Stories about Middle East & North Africa from October, 2010
Syria: Gap in Private Sector Salaries Disturbing
“Officially disclosed salaries in the Syrian private sector range from the minimum full-time wage of $125 to $42,000 a month”, Abu Fares lashes out on the Syrian private sector, and the disturbing imbalance in the wages it offers.
Lebanon: This morning in Beirut
Shalabieh finds a strange pair of eyes watching her from her neighbour's Beirut balcony.
Morocco: Against Torture Somewhere; Against Torture Anywhere
Moroccan bloggers have been expressing outrage over the indifference of the mainstream media and apparent double standards of their government following the death of a young Moroccan at the hands of representatives of public authority.
Iran: History in photos
Vahid Rahmanian, a talented photo blogger, shows Iran's history in photos in his blog.
Iran: “Blogger sentenced to 15 years”
Iranian blogger Hossein Maleki Ronaghi has been reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hussein Rongah Melki (also known as “Babak Khoramdin”) was one of the key cyberactivists behind Iran Proxy against web filtering. He used to blog about human rights and civil society.
Iran:”Ahmadinejad's 2.2 billion comments “
Fars News, a pro Islamic Republic web site, claimed that Ahmadinejad's speech on France 24 received 2.2 billion comments.PersianUmpire writes “unfortunately it didn’t take long for France 24 to confess to receiving a measly 31 comments.”
Russia: Bloggers Meet With Iranian Ambassador, Avoid Sensitive Topics
The meeting of Russia's top-bloggers with the Iranian Ambassador in Moscow three days after Hossein Derakhshan had been sentenced to 19.5 years of imprisonment for "anti-government propaganda" highlighted the clumsy attempts of the Iranian online diplomacy in Russia. It also showed commercialization and excessive cynicism of some of the popular Russian bloggers.
Jordan: To Palestine, With Love
Bloggers in Jordan, where a majority of people are descended from Palestinians, wrote extensively about issues in the West Bank and the Middle East this week.
Egypt: Firing Eissa, or Firing Free Press
Al-Dostour - one of the leading Egyptian independent newspapers - new owners have fired the paper's editor-in-chief and founder Ibrahim Eissa, opening the door for bloggers to put the incident and Egypt's media scene on the discussion board.
Morocco: Another Magazine Bites the Dust
Morocco's only weekly magazine published in the local Arabic dialect, darija, Nichane is closing shop after a sustained advertising boycott. Bloggers lament the loss of a publication which filled a niche in Morocco's ever-growing publishing industry, covering topics from a point of view usually reserved for the country's many French-language publications.
Iran: Russians bloggers in the Embassy of Iran
According to a Russian blogger last Thursday at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran held a meeting of Iranian and Russian bloggers in Moscow. During the conversation, bloggers discussed the prospects for Russian-Iranian relations at the present stage. Watch the photo here.
Kuwait: Let the Tomatoes Rot!
Tomatoes are now eight times more expensive in Kuwait than they were a month ago - and netizens are not taking the change in prices in stride. They cannot find an explanation to why the cost of a box of tomatoes jumped from half a dinar ($1.70) to KD4 ($14) in just a few days.
Morocco: Popular Blog Turns 5
Bill Day of the a la menthe wishes popular English-language blog The View from Fez a happy fifth birthday.
Morocco: What do Moroccan and Djiboutian Education Have in Common?
Moroccan blogger Jamal Elabiad asks what education in Morocco and in Djibouti have in common.
Egypt: Kareem Amer's Sentence Ends on November 5
November 5 marks the end of Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer's or Kareem Nabil Sulaiman four year prison term. “We have reasons to believe that Kareem may not be released on this date. We also fear that he might be tortured nearing the date of his release,” says the Free Kareem...
Bahrain: Free Blogger Ali Abdulemam
Bahraini blogger Ali Abdulemam was arrested almost a month ago. He has been held in solitary detention since then. His legal status remains unclear as no lawyer has seen him, and the authorities do not provide any details on the exact charges that him, according to the Free Blogger Ali...
Morocco: Farewell Nichane
Moroccan darija magazine Nichane is closing because of a sustained advertising boycott, reports Issandr El Amrani in The Arabist.
Algeria: On the Rich, the Poor and the Middle Class
What is it like to be poor? And what is it like to be rich? Algerian Salim looks into the two situations and also reflects (Ar) on those who are hanging in between.
Lebanon: Bottomless Pit
Jamal Ghosn summarizes why Lebanon is redefining his understanding of what an abyss might look like.
Lebanon: Sudanese Doctor on Hunger Strike
Dr. Abed el Meneem, a Sudanese activist has been on hunger strike at the Sudanese Cultural Club in Beirut for the past eight days. He's demanding the Lebanese authorities and the Sudanese embassy to take action to release of the 17 Sudanese detained in the Lebanese prisons among other things.
Lebanon: Feminist Video Rant
“I’ve been wanting to write up some articles about basic arguments we have to face as feminists every day, dealing with stupid questions that are often sexist comments disguised as questions. This time, I decided to do a video rant instead of a written one.” Quoting Nadine Mouawad on Sawt...
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