It is almost impossible to watch this documentary and not be moved to tears. It is a story about a Jewish woman, Arna Mer-Khamis, who created a children’s home and art center in the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin. Even in her advanced age, Arna was a firebrand who railed against the occupation by Israelis. […]
Advancements in communication technology have often foreshadowed civil unrest and revolution
Though Egypt blocked Twitter following the protests that erupted on January 25th, tweets about Egypt have surged in the days leading up to and after the start of the revolution that has rocked the capitol. According to Sysomos, the number of tweets that contained the words “Egypt,” “Yemen,” or “Tunisia” increased more than tenfold after […]
TUNIS Jan 26 (Reuters) – Tunisia has dissolved an agency which acted as an effective censor of foreign media during the rule of ousted president Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday. The External Communications Agency will be replaced by an independent body that will help coordinate with foreign media but will […]
Internet sites such as Twitter and Facebook were cut off within Egypt today as the government of President Hosni Mubarak tried to prevent social media from being used to foment unrest. Many sites registered in Egypt could not be reached from outside, according to Herdict.org, a website where users report access problems. Twitter, YouTube, Hotmail, […]
Al-Arabiya TV Director: Religious Satellite Channels ‘Too Dangerous To Be Left Unrestricted’ In an October 18, 2010 op-ed titled “Banning Religious Satellite Channels” in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Arabiya TV director Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, who is also the paper’s former editor, discusses the proliferation of Islamic “religious propaganda channels” and calls them “too dangerous […]
The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship November 10, 2010, 12:00pm – 1:30pm Admission is free. RSVP to attend this event Panelists: Steven A. Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Soner Cagaptay, Director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy […]
This week I came across a really interesting article picked up by Pakistan’s mainstream media. Since Pakistan’s media is free, but predominantly government-owned or overseen, articles are carefully reviewed for content by editors. Pakistani editors heeding the accomplishments of women within the traditionally conservative society is an extremely progressive thing. How well women do (personally […]
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Can new social media facilitate greater social stability in Iraq? Absolutely, some say. Here are some technologies that have the potential to change Iraq’s future: 5. Twitter: Mobile phone-carrying Iraqis can utilize Twitter applications on their current phones for a range of things, even without broadband Internet connections — which are still in short supply […]
In light of Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Egyptian officials have imposed new media restrictions that will effectively put all live broadcasts, including independent television talk shows and news bulletins, under the control of state television.
Hezbollah’s leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has openly stated that he expects some members of his political party will be indicted, but he vows not to hand them over to be prosecuted. Pro-Syrian Christian politician Suleiman Franjieh recently stated in a television interview on September 23 that if Hezbollah members are indicted “there will be war in Lebanon.”
After weeks of criticizing government flood relief efforts, some Pakistani media have begun to cautiously praise Islamabad’s response while warning that if the public’s “urgent” needs are not met, Pakistan will become a “failed state.” English- and Urdu-language media continue to carry varying amounts of praise for U.S. flood relief efforts. Some media have reported allegations that floodwaters were diverted to […]
This week, Iran will officially have a fully functional nuclear power plant (with the help of Russia) in Bushehr (a city on the southwestern coast of Iran) that will connect to the country’s grid by November at the latest. There have been mixed international reactions since nuclear engineers began to fuel the power station. Last […]
The research by Spot On Public Relations, a Dubai-based agency, says there are more than 15 million subscribers to the social network. The total number of newspaper copies in Arabic, English and French is just under 14 million. The findings seem to confirm the increasing popularity of the social interaction platforms in the region. The […]