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Stories about West Asia & North Africa from January, 2012
Lebanon: Blogosphere Facts & Figures of 2011
Lebanon Aggregator posts its annual “Facts and Figures” about the Lebanese blogosphere. In it you can get, among other things, figures on the increase in number of blogs, facts on...
Iran:”Google is a spying tool”
The head of the national security forces, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, says [fa] Google is a spying tool not a search engine.
Iran: A Court Sentences an Iranian American to death
1freedomseeker reported a court in Tehran has sentenced to death an Iranian American who was convicted of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency. The blogger adds Abolghasem Salvati, this court's...
Iran: Khazali was arrested again
Shoorezar reports [fa] Mehdi Khazali, a blogger, publisher and son of a leading conservative cleric and former Council of Guardians member, Ayatollah Khazali, was arrested again on Monday. He was...
Israel, Ethiopia: Ethiopian Jews and Other Black Immigrants in Israel
Sibo Kanobana wrote in the blog Afro-Europe: “I visited Israel en Palestine during the Christmas holidays and saw many things I didn’t expect to see. One of these things is...
Libya 2011: A Seminal Year Through Citizen Media
Libya grabbed the headlines in 2011. Here is a summary of blog posts written by Libyan netizens in the year that was. Fozia Mohamed charts their disgust, fear, hope and dreams in a series of posts written throughout the year.
Lebanon: Nasawiya Call to March Against Rape Laws
Nasawiya, an initiative committed to gender justice and equality in Lebanon, is calling upon netizens to mobilise the “masses to join the march against Lebanon’s backwards rape laws on January...
Turkey: Trici Venola's Istanbul Drawings
Trici Venola‘s wonderful Istanbul drawings and reflections – at her Drawing On Istanbul blog: “Plein Air drawing in Turkey: blogging about the site and the process.” More drawings by Trici...
Africa: Algiers and Dakar Competing for Cultural Leadership in Francophone
The blog edouardtamba.com has published a note by Maurice Simo Djom, from the University of Yaounde stating [fr] that: ”Through two competing festivals, the Fesman and the Panaf, the two...
Syria: The Struggle for Freedom and the End of Silence
Since March 2011, when the uprisings that started in Tunisia and Egypt reaching Syria, thousands have been killed and tens of thousands have been arrested and disappeared in the country. Leila Nachawati Rego takes a look at how citizen media has helped offer an alternative to state-controlled narrative.
Syria: Damascus “Suicide Attack” and State TV Fabrications
As massive demonstrations take place all over the country demanding the end of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's regime, Syrian state TV reported a suicide bombing in the Midan neighborhood of Damascus on Friday, January 6. Videos circulated online show clear evidence of fabrication, writes Leila Nachawati Rego.
MENA: 2011, a Year of Struggle and Triumphs for Bloggers
With all of the social media successes throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, it would be all too easy to overlook the struggles faced by bloggers and netizens throughout the region. But with 126 netizens imprisoned, it would be a travesty.
Global Voices Most Read Posts in 2011
Global Voices is no longer as lonely a media voice when it comes to reporting tweets and blog posts. Still, where mainstream media interest wanes, we're the ones who continue documenting local citizen media. Discover our top 20 list of most read posts for 2011.
Egypt: Revolutionary Stencils
On Flickr, evianoo shares those revolutionary stencils.
Iraq: 162,000 People Killed
Iraqi Mojo says about 162,000 people were killed in Iraq up to the end of last year (2011). They include 114,212 civilians, according to Iraq Body Count, an anti-war group....
Kuwait: The Stateless Find A Voice Online
Writing on openDemocracy, Bidoun activist and Global Voices author Mona Kareem, profiled here, says that social media is providing the stateless with a voice online.
Iran: Site displaying currency exchange rate got filtered
Mesghal, a site displaying currency exchange rate got filtered as rial, Iran's national currency, continues to fall. 2lar writes [fa] it seems Islamic Republic's economists find the best way to...
Iran:Identity card control and cameras in internet cafe
Iranian police ordered [fa] internet cafes to install cameras and ask clients to provide identity card and phone number.
UAE: Several Islamists’ Citizenships Revoked
The UAE has revoked the citizenship of several Islamists. Sultan Al Qassemi has more in this blog post.
New Qatar Envoy Appointed in Libya
Qatar has appointed a new envoy to Libya. Sultan Al Qassemi, a commentator from the UAE, sheds more light on Qatari-Libyan relations since the beginning of the Libyan uprising in...
Arab World: A Year In Pictures – Our Authors’ Selection
As we bid farewell to 2011 and look ahead to 2012, we asked our authors to share with you pictures that in their eyes have marked the past year in their respective countries. The following selection represents their choices.
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