18 March 2008

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...

Ukraine: Kyiv Mayoral Election

  18 March 2008

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

  18 March 2008

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

  18 March 2008

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

  18 March 2008

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: 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.

Mexico: State of Emergency in Monterrey

  18 March 2008

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.