Monday, May 30, 2011

Top Stories May 30, 2011

ArabNews (Saudi Arabia):  Yemeni troops fire on protesters, kill at least 20 - Government forces attacked a protest camp with tanks and bulldozers.

Lebanon Daily Star:  Sleiman orders Justice Ministry to take legal action against Rifi - Sleiman is the president, Rifi is chief of the Internal Security Forces.  The issue at hand involves the Telecom Minister, who was barred from one of his own buildings.  I'm not sure of the political background to this.

Haaretz (Israel):  Turkey FM: We can't stop upcoming aid flotilla to Gaza - According to the foreign minister "Democratic governments cannot stop their citizens launching another aid flotilla to Gaza."  It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Turkish Daily News:  Turkey's 1980 coup leaders called to testify - Turkey passed a constitutional amendment last year so that they can prosecute the coup leaders.  Huge numbers of people were arrested during the coup and many more fled Turkey as well.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

YemenWatch: Thursday May 26, 2011 (in brief)

BBC News has a good overview about the problems Yemen is facing.  And the US is pulling most of its diplomats from Yemen.

And of course, more fighting means more deaths, many of them in Sana'a, leading many to wonder if this is basically turning into a civil war now.

President Saleh is trying to arrest Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmer of the Hashid tribe, who are opposing him.

The Yemeni government attacked and shut down the Suhail TV channel, owned by al-Ahmer's brother, last night.  They also attacked al-Sahwa newspaper, owned by the Islah party.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Yemen Fighting

Yemen is still in limbo.  President Saleh is refusing to step down, and his supporters trapped some foreign ambassadors at an embassy in Sana'a.  That set off fighting with anti-Saleh forces, and it's a real mess right now.  I'll try to have a real YemenWatch update soon.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Women's News May 23, 2011

Just a short one for today.

A Saudi woman who posted video of herself driving has been arrested.  Actually, re-arrested.  And the Facebook page for women driving in the Kingdom and a Twitter account, are both gone.  A few other women who dared to drive were also arrested.  I guess if women are allowed to drive then you simply won't be able to keep an eye on them all the time.  And who knows what those crazy women might get up to without a man to control their every move! (sarcasm)

A Syrian-American women in Damascus, who is also a lesbian, has started a blog about her experiences.  She was in hiding from the police for a while, and may still be in hiding.  You can read her blog here:  A Gay Girl in Damascus.

Good Luck to all of these women!

Top Stories May 23, 2011

ArabNews (Saudi Arabia):  Spain's Socialists trounced amid economic woes - The Socialists have been in charge for 8 years, and now conservatives are making a comeback.

Lebanon Daily Star:  Lebanese business makes up 35 percent of Ivory Coast economy - The problems in Ivory Coast mean that some Lebanese have left the country, which hurts the economy even more.

Haaretz (Israel):  Barak: Israel and U.S. must put differences aside and move forward - Israel is worried about a political "tsunami" if Palestine declares itself a state in September.  Barak wants the US to support Israel.

Turkish Daily News:  Top Turkish parties trade places on Kurdish question - Politics is a strange beast.  And it's only three weeks till the elections in Turkey.

Gulf Daily News (Bahrain):  Priority for vital services - The Prime Minister is focusing on "infrastructure and service schemes crucial to citizens."

Saturday, May 14, 2011

I'm still here

I'm moving apartments and may be without internet for a bit.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Top Stories May 2, 2011

Osama bin Laden is dead. 
I think that's enough of a story for today.  Below are direct links to coverage of this story:

ArabNews (Saudi)
Lebanon Daily Star
Haaretz (Israel)
Turkish Daily News
Times of Oman