· December, 2006

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from December, 2006

The Saudis are Still Talking

  18 December 2006

In this week's roundup: Human Rights Watch's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, a recent poll showing Saudi Arabia to be the fifth least corrupt country in the world, Turki Al-Faisal's resignation from being Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, and much more. Rasheed has done a great job covering...

A First Round-Up of the Sudanese Blogosphere

  16 December 2006

Today in the Sudanese blogosphere, we notice a variety of opinions on different topics. Black Kush from South Sudan has 2 posts entitled “How Egypt is woeing South Sudan” where you’ll find an interesting exchange between him and an Egyptian. It was no surprise when the news came out that...

Iran:Student Protest Movement in 35 Photos

  12 December 2006

Jomhour has published 35 photos, all showing student protest movement during Ahmadinejad's speech in Amir Kabir University.For the first time he faced a strong protest group who burned his photos and chanted slogans against him.

Lebanon: Demonstrations, Demonstrations

  12 December 2006

A series of anti-government or opposition and pro-government protests and demonstrations are literally taking the country by storm. Lebanese bloggers are, as expected, expressing their positions, whether pro, con or independent through opinions, analysis, sarcasm, art, etc. The posts quoted here are, as usual, not all inclusive. All the other...

Iran:Students disrupted Ahmadinejad's Speech

  11 December 2006

According to Alpar, students in AmirKabir University in Tehran, disrupted Ahmadinejad's speech.The blogger says students chanted slogans such as ” down with dictator“[Fa].

Egypt: Suiciders on the street

  11 December 2006

“You're a street vendor in Cairo. You're 23 years old, unemployed, and selling merchandise such as clothes and fruits is the only way for you to survive. You can't afford to have your own shop and you don't have a place to display your goods. So what do you do?...

Palestine: Divide and Rule

  11 December 2006

“A strange phenomenon has been taking place over the past few years. Israel has been carrying out a systematic plan to try and separate Gaza from the West Bank. Little attention has been given to this effort separating people – and a country – using administrative measures,” Daoud Kuttab said.

Yemen: Arranged Marriage to Counter Terrorism

  11 December 2006

A newspaper report said that the Yemeni government fights terrorism by arranging marriages for the captured terrorists. Yemeni official confirmed that this is proving an effective counter terrorism technique because marriage provides the terrorists with the familial and social stability that they need in order not to return to their...

Lebanon: Possible Breakthrough!

  11 December 2006

Mohamad Masri says: “Don't hold your breath for a possible breakthrough,” commenting on the breaking news reporting that Hassan Nasrallah and Hizballah have accepted in principle a 7-point proposal brokered through the Sudanese envoy for the Arab League when he was in Beirut last week. “I have a feeling it...

Arabisc: An Arab in Toronto and Arabs and Civilisation

  11 December 2006

Emirati blogger Osama is in North America..a place he never imagined he would ever travel to as long as George W Bush is the president of the US. لم أتخيل أبدا أنني سأنال الفرصة لزيارة القارة الأمريكية أبدا، فقبل عدة سنوات عندما كنت أدرس في الخارج قمت باستخراج تأشيرة خاصة...

Student Protest, Election and USA-Iran Talks

  11 December 2006

According to the mainstream media and bloggers thousands of Iranian students demonstrated on the 6th of December in different Iranian universities around the country. The main slogan was “University is Alive”. University students and academics have gone through a very difficult time since last year. During this period some student...

Iran:Your step by step guide to look like a fool as a nation!

  10 December 2006

Mr.Behi with irony talks about current political situation in Iran.The blogger writes about next week election for City and Village Councils of Iran:to prevent the party of Ahmadinejad to invade all our hopes for reform, I guess we need to vote for reformists to win at least this. We are...

Egypt: Bloggers open the door to police brutality debate

  9 December 2006

‘Extraordinary rendition’ has passed into common parlance over the last year as human rights organisations have accused the US government of exporting suspects to be tortured in regimes like Egypt, Morocco and Syria. But while cases involving international suspects get the headlines, these countries are regularly cited by human rights...

Arabisc: Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger Lost in Legal Wrangle!

  9 December 2006

In my last post, I translated excrepts from a post written by Egyptian blogger Abdulkareem Sulaiman, who is being held in custody for articles he wrote online, describing the unhealthy conditions he is being forced to adapt to behind bars. Well, his saga seems to continue, in a legal tangle...

What the Saudis are Talking About

  8 December 2006

So far, the topic of “woman driving” has resurfaced, a rape case sentencing made headlines, women doctors were asked to leave a lecture hall while men doctors were allowed to stay, and bearded men raided a stage. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. On the case of...

Arabisc: Prison Adventures and a Yemeni Cure for Aids!

  7 December 2006

Remember Egyptian blogger Abdul Kareem Nabeel Sulieman? Well, he is still being detained and investigated on five charges, which include incitement to hate Islam, spreading malicious rumours that disrupt public security and defaming the Egyptian President. From prison, Kareem smuggles notes for his friends to blog and tell the world...

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Mariam A.
Mariam A. is the editor for the Middle East & North Africa. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.