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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from April, 2011
Egypt: “I really sympathize with Mubarak”
Hany George, an Egyptian blogger and activist shares a true story from Tahrir Square that he dedicates to all the people who still sympathize with ousted president Hosni Mubarak as he is detained and prosecuted in Egypt.
Egypt: Gene Sharp Taught Us How To Revolt!
Last February, The New York Times wrote an article about the political science professor, Gene Sharp, whose ideas were credited as being an inspiration for the Egyptian revolution, as well as many other uprisings in the region. Egyptian netizens respond to the claim with the hashtag on Twitter.
Palestine: Remembering Murdered Italian Activist Vittorio Arrigoni
Long before the deadline set by his captors arrived, kidnapped Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was killed, apparently hanged. Bloggers in Gaza and elsewhere have reacted with disbelief, anger and sorrow.
Libya-Bosnia-Hungary: Origins of Gaddafi's wife
Pestiside.hu reports about uncorroborated rumours that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's wife, Safiya, is from Bosnia with origins in Hungary.
Egypt: Mubarak in Detention
Just a few months ago, many Egyptians might have wished to see the country's then-president Mubarak in jail, yet almost certainly none of them imagined this wish might come true one day. However, on Wednesday April 13, 2011 Egyptians woke up to the news of Mubarak's detention first thing in the morning. Here is how the moment was documented in the Egyptian social media scene.
Palestine: Kidnapping of Italian Activist in Gaza
Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped on Thursday 14 April, 2011, in Gaza by a Salafi-Jihadi group, who said that they would kill him if Sheikh Abu Al Waleed Al Maqdisi, recently arrested by the Hamas government, was not released. It was reported on Friday 15 April by various international media outlets that Vittorio Arrigoni has been found dead.
Qatar: Enjoying a Drop of Rain
There’s nothing like a change in weather to get people talking, and in a desert country, what’s more exciting than rain? Residents of Qatar got a bit of rain. Reactions on Twitter was a mix of shock, awe, confusion, and wishes for more to come.
Armenia: Starlet ‘upset’ about Turkish magazine cover
Ianyan comments on attempts by the Armenian lobby in the U.S. to scandalize the use of a photograph of American-Armenian starlet Kim Kardashian on the cover of this month's Turkish...
Egypt: “We are all Maikel Nabil”
The sentencing of blogger Maikel Nabil to 3 years in prison by a military tribunal in closed session for criticizing the army, two days after a bloody crackdown in Tahrir Square, has Egyptian netizens in an uproar, exercising their newfound free speech rights while seeing them being threatened
Russia: Bloggers Debate Military Operation in Libya
The situation in Libya, especially after the start of military operations by Western countries, has become one of the main topics of discussion in the Russian blogosphere. Marina Litvinovich analyzes the reactions and trends surrounding the issue.
Iran:TV anchors before and after revolution
Here is a film showing TV anchors before and after Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran:Iranian exiles killed in Iraq
Iraqi forces attacked Iranian opposition group, Mujahedin of People, in Iraq's Camp Ashraf killing at least 25 people. Here is a film shows Camp Ashraf under attack.
Egypt: Crackdown on Tahrir After “Cleansing Friday”
Tahrir Square was the scene of a brutal crackdown on the night of the biggest protest since Mubarak's ousting, which seemed to have revived the spirit of the revolution, harking back to some of the darkest Friday nights of the country's 18 days of protest. Asteris Masouras brings us the latest from netizens in the second of a two-part series.
Egypt: “Cleansing Friday” in Tahrir Square Reboots the Revolution
For the tenth week in a row since the Egyptian revolution began in January 25, 2011, Cairo's people took to downtown Tahrir square in large numbers to peacefully demonstrate against corrupt officials remaining in power and to show solidarity to Arab uprisings. Asteris Masouras takes us to the heart of Tahrir in the first of a two-part series.
Egypt: Debating the Role of the Media in Covering Blogger's Arrest
Egyptian bloggers discuss the role of the media in shedding light on the case of the detained blogger, Maikel Nabil Sanad, with TV host Yosri Fouda. Tarek Amr sums up the conversation in this post.
Egypt: Remembering Bahr El-Baqar Incident
Forty one years ago, the Israeli Air Force raided a primary school in the Egyptian village of Bahr el-Baqar. About 30 of its students died, over 50 were severely wounded, and many were left with disabilities. And after all those years, Egyptians still remember the massacre.
Global Voices at the 7th Annual BOB Awards
A number of Global Voices contributors from around the world are among the nominees for the prestigious Deutsche Welle Blog Awards – the BOBs. Find out more and vote now!
Video: Checking out the BOBs Video Channel Nominees
The Deutsche Welle International Blog Awards, known as The BOBs are one of the most important awards for content producers online. One of their 17 categories is the award for Best Video Channel and today we'll get to know a bit more about the 11 nominees to better cast your vote.
Syria: Bread and Propaganda
As protests in Syria continue into their third week, the Assad government is making concessions in hopes of appeasing protesters. The government is asserting power via propaganda, some of which is finding its way to the most unlikely of places...
Egypt: Basboussa for President!
Former Egyptian television anchor and activist Bothaina Kamel announced on Twitter that she would be running for the Egyptian presidential elections. Here are reactions for and against her plans.
Israel: Goldstone Op-Ed Taken on a Media Spin
The Washington Post published a highly controversial op-ed by Richard Goldstone, who led the UNHRC fact-finding mission to investigate international human rights and humanitarian law violations related to the Gaza war. Netizens debate the article in this post.
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