Stories about Middle East & North Africa from August, 2010
Beirut: 10 things to do under $10
Think visiting Beirut is expensive? Shalabieh at Shalabieh's World gives us suggestions for 10 things to do in Beirut for under $10. See the ideas, and maybe add your own suggestions here.
Iran:Political prisoners stopped hunger strike
Sight and several other Iranian bloggers reported [fa] that all political prisoners stopped their hunger strike after 15 days.
Tunisia: When the Singer Chants “Long Live Netanyahu”
The circulation of a video showing Tunisian singer Mohsen Sherif yelling “Long live Bibi Netanyahu!” and inviting Jews to come in droves to Djerba Island for El Ghariba pilgrimage, has triggered a wave of anger and disappointment among Tunisians. In geek speak, the video circulated on Facebook has now created a buzz.
Iran: Hamed Saber is out of jail
Aftab News reported on 9th of August that Iranian photo-blogger, Hamed Saber, was released on bail.
Egypt: Youth using social media to close the gap
Thirty young Egyptians joined hands to produce 10 social advertisements, aimed at social reform. Marwa Rakha takes a closer look at the “Closing The Gap” project, and shares some of the videos produced in this post.
USA: Deconstructing Media Coverage of the “Ground Zero Mosque”
The building of an Islamic community center in New York City, near the site of "Ground Zero," has polarized opinions across the media spectrum. In this post, bloggers share their thoughts.
Saudi Arabia: Where Women are Dependents Forever and Ever
Did you know that Saudi Arabia has a service in place where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends a text message to a male guardian every time a "dependent" leaves the country? Saudi blogger Eman Al Nafjan opens Pandora's Box when she questions the new development.
Jordan: Honking Horns Mark School Result Announcement
Celebrations mark the announcement of secondary school results, known as Tawjihi in many Arab countries. Naseem Al Tarawnah tweets the scene from Amman: “11:20pm. Amman. Honking horns & kids, riding on car windows, screaming. Either Tawjihi results are out or #JO just put a man on the moon.”
Egypt: Know New Blogs
Know New Blogs is a new meme started by Moroccan Egyptian Basma Aal at In Between the Lines. “Know New Blogs is a way to explore new blogs that is about different topics from all over the world,” she writes. This month's meme focuses on Arab bloggers, and those writing...
Jordan: Leap in Twitter Users
On Arab Crunch, Gaith Saqer writes about the leap in Twitter users around the world.”The Middle-East Africa jumped 142 per cent to 5 million visitors” in the period from June 2009 to June 2010.
Global: Ramadan Memes
Every year, web-savvy Muslims around the world share images with each other to celebrate Ramadan. While most images of the sort are solemn, there is often plenty of humor to go around as well, writes Jillian C. York, who shares some of the fun.
Lebanon: Once Upon a Time in Beirut
“Once Upon a Time in Beirut” is a sarcastic multi-lingual poem with alternating English, French and Arabic (Lebanese colloquial) lines written by Archangelus.
Lebanon: Top Tweet
“Israel should publish a guidebook “How to start a war and blame others 101” #lebanese” was the Darine Sabbagh's comment on the Lebanese border clash of August 3rd and which became a Top Tweet.
Lebanon: Hezbollah, STL and Jumblatt
Friday Lunch Club quotes MP Walid Jumblatt as saying: “Jeffrey Feltman [former US ambassador to Lebanon] informed me, months ago, that the STL [Special Tribunal for Lebanon] was after Hezbollah…” adding that Jumblatt wondered “how can the STL be after justice, when a US official knows of its ‘secret’ decisions...
Lebanon: Unique Summers
“Since the beginning of Summer 2010, the Israeli PR machine didn’t take a summer vacation, in fact they doubled the efforts […] to make sure that Lebanese Tourism, which is the living blood of Lebanon’s growth, doesn’t happen,” writes Lebanese Voices on a series of Israeli incursions and about the August 3rd border...
Jordan: An Ode to the White Plastic Chair
“My dear white plastic chair: without you, the world wouldn’t be the same,” Roba at And Far Away writes an ode to the ubiquitous white plastic chair, complete with photos to illustrate its presence in the world.
Palestine: The Politics Of Issuing Passports
The hostility between the Hamas government in Gaza and the Fatah government in Ramallah has manifested itself in many areas, from education to electricity. Now it is affecting the issuing of passports, and one blogger in Gaza has been caught in the middle.
Iran: Unifying Filtering
Iranian authorities announced [fa] that filtering policy will be unified in country. According to Islamic Republic's authorities an Iranian company, whose name was not announced, has won the contract to be in charge of filtering in country.
Morocco: “My Summer With a Book”
In a world steeped in digital technology, and where tablets and e-book readers are getting cheaper and more accessible to a larger public every day, will there be a place left for good old printed books? For some Moroccan bloggers the answer is yes and technology is there to prove them right.
South Korea: Iran Envoy Said South Korea To Avoid Sanctions on North
Iranian Ambassador warned South Korea of substantial economic loss if it follows US led sanction on North Korea in an exclusive interview with South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo, few days later the top sanctioning envoys from the US made visits to Seoul.
Iran: Political prisoners on hunger strike
Seventeen political prisoners began a hunger strike at the end of July to protest deteriorating conditions at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. Iran has arrested hundreds of journalists, human rights activists, and politicians after the protest movement emerged against the results of the June 12 presidential election in 2009.