· March, 2008

Stories about Egypt from March, 2008

Egypt: Human Rights Defenders Harassed

  31 March 2008

Or Does it Explode… links to a report submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies to the United Nations Human Rights Council which says there has been “huge harassments of human rights organisations and defenders have been increasingly subject to abusive and suppressive actions by government actors… in...

Egypt: American Navy's Friendly Fire

  28 March 2008

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.

Egypt: University Faculty Staff Strike

  26 March 2008

“For the first time ever in Egyptian history, most Egyptian university faculty members went on strike as a first step towards forcing the government to improve their living conditions and the conditions of higher education in the country,” writes Eman from Egypt.

Egypt: Call for General Strike

  26 March 2008

“A coalition of opposition groups—including the suspended Labor Party, Kifaya, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the unlicensed Karama (Dignity) Party, the unlicensed Centrist Party, the workers of Mahalla, the Lawyers’ Syndicate, the Movement of University Professors, and others—is calling for a general strike on April 6, two days before the local...

Egypt: Journalist Sentenced for Six Months

  26 March 2008

“Ibrahim Eissa received a prison sentence of six months for having spread false information about President Mubarak´s health in August 2007. The sentence was given by Judge Sherif Kamel Mustapha at Bulaq Court of misdeamenours this morning. He was found guilty of having harmed Egypt´s economy,” announced Ibn Al Dunya...

March Madness in Kuwait

  25 March 2008

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: Flood the Jail with Letters

  20 March 2008

“In conjunction with FreeKareem.org, the Committee to Protect Bloggers is launching a mail campaign in support of imprisoned Egyptian blogger, Kareem Amer,” announced the Committee to Protect Bloggers. The campaign, from April 7 to 21, encourages people from around the world to send Kareem postcards and letters. Since being sentenced...

Iraq at Five: The World Reacts

  19 March 2008

Today, March 19, marks five years of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Initially a plan to oust Saddam Hussein and "end the war before it started," the war in Iraq continues to this day, much to the dismay of many ordinary citizens around the globe. In that vein, Global Voices Online will post reactions today from bloggers in Iraq, the Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere.

Egypt: Face of the Future

  19 March 2008

“If you want to know the future of humanity, don’t look someplace new. Look someplace old: someplace where dynasties and empires have risen and fallen for thousands of years, someplace where scant land has sustained swelling populations for millennia. Look to Egypt. Look to Iraq,” writes Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt.

Egypt: Stop Drug Abuse Campaign Launched

  18 March 2008

"Stop Drugs.. Change your life" was the motto for a new controversial campaign initiated by Amr Khaled in Egypt and other different Arab countries, writes Eman AbdElRahman, who brings us the reactions of a former addict, who has been off heroin for a year.

Egypt: Notorious Fatwas

  18 March 2008

Zeinobiya from Egypt lists a few fatwas (religious) edicts by a clergyman, whom she describes as “looking for fame.”

Egypt: Rahho R.I.P.

  18 March 2008

“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.

Egypt: First Woman Islamic Marriage ‘Registrar’

  18 March 2008

“The best piece of news I heard on coming back to Egypt is that the first ever female “Ma’zoun” (the person who carries out the marriage ceremony in Islam) in Egypt and the Muslim world has been appointed by the family court of Al Sharqiyah governorate,” writes Eman, from Egypt.

Egypt: Another strike and many protests

  17 March 2008

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.

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