Checkdesk training begins in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon

We’re extremely excited to announce that our Checkdesk training programme is firmly underway in four countries across the Middle East. Led by our regional partners (Welad El Balad Media Services - Egypt, 7iber – Jordan, Ma’an – Palestine, Annahar & SMEX – Lebanon), and in close cooperation with our research and training partner Birmingham City University, the training program aims to develop citizens’ journalistic skills in the way they consume and analyze media, to nurture verification and fact-checking best practice, and to introduce trainees to the Checkdesk platform. Over the coming 6 weeks,... Read The Rest →

Ma’an News Agency to partner with Meedan on Middle East citizen journalism project

If you are following today’s Palestinian Land Day protests in the West Bank, an event which marks the 1976 killings of Arab demonstrators protesting Israel’s land appropriation, you may well be following the #LandDay hashtag on Twitter. “4 injuries in #IraqBorin near #Nablus .one of them is serious and one serious injury in #KuforQaddoum weekly demo #LandDay,” reports one user. But how do you sort the accurate and important reporting in this stream?  And how do you corroborate these reports with other citizen media on YouTube, Facebook and Flickr? As... Read The Rest →

Lessons from ArabNet conference boost Middle East web startups

Nina Curley– The ArabNet conference in Beirut, Lebanon just wrapped up after a whirlwind two days, and Meedan was there to witness it all. Bigwigs gave newbies advice on startups and developing the right entrepreneurial mindset. Young bloggers tweeted cheeky comments and shifted the direction of on-stage conversation with their questions. Women represented in the crowd, even if not as much on the panels, and stood up for their voice. Palestinians were honored for their great entrepreneurial ideas despite being absent due to visa issues. The amazing Maya Zankoul produced fantastic... Read The Rest →

Talk of Meedan: From Sadat in film to a Saudi's sex confessions

It’s been a purposeful week on Meedan.net with new entrants to the community adding their voices to the discussion. Here are some of the topics we’ve been talking about: Fictional dog named after Sadat leads to court case in Egypt Lawyers working for the family of Anwar Sadat have filed a lawsuit against the makers of an American feature film called ‘I Love You Man’ because a character’s dog in the film is named after the former Egyptian president. When the character who owns the dog is asked if he... Read The Rest →

'This is international politics – ever evolving, artistically cunning' – Fadil Yula on Erdogan's WEF outburst

Read the Arabic original on Iraq of Tomorrow here.  Translated into English by Ghaydaa. Can Erdogan’s Stance be Deemed Heroic and Revolutionary? One can only suspect that a case whose people have failed to take ownership over (at least from a historical perspective), will easily be targeted by those who would use and market it to serve their personal interests and agendas. It has become increasingly difficult to speculate the true intentions of today’s political activists, especially those who are seeking to fulfill their agendas in pretence of defending other... Read The Rest →

'Passengers of Lebanese aid boat returned after being held by Israel' – Al Jazeera translated

Read the Arabic original here.  Translated into English by Deena. Al-Jazeera correspondent in Lebanon, Bushra Abdul Samad, reported that eight Lebanese including Al-Jazeera correspondent Salam Khidr, and photographer Muhammad Aliq, were on board of the Lebanese boat, al-Ukhwah, to break the siege imposed on Gaza. They arrived at the Lebanese territories through al-Naqurah crossing, one of the checkpoints on the Lebanon’s borders with Israel. The passengers of boat were attacked by the Israeli soldiers who smashed their equipment and confiscated their communication devices, before they redirected the boat to the... Read The Rest →

Wanted: Thousands of shoes for Palestinian-British play about civilian suffering in Gaza

After a week of heavy snow, Londoners may well be reaching for those old sneakers long since discarded at the bottom of the cupboard.  But now a theater group has come up with another use for them – as the backdrop to a play  highlighting the civilian suffering in Gaza. A joint Palestinian-British troupe this week launched an appeal for thousands of pairs of second hand shoes to form part of the set design for a its production, ‘Go to Gaza – Drink the Sea’. Zeitgeist and Passion Pit Theatre... Read The Rest →

'Beyond the Gaza earthquake': Rival Palestinian factions debate future as uncertainty hangs over reconciliation

Here are extracts from two articles written by Palestinians with very different perspectives on how to create the ‘independent and viable’ Palestinian state which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has promised to work towards. If you want to discuss them more, join the conversation on Meedan or become a fan of our Facebook page. For more information on the outlets featured, see Meedan delicious account. Beyond the Gaza Earthquake, in Al Majd 2 February 2009 By Ibrahim Ghosheh.  Translated by Deena for Meedan.  Read the Arabic original here. On... Read The Rest →

UK press debates BBC decision to block Gaza aid appeal

Council for Arab-British Understanding London press review Tuesday 27 January. The Daily Telegraph Home News Minister unhappy at BBC decision on Gaza appeal Rosa Prince “The BBC’s refusal to screen a humanitarian appeal for Gaza has been criticised by Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary.” Gordon’s plea for a rescue from Khartoum to be sold at auction News Digest “This 125-year-old plea for rescue written in Arabic on a scrap of paper by General Gordon of Khartoum is to be sold.” World News We will not take any more Guantánamo... Read The Rest →

Obama in the Arab Press – the view from Syria

Whither America’s Stances? – Al-Thawra, 22/1/2009, by Ghalib Hasan Muhammad So many have fallen in Gaza but Obama said nothing, with the excuse that there is “one current president,” meaning of course that Bush is still the leader of monstrousness and neo-Nazism in the White House. No one should be surprised by Obama’s stance, despite the high hopes that he will stop American bias towards Israel. It seems that the liberal elite that is coming to power will constitute a huge hindrance for the struggle for peace and justice in... Read The Rest →

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