Stories about Middle East & North Africa from November, 2013
Yemenis Looking for Action: TEDxSanaa 2013
Under the theme Actions Matter, TedxSanaa kicks off today. Noon Arabia takes a closer look.
Yemen's Oud Criminal
Yemeni musician Ahmed Alshaiba shows off his Oud skills in a new video released on YouTube. Find out why Yemenis are so proud of the achievement.
Ethiopians: #SomeoneTellSaudiArabia to Stop Immigration Crackdown
Saudi Arabia has began enforcing a crackdown on illegal immigrants after the expiry of an amnesty period given to illegal immigrants. Ethiopian immigrants find themselves a target.
Iran: Changing Facebook's Filtering Model
Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi, says [fa] that his Ministry proposes that Facebook's filtering model be changed. He proposes content based filtering for internet sites and Facebook because there are “useful pages” in Facebook that Iranians can read.
How to Have Fun With Nuclear Negotiation
When "making progress" during nuclear negotiations still means no deal, Iranians on Twitter share jokes about the comical side of things.
Global Voices Meetup in Cairo, Egypt
The next Global Voices Meetup is scheduled for November 16 to take place in Cairo, Egypt. Please join members of our GV community for this special gathering.
Iran: Blogger's Jail Sentence Reduced to 17 Years
The “Justice for Hossein Derakhshan” blog announced on October 16, 2013 that Iranian authorities have reduced the jail sentence of Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan (also known as “Hoder”) to 17 years from 19.5 years. Derakhshan was arrested on November 1, 2008.
Syrian Journalist Abdulwahab Mulla Kidnapped in Liberated Aleppo
Citizen journalist and satirist Abdulwahab Mulla, 24, was kidnapped from his house in Aleppo’s liberated area by unidentified masked gunmen. Netizens appeal for his release.
Bad Cop, Good Cop and Other Cops in Iran Nuke Talks
Six world powers and Iran are discussing Iran's nuclear programme in a two-day meeting in Geneva. Lebanese satirist Karl Sharro comments on Twitter: The Western sides at the P5+1 talks with Iran are playing good cop, bad cop, over-enthusiastic cop and insufferably pretentious cop. — Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) November 9,...
Saudi Women Insist on Driving Despite Ban
Saudi women continue to challenge the driving ban imposed on them in the absolute monarchy. This video shows a woman named as Azza Al Shammasi driving in Saudi Arabia on November 9.
Saudi Women to Continue to Challenge Driving Ban
Now that the Saudi government's position on the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia is clear, activists intend to continue to challenge the ban and “focus their effort on changing the government’s position instead of spending time trying to convince observers that society is not against lifting the ban.”...
The Curious Case of Sami Anan
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shares her two cents on the reemergence of Sami Anan, the former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Is he bidding for presidency? Global Voices Online's Victor Salama has more.
21km of Jeddah's 655km coastline accessible to public
Do you live near the sea but feel it's unreachable? That is the case for people living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Al Omran tweets: Total length of coastline within Jeddah Governorate is 655km. Only 21km of that is properly accessible to public http://t.co/64gTbTSEV3 — Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) November...
Tunisian Police Blamed for Torturing Young Man to Death
Only few weeks after the adoption of a new anti-torture law in Tunisia, Walid Denguir, died in police custody. Pictures of his dead body, show bruises and head injuries.
Lebanese Man Microwaves Cat
A Lebanese man microwaved a cat while his friend filmed him. They uploaded the video on Facebook, drawing a manhunt for the culprits, who have been named and shamed.
Turk-Arab Youth Congress: Middle East Needs Greater Regional Cooperation
Global Voices author from Pakistan Fakiha Hassan Rizvi attended the 2nd Turk Arab Youth Congress (TAYC) held in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct 25-27, 2013 and reports what she learned.
In Response to Danny Ayalon: The REAL Truth about Palestine
In a video released in July 2011, Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon offered his version of the “Israel Palestinian Conflict: The Truth About the West Bank”. In the video he explained the meaning of terms such as Palestine, the West Bank and the Occupied Territories based on...
Egypt: The Sami Anan “Presidential Campaign” Goes Viral
Posters showing former chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Sami Anan in what seems to be election campaign posters have gone viral. Victor Salama has more
Saudi Releases Writer Tariq Al Mubarak
Saudi writer Tariq Al Mubarak, detained for supporting women in their right to drive in the absolute monarchy, has been released. Tamador Al Yami tweets: After 8 days in detention, Tariq Almubarak supporter of #Women2Drive #oct26driving is Free now. #FreeTariqAlmubarak — تماضر اليامي Tamador (@TamadorAlyami) November 3, 2013
Egypt: Not Morsi Or Sisi
On Twitter, Doaa Nada shares this cartoon above. She tweets [ar]: ياللي بتهتف (مرسي- وسيسي ) لا دة هيرجع ولا دة رئيسي @DoAaNaDa: For those chanting Morsi and Sisi, the first won't return and the second isn't my president Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi was the president of Egypt for...
Egypt: In Search of a Home
Where does one feel at home? Egyptian blogger Tarek Shalaby shares his opinion saying: Some people say home is where your bed is, others argue that home is where your wifi connects automatically. I can say that home is where your salaries have been transferred to