Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2009
Western Sahara: Hunger Strike in Support for Separatists
Solidarité Maroc [Fr], an online forum regrouping some Moroccan human rights activist, publishes an appeal (video) by French national Jean François Debargue who's on hunger strike in solidarity with Sahrawis whom he says are living in “dire conditions” in Western Sahara – a territory administered by Morocco and contested by...
Saudi Arabia: Where Plagiarism is a Crime
Saudi bloggers are rallying to the support of a fellow blogger who claims that a newspaper had lifted photographs and copy from his blog without permission.
Iran: The rising cost of bread
Jomhour , an Iranian blogger, says [fa] that the price of some breads has increased 5 fold in one year in Iran.
Tunisia: Electoral Campaign Not on Track
Tunisia is gearing up for its presidential elections on October 25. The election campaign started on October 11, but not all political parties and politicians are able to join the fray. Read this post to find out why.
Egypt: Campaign Against Abusive Publishers
An Egyptian blogger and author has had it with dealing with unscrupulous publishers and is taking the initiative to make the voices of authors not given a chance a a sounding board. Check out what Marwa Rakha is up to and how successful her initiative is.
Tunisia: Watching Arab Media on HIV/AIDS
Zied Mhirsi is a Tunisian doctor and blogger, based in the USA, who is dedicated to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Last year, he started a blog to monitor Arab media coverage of HIV/AIDS.
Morocco: Praise for Islamic Finance
In a recent blog post, Paris-based Moroccan blogger Larbi (Fr) takes a closer look at Islamic finance. He writes: “While global finance has collapsed and the world was plunged into a financial crisis like no other, a little village still resists to this wave. It is called: “Islamic Finance”. Crisis?...
Morocco: Banking fees uncovered
In a recent post, moroccan blogger Omar El-Hyani [Fr] explores banking fees in Morocco. He conducted a comparative review of major banks in Morocco based on the most common operations a bank customer is likely to perform.
Morocco: Blogoma participates in Blog Action Day
Moroccan bloggers expressed their concern for the environment on Blog Action Day 2009, which focused on climate change this year. Water scarcity and energy dominated the conversation, reports Anas Alaoui.
Morocco: Next Earth Day to be held in Morocco
The next Earth Day, which falls on the 22nd of April, will be held in Morocco, reports Dominique Lagarde on the blog Nomades Express.
Israel: Civil Marriage Good for Women's Rights
Elana Sztokman assesses how a new civil marriage bill would improve Israeli women's civil rights. She asserts: “Anyone who has encountered the real suffering brought on by this system cannot help but be in favor…”
Israel: Future Gay Tourist Hub?
Is Israel becoming a hub of international gay tourism, I Googled Israel ponders. He observes: “There is a clear trend definitely geared towards bringing in more gay vacationers and, to be more precise, their holiday dollars.”
Israel: Sviva Israel is Best Practice in Social Media
Sviva Israel as a best practice model in social media. Debra Askanase of Community Organizer 2.0 explains how in her case study: “How a Facebook Event Transformed an Organization.”
Israel: Charitable Giving at Every Level
“The difference between being charitable and being a philanthropist is having a strategy,” writes Richard Marker in eJewish Philanthropy, explaining why “You Don't Need to Be Rich to be a Philanthropist.”
Israel: What Other Countries Eat
Daniel Lubetzky's Peaceworks blog posts photos of what countries around the world eat in one week. Each photo shows a family in their kitchen surrounded by a week's worth of food.
Israel: Exploring Hebrew's Latin Roots
BaLashon (On the Tongue) explores the Hebrew term kalgas קלגס, meaning soldier. He discovers Latin roots: “Caliga- Roman sandals, secured with nails (which made quite a bit of noise)- were apparently frightening enough to give their name to the Roman soldiers.”
Israel: Can Tel Aviv Become a Biking Mecca?
Can Tel Aviv join the Netherlands and China as an ideal location for cyclists? Ami Vider of Tel Aviv Tomorrow discusses its potential.
Israel:Blog Action Day for the Environment
On Blog Action Day, October 15, Israeli bloggers were already looking ahead to October 24 when environmental organizations, activists, and bloggers too, are planning a day of climate change protest across the Middle East.
Lebanon: 2nd Arab Blogger Meeting Planned
Arab bloggers from 19 countries will meet in Beirut from December 7 to 12. Check out the event's website for updates on the Social Arab Web: 2nd Arab Bloggers Meeting.
Lebanon: Right to Left
Lebanese NightS remarks: “It has always bothered me the very limited collection of RTL(right-to-left) blog templates/themes..whether it’s for Blogger, WordPress or Drupal or any other Blogging platform or CMS.”
Jordan: Arab Crunch Arabic Edition Out
Arabic readers have something to look forward to online – “the launch of “ArabCrunch Arabic Edition which will be the first Arabic blog that focus on tech start ups, entrepreneurship, social media and mobile news and views and is based on citizen journalism,” says Arab Crunch.