WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaking via a choppy video feed from his virtual house arrest in London, lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday for supporting freedom of speech in the Middle East while simultaneously “persecuting” his organization for leaking diplomatic cables.
Artist facing jail time: “Freedom of expression is a myth in Lebanon”
By Sarra Grira
More than two decades after Lebanon’s civil war ended, it remains a very touchy subject for the government there
Breaking the fear barrier in Syria
By Alexandra Sandels
You can sit in a Damascus cafe and hear people talk about the opposition
LIRA: A devalued Internet.
By Ghassan Karam
Creative destruction is the phrase popularized by Joseph Schumpeter, the great economist, who used it to describe the creative power of capitalism and the free markets
Journalists face grave danger in reporting from Syria
Reporting from Syria can be a nightmare, even lethal
Musician arrested for song calling for President to “go home”
Lebanese authorities on Wednesday detained local musician Zeid Hamdan for allegedly defaming President Michel Suleiman, according to people familiar with the case. In 2010, Hamdan and his band, Zeid and the Wings, wrote a song called “General Sleiman” that called on the president, who led the army before his 2008 election, to “go home.”
Will Syria become more democratic?
By David Ignatius
The rise and fall of a protest demonstration here recently shows that Syrians share the yearning for dignity that’s sweeping the Arab world – and also illustrates why President Bashar al-Assad so far hasn’t been threatened by this tide of anger.
Syria’s brutal internet censorship key in preventing protests
By Weedah Hamzah and Aya Batrawy
While much of the Arab world continues to see thousands of people taking to the streets with calls for political change, a ‘Day of Rage’ planned in Syria this month drew only a few dozen protesters.
Shouman released from jail on bail
Military Investigative Judge Ghassan Owaidat released on a LL 100,000($66) bail Ahmed Shouman who was arrested for slandering the president. Shouman was was arrested at the Beirut airport Tuesday upon his return from Kiev on charges of libel, slander and defamation against Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on social networking website Facebook. Following his arrest […]
Another youth arrested over slander of Lebanon President
Lebanese citizen Ahmed Shouman was was arrested at the Beirut airport Tuesday upon his return from Kiev on charges of libel, slander and defamation against President Suleiman on social networking website Facebook The suspect was then taken to Roumieh prison for interrogation.