Stories about Middle East & North Africa from November, 2011
Iran: Ahmadinejad's top adviser under pressure
Iranian judiciary officials raided, government's official newspapers’ building and tired to arrest Ali Akbar Javanfekr,top aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday.Here is a film showing this attack in You Tube.
Egypt: Revolutionaries Shrug at Cabinet Resignation
The Cabinet of Dr Essam Sharaf has just asked if it could resign and the Supreme Council for Armed Forces (SCAF) is yet to decide whether it would accept their resignation or not. For activists and protesters battling police and the army for the third day in and around Tahrir Square, the news does not bring anything new to the table. Their main demand is for SCAF to leave power and hand over authority to a civil government.
Morocco: Online Debates Rage Days Ahead of Parliamentary Elections
Moroccan are using the Internet extensively to discuss the upcoming legislative elections. Part of the discussion is revolving around the electoral programs of the competing parties, the question of whether to boycott or participate in the poll and the role played by the pro-democracy youth movement, February 20.
Egypt: Battle for Tahrir Continues for Third Day
The battle for Tahrir Square, in downtown Cairo, continues to rage for the third day today. Netizens keep us abreast with the action from the frontlines.
Tunisia: Execution of a Tunisian in Iraq Divides Netizens
The execution of Yosri Trigui, a Tunisian convicted of terrorism, in Iraq has divided Tunisian netizens. A terrorist who deserves what he obtained, or a young victim of manipulation, and a trial that did not meet international standards? Read Afef Abrougui's round up of reactions from Tunisia to find out.
Egypt: Have Activists and Journalists Been Targeted in Tahrir Square Clearing?
Tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shots were used today, injuring scores of people, to clear Tahrir Square of protesters. Egyptians on Twitter were both sad and angry for what happened, accusing the new rulers of Egypt of targeting activists.
Israel: Netanyahu Threatens to Replace Interns with Indian Doctors
After months of protests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested replacing medical interns with foreign labor contractors from India if an agreement can not be reached with them. Interns react online, with humor and sarcasm.
Egypt: Ultras Push Police Back as the Battle for Tahrir Continues
Police and protesters spent a day battling over Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the Egyptian revolution. A few minutes ago thousands of football fans, known as ultras, descended upon the square pushing back the police. Here are reactions from Twitter.
UAE: Female Twitter User Rowda Hamed Summoned for Interrogation
Female Twitter user Rowda Hamed, from the UAE, tweeted saying that she has been summoned for interrogation. She is one of the few Twitter users from the country who support five detained activists who recently went on hunger strike.
Morocco: Call to Free Rapper Haked
In Morocco, a call has gone out for netizens to join in a campaign to free jailed rapper Haked. Mamfakinch tweets: “Help free Moroccan democracy activist & rapper Mouad Haked. Take pic of yourself w/ sign reading #FreeHaked. Send it to FREEMOUAD@GMAIL.COM.” Mamfakinch posts more details on his case here.
Iran: A top missile designer killed in explosion
Pandar writes [fa] that Reza Mir Husseini, a member of Revolutionary Guard and a top missile designer was killed blast in a military base near Tehran last week.
Egypt: The Question of Election Symbols
A car, a gun, a toothbrush, a spaceship and an eye! Those are just some of the symbols you can see on the election banners on Egyptian streets as the countdown for election day in Egypt nears. Tarek Amr looks up what netizens have to say about those symbols.
Egypt: The Mini-States Of Cairo
So you thought Cairo was a city? Actually it's a series of mini-states that operate independently of each other. In this post, blogger Karim Shafei explains how Cairo really works.
Kuwait: Protesters Storm the National Assembly
Thousands of angry Kuwaitis stormed the National Assembly building on Wednesday 16 November, after police and security forces clashed with protestors. Kuwait's political sphere has been extremely tense in the past few years, and with the Arab Spring earlier this year, the situation took a new turn.
Yemen: Reuters Yields to the Power of Twitter!
Yemeni netizens scored big time when their Twitter campaign 'Shame on Reuters' pressured the international news organisation to stop its stringer Muhammad Sudam, who has also been the Yemeni President's personal translator and secretary since 2009, from reporting.
Palestine: Freedom Riders Challenge Israeli Segregation
On November 15 a group of Palestinian activists were arrested while travelling on a bus carrying Israeli settlers. The activists called themselves the “Freedom Riders”, after the American civil rights campaigners of 1961.
Europe: A Song Criticizing Schengen Visa Procedure
At BlogActiv.eu, Kader Sevinc writes about “a creative way of criticizing the Schengen visa procedure” – Schengen Macht Frei, a song by Sarp Yeletaysi/Sarpinto, who writes this on SoundCloud: “[…] This song is the product of many visits to embassies of European countries to obtain a visa which is a...
Kuwait: Video Campaign to Teach Citizens about the Constitution
To mark the 49th anniversary of the Kuwaiti constitution, a group of activists decided to remind citizens of the different clauses of the constitution. Under the theme of Tadry [ar] (Did you know?), Sout Al-Kuwait (Voice of Kuwait) produced six videos, each spanning a few seconds, explaining to citizens six select articles from the constitution.
Egypt: Commemorating 40 Years of Pope Shenouda on Twitter
Egyptian Copts, among others, decided to criticize Pope Shenouda III on the occasion of his 40th Ordination anniversary. The anniversary coincided with the end of the 40 day mourning period after the Maspero massacre, where 27 Egyptians, mostly Coptic Christians, were killed.
Algeria: A News Site's Founder on the State of Citizen Media
Thalia Rahme interviews Fayçal Anseur, founder of Algerian news site Algérie-Focus about the site's goals and the state of citizen media in Algeria.
UAE: Detained Activists Begin Hunger Strike
Five activists held in the UAE since April and currently standing trial for publishing material online, using aliases, have started an open-ended hunger strike to draw attention to their plight and the abuse they are receiving in prison. Mona Kareem checks out netizens' reactions to their cause.
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