only eight percent of Ahmadinejad's speech was about Sharyar and 60 percent about talked about Islamic government and morality.
Iran: Israeli Oranges surprised people
Several news sites and blogs reported that Israeli oranges in Tehran's shops made many people surprised. Ilna, a semi official news agency, reported [fa] the Iranian authorities will stop the distribution of these oranges.
Kuwait: Blackberry Lunches, Arab Sex Talk and Election Responsibility Plea
From the censorship of video games to discussions about Kuwait's upcoming parliamentary elections on May 16, the Kuwaiti blogosphere offers a mixed bag this week. Also in this post, by Amer Al Hilal, a concern raised by a Kuwaiti female blogger about Arab women talking about sex in public.
Lebanon: Pervert Online
Lebanese blogger +961 takes issue with a photographer's work on photography site flickr and shares his views in this post.
Jordan: Beyond Stereotypes
How to get past stereotypes and the future of the relationship between Denmark and the Arab and Muslim worlds was the centre of discussions at an event organised by the Danish Embassy in Amman. Mohammad Azraq, who attended the programme, picks up on this story and more in this round up of Jordanian blogs.
Russia, Turkey: Circassian Diaspora
Window on Eurasia writes about the Circassian diaspora in Turkey and Russo-Turkish relations.
Egypt/Morocco: New Technical blogs in Arabic
Recently the Arab blogsphere witnessed the launch of two unique Arabic blogs – One by Moroccan blogger Mohamed S. Hjiouij, which focuses on professional blogging; and Techno-Media by Egyptian blogger Mohamed El Gohary, who's also a Global Voices Online Arabic lingua contributor, which specializes in explaining Web2.0 technologies and linking...
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