Interview: Arabs’ Got Talent’s Amr Qattamesh

RACHEL MCARTHUR: Being part Egyptian, I’m happy to say I was the first UAE-based writer to interview the performer. Here’s what Amr Qattamesh had to say.

Added on 16/04/2011 Omar al-Issawi Facebook , Gaza , Hamas , Palestine , Peace , Vittorio Arrigoni

Who will Condemn the Murder of Vittorio Arrigoni?

OMAR AL-ISSAWI: He left his homeland to help those suffering injustice only to suffer an appalling injustice himself. Yet how low is the condemnation?

Added on 14/04/2011 Steve Royston Facebook , Law , Member of Parliament , Middle East , Musician , Sunday Times , The Times , Unemployment , United Kingdom

Internships, Influence, And What Matters

STEVE ROYSTON: It’s fine to enjoy the discomfiture of a prominent politician. But let’s not get into a froth about issues well down the strategic scale, and concentrate on what matters: education.

Added on 12/04/2011 Matt J. Duffy Abu Dhabi , Al Ittihad , Arabic media , Bahrain , Censorship , CNN , Dubai , Dubai Crime , Dubai Laws , Dubai police , Egypt , Facebook , Gulf News , Local media , Media outlets , News media , Nichola Jones , Qatar , Qatar Peninsula , Reuters , Saudi , Social Media , The National , Twitter , UAE , United Arab Emirates , Yahoo!

Newspapers Inconsistent Over Blogger Arrests

MATT J. DUFFY: The question all UAE, and indeed regional, newsrooms ask is what is the responsible approach. A responsibility to reporting the facts, or to safeguard their future.

Added on 05/04/2011 Allan Biggar Bahrain , East Africa , Facebook , Middle East , North Africa , Saudi Arabia , Social Media , Tiananmen Square , Twitter , United Arab Emirates , Yemen

Social Media: Are Brands Getting the Revolution?

ALLAN BIGGAR: The path is now open for a consumer revolution where a new generation will be more influenced by their social-network contacts than by traditional marketing messages.

Added on 03/04/2011 James M. Dorsey 2010 World Cup , Africa , African Cup of Nations , Al Ahram , Algeria , Captain , East Africa , Egypt , Egypt Elections , Egyptian Football Association , Facebook , Food prices , Football , guard , hassan , Hosni Mubarak , Islamic Republic of Iran , Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , Middle East , National Democratic Party (NDP) , North Africa , Premier League , President , qualifier , Soccer , South Africa , Twitter

Soccer vs. Islam: The Battle for Egypt’s Future

JAMES M. DORSEY: The calm with which Egyptians accepted defeat, contrasts starkly with riots that erupted on two continents in late 2009 when Algeria stopped Egypt making it to the 2010 World Cup.

Added on 03/04/2011 Steve Royston Amazon.com , Bahrain , blog site , Blogging , Egypt , Facebook , Fidel Castro , Google+ , Hosni Mubarak , Middle East , Search Engine , search engines , search results , Social Media , Tahrir Square , The Huffington Post , Twitter

Thoughts On Blogging – How to Start, And Why?

STEVE ROYSTON: You could say that I’ve now entered my next career. Not a hobby – because I do earn money – but an activity entirely under my control, and in which money is not the prime motivation.

Added on 02/04/2011 Steve Royston Baghdad , Bahrain , BBC , Beirut , Facebook , Hizballah , Iran , Kuala Lumpur , Local media , Malaysia , Manama , Pearl Roundabout , policeman , Salmaniya Hospital , Saudi Arabia , Social Media , South Asia , Thailand , The New York Times

Returning to ‘the New Bahrain’: It’s a Sadder Place

STEVE ROYSTON: The past two weeks have witnessed enormous upheaval in the tiny island of Bahrain. On my return from holiday the changes are immediately evident.

