Stories from 21 November 2007
Iran: Ahmad Morshedloo's images of people
Thanks to View from Iran,we get information on Ahmad Morshedloo's art and his images of people.
Iraq: Honour and Pride
Iraqi blogger Konfused Kid discusses the concepts of honour and pride in a translation of an Iraqi song.
Jordan: New PM
Ammon is reporting that Marouf Bakhit has resigned his office, and that the king is planning on naming the current chief commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, Nader Dahabi, in his place, reports Jordanian blogger Khalaf.
Iraq: Emails from Readers
Neurotic Iraqi Wife posts emails she has received from readers in this post.
Jordan: Lessons from the Elections
Shifaa, from Jordan, brings us the lessons learned and implications of the parliamentary elections held this week. The good news is that a woman won a seat without resorting to the women’s quota.
Palestine: Patient's Plight
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah posts a video highlighting the plight of Palestinian patients, who cannot seek treatment abroad because of the closure of borders. Medicine supplies are also running out.
UAE: 70 Per Cent Increase in Salaries
Kuwaiti blogger Bo7amo0od (Ar) announces that the UAE will increase the salaries of all its government employees by 70 per cent beginning next year.
Kuwait: Book Fair Visit
Kuwaiti blogger Forza visits the bookfair and posts some pictures here.
Serbia: Kosovo Predictions
A Fistful of Euros is making predictions: “Kosovo will get some sort of independence, Belgrade and Moscow will cry foul, there will be a certain amount of huffing and puffing… and then, not much. The borders will stay open; the lights will stay on. The medium-term effect will be to...
Ukraine: Orange Coalition Not Likely?
Taras Kuzio lists reasons why the Orange coalition is unlikely to take place: “Yuriy Lutsenko is openly attacking Viktor Baloga, Ivan Pliushch is openly saying he will only support a grand coalition and BYuT are demanding that President Viktor Yushchenko finally outline his view on the coalition. Yushchenko meanwhile (just...
Bahrain: New Flickr Group Launched
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif announces the launch of Top 20 Bahrain – a photography group on Flickr.
Ukraine: Reflections on Charity Tennis Tournament
Michelle Knisley of Scenes from the Sidewalk writes on what the recent charity tennis tournament meant to her personally and to the homeless kids in Kyiv.
Bahrain: Ebtihal Salman Under the Spotlight
Bahrain-based blogger Bint Battuta profiles Bahraini blogger Ebtihal Salman in this post and translates some of her posts from Arabic.
Egypt: Those People
The Egyptian blogger Ohod writes here some short stories about people whom he have met in his childhood and how life changed them when they grew up. Tarek Amr translates his post from Arabic.
Japan: Joi Ito on the Tokyo Metro
Joi Ito ponders about “train accident” suicides in Japan in a post entitled Life and death on the Tokyo metro.
Ukraine: Multiple Disasters
Orange Ukraine posts a “Multiple Disaster Update” that covers Chernobyl, Kerch oil spill and the coal mine tragedy, and writes separately about the coalition-building and speaker-nominating “mess and disaster.”
Iran: Arrest and Destruction
The Iranian government has continued its policy of repression against women's rights activists and Sufi Muslims in recent weeks. Maryam Hosseinkhah, a women’s rights activist and journalist was arrested a few days ago, and a Sufi Muslims’ Center was destroyed by security forces about one week ago.
Ukraine: Holodomor Opinion Poll
Foreign Notes translates a newspaper story on a Holodomor opinion poll results: “The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians in all regions are convinced that the Holodomor [famine] of 1932-1933 was caused by the actions of the authorities.”
Russia: Kadyrov's Politics
Window on Eurasia cites an expert's opinion on Ramzan Kadyrov: “‘As a systemic separatist’ – this often-used term refers to those in Russia now who seek de facto independence but claim to be loyal to Moscow – ‘Kadyrov has forced Russia to make remarkable concessions.’ Indeed, Tsyganok argues, the current...
Russia: Muslim Neighborhoods
According to Window on Eurasia, some Russian comedians are among those who have reacted to the news of the formation of a Muslim neighborhood in Moscow: “In a bow to the classic British film ‘Passport to Pimlico,’ comedians at a nightclub in Moscow now joke that ‘this morning Southern Butovo...
Russia: Two-Party Duma?
According to Siberian Light, it appears as if Russia is on the way to a two-party Duma: “However, depressingly, only two of the ‘major’ parties are likely to scrape together the seven percent of votes needed to gain any seats in the Duma – United Russia, and Communist Party of...
