Anger boils over in Iraq
The eruption of the Egyptian revolution, in the wake of the Tunisian events, is inspiring populations across the Middle East and North Africa. Protest over social conditions spread to Iraq this week, as demonstrations broke out in numerous cities. Meanwhile, a mass rally has been scheduled in Algiers for Saturday. In Tunisia itself, the population continues…
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Iraqis protest lack of services
Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets Friday to demonstrate against a lack of basic services, the latest in a series of protests that have swept the country as turmoil rocks other parts of the Arab world. Iraq has been slow to get back on its feet almost eight years after the U.S.-led invasion and is trying to tackle severe water shortages and a sporadic e…
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Can Mubarak cling on?
The old lady in the red scarf was standing inches from the front of am American-made M1 Abrams tank of the Egyptian Third Army, right on the edge of Tahrir Square. Its soldiers were paratroops, some in red berets, others in helmets, gun barrels pointed across the square, heavy machine guns mounted on the turrets. "If they fire on the Egyptian people, M…
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Iraqis watch Egypt with irony
Iraqis who have long suffered from high unemployment, poverty and endemic corruption — the catalysts of unrest spreading in the Arab world — called on their own government to take notice. Many watched footage of riots and looting on the streets of Egypt, the region's traditional powerhouse, with a sense of irony. The scenes brought back disturbing memor…
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Arab patriotism has awakened
As police stations and ministry of interior installations continue to burn through the night in many of Egypt’s cities, the Arab World is waking up to a new dawn. In more than 18 years of living in Cairo, I have never felt the sense of cautious hope that exists in Egypt now, particularly among young men and women who feel that for the first time in their li…
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The Arab worlds convulsing
THE popular unrest sweeping across the Middle East has sent thousands of protesters into the streets of Yemen, Algeria and Jordan, as questions mounted over who will benefit from the convulsions in the Arab world. Thousands marched through the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday, in one of the largest protests seen in the autocratic nation in years. Secularist a…
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Jordanians join protests
Thousands of Jordanians have taken part in anti-government protests in Amman and other towns, demanding political reform, better economic conditions and the resignation of the country's unpopular prime minister. The demonstrations were supported by a large number of political and social groups, including the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, t…
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