Added on 24/03/2011 James Mullan Algeria , Algiers , Civil society , Egypt , Facebook , Islamic Salvation Front , Social Media , Twitter

Algeria: A Quiet Revolution In Civil Society Takes Hold

N. HAFID, CGNEWS: The Algerian revolution appeared to be stopped in its tracks but forces for change have been released and are making an impact on Algerian society.

Added on 24/03/2011 Juan Cole Algeria , Ali Abdullah Saleh , Bahrain , Ba’ath Party , Beirut , Casablanca , Democracy , Facebook , Iraq , Lebanon , Libya , Middle East , Misrata , Mohammed VI , Morocco , President , Prime Minister , Sana’a , southern Syria , Syria , Yemen

Of the People, By the People, For the People

JUAN COLE: Were he alive today Rousseau would have been impressed with how his idea on ‘popular sovereignty’ has been embraced in the Middle East

Added on 20/03/2011 Rachel McArthur Actor , Actress , Amr Moussa , Amr Salama , Amr Waked , Egypt , Facebook , Mohamed elBaradei , Mona Zaki , Politics , Tahrir Square , YouTube

Egypt Celebs Say No, Will they Convince Others?

RACHEL MCARTHUR: Public figures and celebrities are using their fame not only to encourage the public to vote, but to push for them to vote “no”.

Added on 16/03/2011 Steve Royston America , Bahrain , Bahrain Financial Harbour , Bahrain government , Bahrain TV , BBC , Congress , Facebook , Iran , Londonderry , Manama , Microsoft Windows , Northern Ireland , Oman , Pearl Roundabout , President , Protests , Saudi Arabia , Tehran , United States

Situation Critical for Increasingly Divided Bahrain

STEVE ROYSTON: Since the GCC forces arrived in Bahrain, the Iranian bogeyman has also surfaced with renewed vigour. The Iranians have described the CGG intervention as “interference”.

Added on 13/03/2011 Eman-Al-Nafjan Al Qaeda , Bin Laden , Civil society , Egypt , Facebook , Fouad al-Farhan , Middle East , Saudi Arabia , SMS , Tear gas , Tunisia , Twitter

Less Roar, more Whimper: Saudi’s Day of Mild Annoyance

EMAN AL NAFJAN: Division, governmental communications, heavy security – there are many reasons why protest failed to ignite in Saudi last Friday.

Added on 12/03/2011 Naseem Tarawnah Censorship , Egypt , Facebook , Information Technology , Internet cafés , Jordan , Middle East , Reporters Without Borders , Tunisia , Twitter

New Urgency For Anti Cyber Censorship Day

NASEEM TARAWNAH: We have seen just what happens at the hands of the Internet. We have witnessed the possibilities and seen them realized in countries like Tunisia and Egypt…

Added on 10/03/2011 Ramzy Baroud Amazon.com , Arabs , Baghdad , Basra , British government , Civil society , Egypt , Facebook , Gaza , George W. Bush , internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor , Iraq , Jerusalem , Kirkuk , Libya , London , Middle East , Mosul , PalestineChronicle.com , Palestinian Territories , Pluto Press , Tunisia , Twitter , United Kingdom , United States , www.ramzybaroud.net

The Rise of the Arabs, the Fall of Colonialism

RAMZY BAROUD: Arabs are ripping up the humiliating caricatures of the region imposed by the West, as they tear down authoritarian regimes, and begin to build truly civilized, and free societies.

Added on 08/03/2011 Shabina S. Khatri Arabian Gulf , Doha , Electricity , Emir , Facebook , FIFA , Fifa World Cup , Food and Drink , Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani , Healthcare , Israel , Media law , Middle East , Natural gas , press law , Qatar , Sheikha Mozah , The Huffington Post , Twitter , United States , US State Department

What Troubles? It’s Hard to Get Too Angry in Qatar

SHABINA S. KHATRI: Qatar is a welfare state that financially-speaking takes care of its people. The 350,000 nationals enjoy an average per capita income of $75,000 annually.