Stories from 18 March 2008
Morocco: Fouad Mourtada free
Fouad Mourtada, the 26-year old IT engineer who has been arrested on February 5th, 2008 and sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of $1350 for creating a fake Facebook profile of King Mohammed VI’s younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, has been released about an hour ago. According...
Palestine: The Plight of Women
Palestinian blogger Al Falasteenyia marks the International Day for Women with this post.
Egypt: Stop Drug Abuse Campaign Launched
"Stop Drugs.. Change your life" was the motto for a new controversial campaign initiated by Amr Khaled in Egypt and other different Arab countries, writes Eman AbdElRahman, who brings us the reactions of a former addict, who has been off heroin for a year.
Albania: Post-Explosion Protests
Albanian Blogger writes about the protests taking place in Tirana following the explosion.
Poland: Arts, Posters and More
Polandian writes about Polish artists and Polish poster art, and posts another installment of the Inside Warsaw series: Q-U.
Ukraine: “Fortress Kerch”
The Gaws writes about a tour of a fortress in Kerch.
Ukraine: “NATO Naysayers”
Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine's “NATO naysayers” – “local” and foreign.
Arabeyes: Rebelling the Saudi Way
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, Saudi activist Wajiha Huwaidar, had herself videotaped driving a car in a rural area in Saudi Arabia, to draw attention to the plight of Saudi women, who are banned from driving, and posted it on YouTube.
Ukraine: Kyiv Mayoral Election
Ukrainiana reports on the yet another upcoming election in Ukraine: “It finally happened! In a long-awaited vote, the Verkhovna Rada Tuesday paved the way for new mayoral elections to be held in Kyiv within 70 days. That means the elections will be held in early June.”
Ukraine: Protesting Yushchenko's March 8 Address
Natalia Antonova writes about an open letter to president Victor Yushchenko posted in a Ukrainian feminist LJ community: “Basically, people are outraged that on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, the President launched into a saccharine speech about how the ladiez are so lovely and admired by men… in...
Russia: Kadyrov, Hijab and Education in Chechnya
Window on Eurasia writes about Ramzan Kadyrov's hijab policy: “Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s requirement that all female students in higher educational institutions there wear hijabs of a particular color and at their own expense in order to be allowed to attend class is backfiring with some students dropping out and...
Russia, UK: Olga Freer's Book
The UK’s Daily Mail reviews “a book written by a young Russian woman about her experiences living in London” – and White Sun of the Desert reviews the book review: “[…] it is little wonder that her book is popular in Moscow, as thousands of Russian women will be reading...
Egypt: Notorious Fatwas
Zeinobiya from Egypt lists a few fatwas (religious) edicts by a clergyman, whom she describes as “looking for fame.”
Kosovo: Rioting in Mitrovica
Balkan Baby writes about rioting in Mitrovica.
Egypt: Rahho R.I.P.
“The Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho was found dead in Mosul on Thursday. He was abducted on the 29 of February 2008, when his car was attacked and two body guards and his driver was killed,” reports Ibn Al Dunya, from Egypt.
Egypt: First Woman Islamic Marriage ‘Registrar’
“The best piece of news I heard on coming back to Egypt is that the first ever female “Ma’zoun” (the person who carries out the marriage ceremony in Islam) in Egypt and the Muslim world has been appointed by the family court of Al Sharqiyah governorate,” writes Eman, from Egypt.
Egypt: Kefaya Song
Ahmad Sherif, from Egypt, posts an Arabic song, protesting Mubarak's rule.
Mexico: State of Emergency in Monterrey
The metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico is suffering damage from heavy winds and caused two deaths to date. Most of the city is without electricity. HJ Barraza is providing updates on his twitter account.
Albania: Explosion Aftermath
Living in Shkoder posts an update on the explosion's aftermath.
Iran:Mokarrameh Ebrahimi was saved from stoning
Mokarrameh Ebrahimi had been in jail for 11 years and had been sentenced to stoning. According to [Fa]Meydaan,finally she was forgiven by authorities and was released from jail.Her partner was stoned last July.They were accused of adultery!
Bahrain: Parliament Countdown
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif has places a new counter on his blogs, featuring the number of days left for Bahrainis to “get rid” of their parliament.
