Reporters Without Borders hails the withdrawal of some of the most repressive provisions in the temporary law on cyber crimes in an amendment approved by the government on 29 August but continues to call for its repeal as it still grants the authorities arbitrary restrictive powers, above all because of its vague wording. The most [...]

MANAMA, Bahrain: The editor of the daily Al-Watan, Mahnad Abu Zeiytoun, was attacked and stabbed by two masked men as he left the newspaper’s offices near the capital, Manama, at around 3 a.m. on August 25. After asking him if he worked for Al-Watan, they tried to stab him in the face and heart but [...]

Amnesty International has urged the Slovak government to immediately end the segregation of Romani children in the country’s education system. This practice leaves thousands of Romani pupils in substandard education in schools and classes for pupils with “mild mental disabilities” or ethnically segregated mainstream schools and classes. In a briefing to the Slovak government, Steps [...]

A military court of appeal yesterday (1st Sept. 2010) rejected a petition calling for the release of Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a leading activist from the West bank village of Bil’in, imprisoned in Israel’s Ofer military detention center since 10th July 2009. The decision comes 8 days after the conviction of another Bil’in activist – Abdallah [...]

LONDON: The organizers of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day Rally in London, on 4 September, 2010, have called on pro-Palestinian and anti-fascist groups to come out to show solidarity against counter-demonstrations organized by Zionist and Fascist groups. Police have warned the organizers that the English Defense League (EDL), March for England and the Jewish Defense League [...]

Morocco wants solar investment A plan supported by Siemens AG and Munich Re to develop renewable energy in the Sahara desert starting with a plant in Morocco lacks investors and is still being organized, the project chief said. “We’re in the very early stages, the letter-writing stage, and don’t have any investors yet,” Paul van [...]

CAIRO: Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni was questioned by prosecutors over the Vincent van Gogh painting that was stolen last week from a local museum. Although no charges have been filed, many in Egypt are calling for the minister to resign or be removed from power. Hosni told reporters on Monday after the meeting with [...]

CAIRO: As Middle East leaders meet in Washington on Wednesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said that the major roadblock in negotiations are the settlements Israel has established on Palestinian territory. He said that settlements are blocking the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. In an article in Wednesday’s New York Times, the Egyptian President [...]