Arabisc: Arrested Blogger Released and the Civilisation of Terrorism

Egyptian blogger Ramy Siyam – aka Ayoub – is out of jail, after spending an eventful 108 hours being moved from one detention centre to the other. According to fellow blogger Alaa Abdelfattah: “He was arrested in a sweep in downtown while securing the area for the President's visit to...

Arabisc: Bahraini Elections, Dying Children and Confusing Freedom!

Bahrain held its second Parliamentary elections in its modern history this week, with about 300,000 voters going to the polls. Amongst them was Bahraini blogger Haythoo, who hoped his ‘party’ would emerge victorious. أنا الأن متوجه لتغطية العملية الأنتخابية.. أتمنى أن يحالفنا الحظ و نفوز بأكثرية نيابية.. يجب أن نعمل...

The Week That Was in Bahrain

More than 300,000 Bahrainis went to the polls on Saturday to elect 40 Municipal Councillors and another 40 Members of Parliament. This is the second time Bahrainis vote in their modern history, after sweeping reforms initiated in 2002. According to official records, seventy-two per cent of the eligible voters took...

Dubai's Spice Bazaar to be Disneyfied!

Dubai's spice market (suq) is being Disneyfied, says Secret Dubai Diary. He has come to the conclusion after hearing from one of the stall keepers that the traditional bazaar will have a roof!

Palestinian Still Waiting to Return Home

Palestinian Leila Al Haddad is still waiting at a road block in Arish to return home. She says she has lost count of the number of says she has spent waiting and has come to the realisation that “Israeli decisions are without rhyme or reason.”

Oman Internet Clampdown

Oman has started to ban internet sites, says blogger Muscati. He said Oman's most popular website, the controversial Arabic online forum known as Sablat Al Arab, has been closed down pending an investigation by the public prosecutor's office.

Abu Aardvark: Bahrain Elections Spark Media Interest

Abu Aardvark says Al Jazeera Arabic channel has devoted an entire programme to cover the Bahraini parliamentary and municipal elections being held today. He says the elections have generated a lot of interest and scrutiny from the media.

Bahrain: International Exposure

Bahrain is getting international exposure in the media with the Washington Post and New York Times covering its elections, which are being held today, reports Desert Island Boy. But it isn't the publicity the government wants in the global spotlight, he says.

Egypt: Shias Love and Hate Al Jazeera

The Big Pharoah, from Egypt, says that Qatari-backed Al Jazeera channel is loved by the Shia of Lebanon and hated by the Shia of Iraq. In return, he claims that the Sunnis of Iraq love Al Jazeera while the Sunnis of Lebanon hate it.

Iraq: Bloodbath in Baghdad

At least 160 people were killed and 260 wounded in a series of coordinated car bombings and mortar attacks in the Shi’ite district of Sadr City, northeast of Baghdad, writes blogger Zeyad in Healing Iraq. He says the death toll is likely to increase as hospitals in Baghdad struggle to...

Israel: Driving Shimon Peres

Benji Lovitt from Tel Aviv spent two days driving former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres while on a visit to Atlanta, US.

Palestine: UN Official Visit

Palestinian Dr Mona Al Farra reports the visit of a top United Nations humanitarian official to Beit Hanoun. She said residents turned out to see Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, as she toured the town but were not hopeful her visit would achieve any results.

Omar: CNN Biased Against Syria

Blogger Omar, who lives in Canada, says the media – and especially CNN – are biased against Syria in their coverage of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel's assassination.

Qatar: Imams Had No Business Praying in Plane

Qatar Cat is unruffled with the ourcry made over the arrest and questioning of six imams (Islamic religious men), who were off loaded for praying in a plane. He says it isn't something done in planes in the Middle East.

Bahrain: Elections and Gerrymandering

With Parliamentary and Municipal Council elections coming up on November 25, Chanad Bahraini accuses the authorities of gerrymandering, saying that the distribution of constituencies is “outrageously discriminatory.”

Bahrain: Two Political Activists in Jail

Babbling Bahrania calls upon journalists in Bahrain to cover the parliamentary and municipal council elections being held on November 25 to look at issues more pressing than the voting process, including the arrest of two political activists.

Bahrain: Three Children Die in Fire

Three children have died when a fire engulfed their Manama home, reports Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif. The fire was caused when the children, aged two to five, tried to light a candle because their parents could not afford to pay their electricity bill.

Palestine: Woman Suicide Bomber

Lucy Widaad from Palestine reports on a woman suicide bomber who killed herself and six others in Gaza. Widaad admits that a 50-year-old woman doesn't fit the profile of a suicide bomber.

Egyptian blogger released

Rantings of a Sandmonkey reports the release of Egyptian blogger Rami Siam, who was in jail for four days “for no crime and without justifiable cause.” Meanwhile, blogger Abdul Karim Nabeel is still in jail for articles he posted on his blog.

Lebanese Abu Kais links videos showing the thousdands of people who attended assassinated Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel's funeral in Beirut today.

Arabisc: Plagiarism, Arrests, Bans and Democracy!

The Arabs are as usual busy this week debating anything and everything, from plagiarism to the arrest of bloggers, and from banning public meetings to embarrising George Bush Senior at a conference held in the UAE. Ahmed from Egypt had always wanted to become a journalist. But because not all...