Stories about Arabic from March, 2008
Bahrain: Scorn for inflation package
To alleviate the effects of inflation in Bahrain, the government has introduced a BD40 million (USD105 million) aid package – and Bahrain's bloggers are unanimous in questioning how effective it will be, writes Ayesha Saldanha.
Egypt: General Strike on April 6
Activists are calling for a general strike in Egypt in April 6, to protest against the rising costs of living. This blog (Ar) posts a series of banners to announce the strike.
Egypt: American Navy's Friendly Fire
Egyptian bloggers lament to the loss of one of their countrymen who was killed in an incident involving the American Navy in the Suez Canal. They are also wondering where their sovereignty as a state has gone and whether the slain man's family will ever see justice.
Bahrain: Frustrated Hitch Hiker
Bahraini blogger emoodz discusses a talk he had with a frustrated hitch hiker in this post.
March Madness in Kuwait
Just as there is March Madness in the US, the phenomena seems to have spread to Kuwait - not for basketball but elections. Abdullatif Al Omar brings us the Kuwaiti bloggers reactions to the resignation of their government, the dissolving of Parliament and the looming elections in June.
Egypt: Kefaya Song
Ahmad Sherif, from Egypt, posts an Arabic song, protesting Mubarak's rule.
Egypt: Another strike and many protests
Egyptian doctors and university faculty have joined the crowds and decided to protest against their low salaries, writes Eman AbdElRahman, who brings us the latest reactions to labour strikes from the Egyptian blogosphere.
Kuwait: Copying the West in Everything
Kuwaiti blogger Frankom (Ar) urges his readers to stop copying the West in everything - from reality television shows, to movies and even when speaking to friends.
Palestine: “I'm Afraid of “Taaakh” and Shiver When I See it”
In a promotion for one of Al Jazeera’s documentaries about the Israeli occupation of Palestine, a young Palestinian girl describes her living. With her little words, she captures the hearts of almost everybody who watches this video… and still, her words say nothing of what I can feel whenever I see her on TV, writes Eman AbdElRahman from Egypt.
Syria: Silence Over the “Bigger Holocaust”
On February 29th, Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai warned of "a bigger Holocaust" for the Palestinians. Syrian blogger Ayman, from the Damascene Blog, compares between the world's silence to that comment and the fuss made over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's alleged call to "wipe Israel off the map."
Bahrain: Frustrated Fayrouz fans
This year's Spring of Culture, the biggest arts festival in Bahrain, has just started. Bloggers have got plenty to say about it – especially about the star attraction, Lebanese singer Fayrouz; tickets for her concert sold out almost immediately, and many are now being resold on the black market for highly inflated prices, writes Ayesha Saldanha.
Tunisia: 50 Richest Arabs
From Tunisia, Subzero Blue (Ar) shares with us the list of the 50 richest Arabs – led by Al Waleed bin Talal from Saudi Arabia.
Libya in Pictures
Libyano, from Libya, posts pictures from his country in this post.
Lebanon: United Sunni Front
‘The spectre of Iran's nuclear ambitions and fear of a so-called “Shia revival” in the region has forced the Saudi Kingdom to reevaluate its stance on Qatar. And in turn, tiny Qatar, home to the site of a major American military base (not to mention the Centcom nerve center of...
Ikbis: First Birthday
Ikbis, the Arabic version of YouTube, celebrates its first birthday – for the second time.
Kuwait: R.I.P Ahmad AlRubi'e
Kuwaiti bloggers lament the death of leading intellectual and politician Dr Ahmad AlRubi'e. Many bloggers posted condolences to his family on their blogs and some others wrote passionately about how connected to him they were. Abdullatif AlOmar brings us the story.
Bahrain: Scantily Clad Women Strike the Wrong Chord
Seeing pictures of what he describes as "scantily clad women" in local newspapers, doesn't strike a chord with Bahraini blogger Jaffar who takes the opportunity to rant about other practises he frowns upon in the media and real life in this post I am translating from Arabic today.
Kuwait: Retirement Plans
From Kuwait, Cat Eyez (Ar) writes about wanting to retire from work.
Jordan: A Blast from the Past
Lina Eliejat, from Jordan, shares a front page of a newspapers from 1960 in this post.
Algeria: Decoding Ahmadinejad
“There has been much discussion over the proper way to pronounce — and even transliterate — the current Iranian president's last name,” writes Nouri, from Algeria, who shares his thoughts on how best to write Mahmood Ahmadinejad's name.
Kuwait's Double National Day Celebrations
Two national day celebrations were marked in Kuwait last week - one on February 25 and the second on February 26. Kuwait's bloggers were quick to dig into the history of the celebrations.
