Is Jordan next?
November 15, 2012
Riots broke out across Jordan on Tuesday and Wednesday to protest yet another hike in gas and fuel derivatives as senior officials called for calm. King Abdullah made no statement at all.The top story in Jordan's largest paper, the state-owned Al-Rai was: "King and Kuwaiti Emir discuss bilateral relations and regional developments in a phone call," an article which contained no other information than the two leaders praising each other and vowing to boost relations - standard fare in the Arabic state-run media.
Arab leaders urge Obama to lead
November 08, 2012
Hours after the re-election of American President Barack Obama, messages began pouring in from Arab leaders requesting a detailed vision of Obama's plans for the Middle East in the coming four years.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a message congratulating Obama and asking him to work toward a two-state solution. A Hamas spokesman urged Obama to stop Israeli bias toward Palestinians, and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi called on Obama to promote a Palestinian state and regional peace.
Attack on Turkey is attack on NATO: Erdogan adviser
October 1, 2012
Turkey's parliament has ratified a resolution authorizing military force against Syria for a period of one year, the pan-Arab Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Friday.Meanwhile, official Turkish sources told the paper that the Turkish military fired across the Syrian border only after receiving fire from the other side. The action was meant to preserve Turkey's sovereignty, not to provoke a war with Syria, said Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.
Police officers killed during attack on Iraqi prison
October 1, 2012
Iraqi officials said Friday that at least 12 police officers were killed in an overnight attack on a prison in Tikrit, during which 90 inmates escaped.MP Hakim Zamili called the escapees "members of Al-Qaeda," adding that before escaping, the inmates destroyed their own files, making it almost impossible to identify them and track them down.
Blasphemy and the US Embassy in Libya
September 14, 2012
Libyan authorities have accused elements of Qadafi's regime and Al-Qaeda of being behind the attack that killed the United States Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American officials."This criminal act coincides with several attempts to disrupt the democratic experiment in our country and prevent the congress and government from carrying out their duties," said Mohammed Maqrif, the head of the Libyan National Assembly. Maqrif noted that the attack on Stevens took place on September 11.
Cutting off Syrian state television
September 11, 2012
Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on Wednesday agreed that the Arab world's two leading satellites would no longer host Syrian satellite channels. The move effectively curbs a major component of the Assad regime's propaganda arm, as the channels are to varying degrees pro-government.Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi called on the ministers to "intensify efforts to bring about an end to the Syrian tragedy."
Syrian Army continues with strategy of invasion, pillage and withdrawal
August 30, 2012
Syria’s war of attrition drags on, with fighting continuing around the country and 66 Syrians reported dead on Wednesday. Al Jazeera reports that heavier fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the regime’s armed forces took place in the northwestern Idlib province, chunks of which are under the Free Syrian Army’s full control. Other clashes were reported in Homs province, Damascus and its suburbs.
The struggle for Syria’s second city continues, with Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Aleppo reporting that regime forces bombed at least three neighborhoods following clashes with opposition elements.
Explosions in Syria, women protest in Tunisia and closed restaurants in Jordan
August 16, 2012
A bomb stuck to a diesel tank detonated in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday morning inside a military compound adjacent to the Dama Rose (formerly Le Meridien) hotel.Unlike past reports of explosions in Damascus, the state media was quick to release pictures of the scene, dispatching Tourism Minister Hala Naser and Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mikdad to the nearby hotel to speak to reporters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 23 Syrian soldiers were killed while battling the opposition in the village of Rastan, north of Damascus, at dawn on Monday morning.
The Free Syrian Army managed to destroy 3 armored vehicles, seized 2 and captured 15 Syrian soldiers, the Observatory said.
Jordanian Facebook profiles are transforming into these images of solidarity with hunger strikers in Israeli prisons. Icons of blindfolded prisoners, male and female, veiled and unveiled are now ubiquitous among Jordanians on the social-media site.
Syrian family, a comedian in prison and Jordan's Crown Prince
April 26, 2012
Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and reportedly the general who oversaw the massacre of Hama in 1982 during which more than 20,000 residents were killed and parts of the city razed to the ground, predicts the regime will not be able to stay in power for long.
“The problem has spread across Syria – there is no place to escape the violence, so I think Bashar al-Assad will not be able to remain in power for long,” Rifaat al-Assad told the BBC in Arabic. The Hama campaign was directed toward the Islamist uprising against his brother and Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad. In terms of Rifaat’s analysis, the massacre worked because the unrest in Hama in 1982 was contained by the mass killings.
A cease-fire, a defection and an attack on the Moroccan king
April 17, 2012
The latest from Jordan's most popular cartoonist, Imad Hajjaj, shows a man in shadow, depicting the Syrian regime, firing a machine gun that was made in Russia, a brain that was made in China and a moon signifying the sleep of the United States and Europe the violence in Syria.
Events in Syria are becoming harder to track as they pile up: On Monday alone, Syrian forces killed at least 12 people across the country, Al Arabiya reported, shelling various districts in Homs. Also, soldiers reportedly opened fire in the Jawber neighborhood of Damascus and raided the capital's Karm Horani district, rounding up dozens of people.
- Details
- Published on 02 April 2012
A weekly shot of what the Arab world is saying/sharing
April 2, 2012
After a break to regroup (and find financing), Arabica has a new home with ARA. As the Arab Spring moves into its second spring, Arabica will look at the events shaping it – from the Arab perspective. Beyond the hard news are the forces driving the revolutions, the discontent, the desire for change and the way societies function, all of which are both relevant and under-reported. I look at tweets, cartoons, articles, Facebook postings – all in Arabic, and pull the best and most relevant that crosses my computer screen.
This inaugural edition of Arabica appears on a Monday to coincide with the launch of ARA's new website but will appear regularly on Fridays – the day that most protests take place, and the end of the week in the Arab world.
Arabica by dint of the author's experience will favor the Levant region, particularly Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. It's the region I know best, but I've reported from several Arab countries and will post updates from there as well. Suggestions, comments and feedback are welcomed.
