· December, 2011

Stories about West Asia & North Africa from December, 2011

Egypt: 2011 in Blog Posts

  30 December 2011

The year 2011 is coming to an end, and with all the events took place in Egypt, it is important to list the most important or controversial blog posts of the year. Tarek Amr polls Twitter users to decide this year's top blog posts.

Yemen: Should the US Grant Saleh a Visa?

  30 December 2011

A recent buzz among tweeps following Yemen news has been the issue of Honorary President Ali Abdullah Saleh's plans to travel to the US. Netizens warn against granting a visit visa to Saleh in this round up of reactions from Twitter.

Iran: Rafsanjani's site was filtered

  30 December 2011

Several Iranian news sites reported Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's site was filtered. According to his brother, Rafsanjani's site managment had been asked to omit his last Friday Prayer sermon in 2009...

Iran:”Parliament is like Animal House”

  30 December 2011

From Your View reports Behrouz Moradi head of government subsidies called Iran's paliament an “animal house”. The blogger writes with irony this guy was so polite not to call parliament...

Iran:Blocking the Strait of Hormuz

  29 December 2011

Iran has warned that the country could block the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are imposed on its exports of crude oil. Filternet1 writes[fa] if Iran blocks the Strait of...

Egypt: A Letter from Maikel Nabil

  29 December 2011

No Military Trials for Civilians, a collective blog aimed at raising awareness about the military trial of civilians in Egypt, publishes a must read post by jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel...

Lebanon: Electric Xmas Decorations

  28 December 2011

From Lebanon, Habib Battah draws our attention to Christmas decorations in Lebanon, where the decorations are lit and and the electricity in the street lamps is switched off during the...

Mauritania: Earth's Bulls Eye

  28 December 2011

Algerian-American Kal, or The Moor Next Door, shares this interesting geographical tidbit about Mauritania: “f readers ever get into space, they may find themselves looking for Mauritania, or its enormous...

Bahrain: Message to Netizens

  28 December 2011

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif shares this message with fellow netizens: “[T]emper your attacks and choose your battles wisely. Refrain from childish attacks on the very bridge who can help...

Syria: What it deserves

  28 December 2011

Yazan, on KABOBfest, tells us what Syria deserves in this must read post. “This is not, and should not become, a sectarian war. The state is controlled by a family...

Morocco: The Tale of the February 20 Movement in 20 Videos

  27 December 2011

A look back at how the Moroccan pro-democracy movement "February 20" has used videos, as very powerful and viral social media tool to get its message across. Hisham Almiraat shares a selection of the 20 most popular and viral videos that marked the course of the February 20 Movement over the past 10 months.

Egypt: Reaping Legal Victories as the Revolution Continues

  27 December 2011

Egyptians are reaping victories in the halls of courtrooms. First, blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released by a judge pending investigations, after spending 56 days behind bars yesterday. Then, a court ruled today that conducting virginity tests on women in the custody of the military is illegal.

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Walid El Houri
Walid El Houri is the West Asia and North Africa Editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.