Stories about Middle East & North Africa from July, 2012
Syria: Netizens Say Countdown for Bashar Begins
Twitter is abuzz with news of the beginning of the end of the Assad regime, following a bomb explosion in Damascus in which three senior members of president Bashar Al Assad's inner circle were killed.
Israelis React to Self-Immolation at Social Justice Protest
Oמ Saturday evening (July 14), 56-year-old Moshe Silman attended the Aviv social justice protest, which marked a year since the beginning of the #J14 protest movement. Since the self-immolation, the discussions about it dominated the Israeli cyberspace. The initial reaction was shock, especially of the hundreds of people who witnessed the self-immolation. Many expressed the feeling that Silman's story could have happened to most Israelis due to the near total absence of a government safety net.
Mauritania: Remembering the Country's First Military Coup
July 10, 2012 marked the 34th anniversary of the first military coup in Mauritania, when the military overthrew President Moktar Ould Daddah. Mauritanian activists remembered the anniversary of the 1978 coup by blogging and tweeting about it, and criticising military rule in Mauritania.
Lebanon: A Petition to Issue a Law about the Missing and Kidnapped
Following the missing people in Lebanon case that Global Voices Online posted about earlier, netizens are circulating a petition to issue a law about missing and kidnapped people on Daleel Madani website.
Egypt: Conflicting News on Casualties in Cairo Train Crash
Information remains sketchy about the number of casualties from a train crash in a Cairo suburb earlier today. Reports on mainstream media ranged from deaths and injuries - to no deaths and just injuries, in the accident where a passenger train derailed and caught fire.
Brazil: Middle East Economic Policy Under the Radar
The current search for new trading partners in unexpected geographic areas demonstrates the extent to which Brazil has changed its foreign policy the last few years. With an agenda that has focused primarily on global business performance, the Middle East has emerged as a key area for Brazilians.
Iran: Kaboudvand's life in danger
Several bloggers reported Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand‘s life is in danger.This Kurdish activist has been on hunger strike for several days. Alireza Rezai says [fa] Kabudvand's hunger strike did not get enough attention in Iranian media.
Syria/Turkey: Syrian Refugees Protest Water Shortages at Kilis Camp
Syrian refugees at the Kilis Refugee camp, on the Syrian-Turkish border, protested against water shortages. Four policemen and 10 refugees are reportedly injured.
Yemen: TEDx Finally in Sanaa!
There is great excitement in Yemen and among netizens that TEDx has reached Sanaa after the license to stage the event was finally obtained on July 13th 2012. Many Yemenis are looking forward to getting the chance to share their dreams, experiences and ideas with each other and the world in December 2012.
Mauritania: Military Plane Crashes Killing Seven
On July 12, 2012, a Mauritanian military plane crashed in Nouakchott airport. The accident took the life of 3 soldiers (among them one officer) as well as two custom officials, in addition to two contract security guards working on the behalf of the Canadian company. Netizens had their say about the incident. Here is a collection of reactions by Ahmed Jeddou.
Iran: Is the State Afraid of a 13-Year Old Girl?
An Iranian security court created a stir recently by banning foreign travel for jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband and their 13-year-old daughter, Mehraveh Khandan. Nasrin Stoudeh has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Iran: Who Can Catch a Chicken?
The price of chicken has jumped by more than 80 per cent in the last few months and it seems chicken prices will continue to soar out of people's reach. Shoppers have had to dish out 70,000 rials (US $5.60) for a kilogram of chicken, around three times last year's price.
Saudi Arabia: Brownies and Kalashnikovs
Mideast Youth's Rola Khayyat posts a podcast featuring an interview with the Saudi author of Brownies and Kalashnikovs Fadia Basrawi.
Bahrain: Making of a Century
Mideast Youth has launched an iPad-exclusive application that showcases revolutionary leaders and movements in the past 100 years and allows people to learn about how these revolutionaries and leaders are connected to each other. Check Making of a Century out here.
Arab World: Detect Dialect Search Tool for Twitter
On Twitter, @Detect_Dialect is pushing for Detect Dialect – a dialect-specific search tool for Arabic content on Twitter. In addition to Classic Arabic, Arabs speak their local dialects, which sometimes differ even between neighbouring villages. This new tool claims to detect the dialects of Gulf, Iraqi, Levant, Egyptian and Maghreb...
Lebanon: Fresh Attention For Lebanon's Missing and Abducted People
Recent kidnappings carried out since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution have made abduction a constant threat once again and drawn new attention to the issue of Lebanon's missing people.
Syria: Mapping Rape Allegations
Women Under Siege charts “Syria's use of rape to terrorise its people.” Check out its crowdsourced map here.
Palestine: Letter to Fellow Arabs
Palestinian blogger Abir Kopty writes an open letter to Arabs. “From Egypt to Yemen, from Bahrain to Libya, from Tunis to Syria, we watch your revolutions disrupted, stolen and countered. The same forces that helped keeping us away from our freedom, are the same working today against you,” she notes.
Egypt: The Big Pharaoh Grabs His Popcorn
During the recent presidential elections many Egyptians were not really pleased with the options they had in the final round. Some decided to boycott the elections and many others voted for one of the two candidates out of fear of the other. Now that the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is president, netizens share their thoughts.
Sudan: Women Targeted as #SudanRevolts Enters Second Month
This Friday paying tribute to the revolutionary women (Kandaka) of Sudan's past, women chanted for the fall of the regime and demanded release of political detainees. Many were tear-gassed and arrested. The day came to be known as 'Kandaka Friday.'
Lebanon: Interview with the “Brofessional Review”
Nine months ago, a group of graduates teamed up to start a blog tackling everything related to design called “Brofessional Review”. Now, with more than 100 reviews in their archive, readers look forward to their posts/opinions whenever a new brand, advertising campaign or promo hits the market. Global Voices Online interviewed them to know more about what they do.
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