Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2010
UAE: Are Taxi Fares Fair?
Fake Plastic Souks, from the UAE, discusses taxi fares in the United Arab Emirates and how taxi drivers are faring.
UAE: Ban on Flickr Lifted
The United Arab Emirates has lifted a ban on photo sharing site Flickr, writes the UAE Community Blog. “According to a report in The National, the TRA has lifted the Flickr ban. Good news for UAE internet users and photographers. Apparently, it's been made possible by Yahoo utilising the same...
Saudi Arabia: Genie in Court
"I was under the influence of a genie" is the latest excuse for administrative corruption in Saudi Arabia. A corrupt judge, a genie and a religious investigation panel, which claims to have interrogated the genie, create a plot to good for Saudi netizens to pass on. Haifa Alrasheed brings us the latest reactions on the story.
Kuwait: Police Brutality Caught on Video?
Police brutality has been caught on video around the world. Here's one from Kuwait which was posted on a popular blog and attracted a lot of comments - many attacking the blogger for posting it.
Lebanon: Is Facebook being used to recruit spies?
From Lebanon, The Identity Chef Darine Sabbagh finds a link on her Facebook page asking for information on missing Israeli soldiers and notes: “Now honestly, things like these really make you think twice about your online activity and how your online information can be misused and how you can be...
Saudi Arabia: Online Impressions
From Saudi Arabia, The Eternal Philosopher Duha Husseini offers us an insight on “online impressions.” She adds: “I remember a time when 99% of Saudi internet users used aliases, including myself, for fear we might be judged based on what we share online. That has now changed.”
Saudi Arabia: Niqab and Freedom
Alternative Saudi Voices’ Ahmed Bagadoodoffers his perspective on the niqab (face cover worn by some Muslim women) and freedom.
Kuwait: A Gay Following
Desert Girl on Kuwait wants to know whether she has a gay following.
Jordan: Are You Spending Too Much Time on Twitter?
From Jordan, Rand lists 10 signs which show that you are spending too much time on Twitter.
Jordan: Rules for Elections
JanMania proposes five rules for the Jordanian parliamentary elections.
Egypt: Bad Bad Facebook
A TV show discussing Facebook on the Egyptian state-run television channel soon became the source for rumours, mockery, and loads of fun on blogs and Twitter. Tarek Amr has more in this round up of reactions from Egyptian netizens.
Syria: Who Gets Paid $42,000 a Month?
Syria, formerly a socialist state, began its economic reform process in late 2003. The process has lead to a rapid growth of Syria's private sector, but also led to a continuous increase in poverty levels and an exponential income inequality within the private sector.
Jordan: The ArabCrunch Controversy Continues
ArabCrunch was founded in 2008. The blog launched its Arabic version in 2009, and quickly became a leading blog in the Arab tech sector. Jordanian netizens react to controversies surrounding the site and allegations made by its founder in this post.
Saudi Arabia: Calls to Free Samar Albadawi
Samar Albadawi, a divorced Saudi woman is currently being held in Brayman jail in Jeddah for disobeying her father. While some netizens are furious others are skeptical about her case and the debate still continues among Saudi bloggers and tweeps.
Morocco: “Driving to Civility”
Moroccan writer and traveler Ahmed T.B. describes his journey in a taxi through the hellish Casablanca traffic as a new and controversial driving code is being put in place.
France: First Case of Burqa Rage?
Allain Jules, blogging in centpapiers from Quebec, cannot wait for the impending decision of a French court in the case of a 63 years old former teacher who ripped off the burqa of a young female tourist from the United Arab Emirates in a Parisian shop back in February. She told...
Jordanians Tweet about Election Campaigning
Jordanian parliamentary candidates are now allowed to post campaign materials for the November 9 elections. Posters now cover main roads, and the topic of these campaign materials has been hotly discussed among Jordanian Twitter users. Almost unanimously, these tweets express disgust with the posters.
Iran: President Ahamdinejad's trip to Lebanon
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has just concluded a two-day visit to Lebanon. It was his first official since 2005 when he first took office. He held talks with Lebanese officials and visited strongholds of Iran's ally Hezbollah. He received a hero's welcome. Several Iranian bloggers reacted to this trip.
Iran: Daily Photos of Art and Persian History
Iranian citizen media does not only talk about politics and protest, but also life, art and history. Vahid Rahmanian is a creative photo blogger who publishes photos of art and historic places in Iran.
Iran: Khazali,blogger and physician was arrested
Mehdi Khazali, head of Iran's Medical Data Bank and son of hardliner, Ayatollah Abolghassem Khazali, was arrested on Wednesday by Iranian authorities. According to [fa] Sedaye Zendani, says Khazali wrote posts against Iranian government.
Iran: “Lash poem”
Many Iranians have been sentenced to lashes in Iran's prisons. Here is a poem by Mehrangiz Rassapour for them. Iranian journalist Mirali Hosseini performed it in You Tube (with English subtitles).
About our Middle East & North Africa coverage
