Arabica Report

Paris

Exclusive! - "Tahar Ben Jalloun raconte son monde arabe"

by Jean- Pierre Farrugia (*)

L'�crivain marocain Tahar Ben Jelloun a pr�sent� son dernier ouvrage � Je ne comprend pas le monde arabe �, le mardi 27 mai, � Barcelone.
Paris. May 30, 2008 - � l'occasion de la pr�sentation de la traduction espagnole et catalane de son nouvel �crit, Tahar Ben Jelloun revient sur l'importance de dissiper la n�buleuse de confusion et de faux-semblants autour du monde arabe, � Il n'existe pas de chocs de civilisation, sinon un choc d'ignorances et de pr�jug�s � a-t-il affirm�. � Je ne comprend pas le monde arabe � est une nouvelle dont la valeur didactique semble fondamentale.

Middle East

Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian Workshop on Education for Peace"

Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian Workshop on Education for Peace" Jerusalem. May 28, 2008 - Following the workshops of January and April 2008 we are holding the Third Peace Education Workshop that will once again bring together peace educators, curricula writers, encounter facilitators, peace studies practitioners, conflict resolution practitioners, mediators, and activists from academia, research sector, governmental and community organizations and others from Israel, Palestine and beyond.

Middle East

Middle East. "Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue"

Beyond the violence in the Middle East conflict, there are many individuals and initiatives working towards lasting peace in the region. New dossier presents just some of them: www.qantara.de/webcom/show_softlink.php/_c-726/i.html -
May 26, 2008 - The Arabic word "qantara" means "bridge". The Internet portal Qantara.de represents the concerted effort of the Bundeszentrale f�r politische Bildung (Federal Center for Political Education), Deutsche Welle, the Goethe Institut and the Institut f�r Auslandsbeziehungen (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) to promote dialogue with the Islamic world. (The project is funded by the German Foreign Office).

www.qantara.de/webcom/show_softlink.php/_c-726/i.html

Middle East

Exclusive! -"The Key to Peace Lies in Damascus"

by Avi Primor (*)

May 23, 2008 - IIt's now official: Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks. A peace agreement between the two countries could break Iran's dangerous influence in the region, says Avi Primor, former Israeli Ambassador to Germany. US President George W. Bush's visit to the Middle East last week produced no results or even substance, particularly concerning the Palestinian problem. Would it not therefore be absolutely essential to turn to Syria again? In actual fact, there have been recent rumours of a possible movement between Israel and Syria. The Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Damascus on 26 April.

Jordan

Exclusive! - Jordan. "Queen Rania mentions Ikbis, Toot and Akhtaboot as examples of homegrown web innovation"

by Ahmed Humeid (*)

HM Queen Rania is surely following up on what�s happening in the Jordanian web scene!
Amman. Mai 19, 2008 - In her recent interview in Jordan Business magazine, she talked, among other issues, about the homegrown development of web sites in Jordan.

Lebanon

Exclusive! - " Moroccan Student in Lebanon Chronicles Life in the Middle of Political Crisis"

by Lydia Beyoud (*)

Beirut. May (Mai) 14, 2008 - (EN-FR) -Manal, a female Moroccan blogger studying at the American University of Beirut, has been drawing lots of attention to her blog Carpe Diem with her on going account of the rising crisis in Lebanon. Manal fills her readers in with a mix of trepidation, hope and on-the-street commentary, offering what is perhaps a rare glimpse at a foreign -though Arab- �on the ground� perspective of what's happening in Beirut. The following are extracts from several of her most recent posts: In her most recent post dated Monday, May 12, 2008, she reacts to Sunday's relative calm following a recent ceasefire:

Tunisia

"A cinematographic pole"

Tunis. May 12, 2008 - A major Italian film producer, Mario Cotone, who is jointly producing a movie entitled the "Door of the Wind" (La Porta del Vento), by the filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, is currently in Tunisia where large parts of the movie are being shot and produced. During his meeting with the Tunisian Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation, Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour, the producer expressed his willingness to set up other projects in Tunisia, which he said was a "successful destination of the top of the range cinema industry, thanks to its stimulating political and cultural climate, to its beauty and diversity, as well as to its natural sites and the high artistic and technical potential of its young people".

Lebanon

"Au bord de la guerre civile?"

Des tirs et des explosions ont retenti toute la nuit � Beyrouth, livr�e � ses vieux d�mons, o� le chef du Hezbollah a accus� le gouvernement anti-syrien de lui avoir d�clar� la guerre.
Beyrouth. May 09, 2008 - Certains quartiers de la capitale libanaise ne sont plus que des zones fant�me. La population retient son souffle et redoute une r�surgence de la guerre civile. Ce n�est pas tout � fait la guerre civile, mais on s�en approche dangereusement. Durant toute la nuit, les tirs aux armes automatiques, les explosions des roquettes antichar et les accrochages ambulants ont ramen� les Libanais trois d�cennies en arri�re. Sinistre consolation, les bellig�rants n�utilisent encore que des armes individuelles, ce qui permet aux quartiers �loign�s des points chauds de vivre � peu pr�s normalement.

Lebanon

"Fighters shut down media"

Gunmen loyal to Hezbollah have shut a pro-government TV station and newspaper as battles continued between the group and Lebanese government supporters.
Beirut. May 09, 2008 - Future News, owned by Saad Hariri, the leader of the pro-Western governing coalition, went off the air as fighting entered a third day. The offices of Mr Hariri's al-Mustaqbal newspaper were reportedly set ablaze by opposition gunmen. Fighting erupted over a government move to shut Hezbollah's telecoms network. At least 10 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and more than 20 injured in several parts of the city since the clashes began.

Afghanistan

Exclusive! - "Deedenow Cinema Production"

by Mohammad Amin Wahidi (*)

May 07, 2008 - Deedenow Cinema[www.aminwahidi.blogspot.com] is a private Afghan film and television production company founded by young Afghan filmmakers and media activists in Kabul. Its mission is to support the work of Afghan film and media workers and communicate its message of freedom of expression, peace and justice worldwide. We produce Afghan Films and assist in all areas of media research and production with the goal of growing an effective media voice for young Afghanistan.

(*) - Afghan Blogger, Filmmaker &TV producer

www.aminwahidi.blogspot.com