Latest posts by Anas Qtiesh
Syria: 80 Year-Old Human Rights Activist Arrested
Omar Mushawah reported [ar] the arrest of Haytham al-Maleh, a Syrian lawyer and human rights advocate who also spent 6 years in prison in the period between 1980 and 1986...
Syria: First Bloggers’ Contest Winners Announced
The winners of the first Syrian blog contest have been announced. Many bloggers commended the initiative and hoped it becomes an annual event. However, a few of them expressed some criticism and frustrations, and offered suggestions to further develop the contest.
Syrian Students Banned From Using Supercomputer at KAUST
Wael Alwani said on his blog [ar] that Syrian Students at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) are forbidden from using Shaheen, a US made supercomputer, due to...
Syria: Blogger Calls for a Campaign Against Masturbation
Fadl, a Syrian blogger, takes advantage of the Muslim holy month Ramadan to call for a campaign against masturbation[ar].
Syria: Campaign to boycott telecom companies and demand lower rates begins
Cellular networks were licensed to operate in Syria in 2001 and ever since day one, the media echoed the customers' discontent with service rates. Syrian bloggers decided they have had enough, so they organized a boycott campaign against mobile carriers that will take place on June 1.
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.
Syria: Damascus Real-Estate is the World's 8th Most Expensive
Syriangavroche writes [Ar] that commercial real-estate in Damascus is the 8th most expensive in the world, topping international hubs such as New York.
In Love With Syria
Global Voices Online Morocco author Jillian York describes [en] her short visit to Syria in this post, where she explains why she had the time of her life.
Syria: Fruit Juice Envy
Sasa from Syria News Wire says Syria has the best fruit juice in the world.
Syrian Ambassador in Washington Lectures on Syrian-American Relations
Syrian Ambassador in Washington lectures university students on Syrian-American relations and asks them not to be overly optimistic in regards to the future of the relations since the Obama Adminstration...
Arab Bloggers Rally Against the Judaization of Jerusalem
As Israeli authorities evict Arab residents and demolish their houses in Jerusalem, Arab bloggers are set on not letting this pass unnoticed. Another blogger calls for designating a week to blog for Jerusalem.
Google's April Fools’ Hoax Gets the Best of a Syrian Newspaper
Google is in the habit of launching spoof services on April Fools’ Day. Diya’ from Syria reports [ar] that a prominent Syrian newspaper, Al Watan, has taken the bait and...
Syria: Wikipedia in Arabic Unblocked
@nas from Syria reports that Wikipedia in Arabic was recently unblocked and wishes the this step expands to include other sites such as Amazon, Youtube, and Facebook.
Arab World: “We Stopped Saying Israel…”
A message on Twitter calling upon Arabs to stop saying Israel has snowballed into a movement across the Arab world, in this latest twist of the ongoing online war following the Israeli bombing of Gaza. Anas Qtiesh reports from the front lines.
Syria: Arab Leaders Can't Come Together, Not Even into a Room
As the aggression on Gaza enters its third week, Arab Leaders fail to agree on the need of holding an emergency summit for the member countries of the Arab League which Qatar and Syria have called for. Syrian bloggers are outraged at the political ping-pong going on that highlights what could be described as the greatest political divide in recent Arab history.
