Middle East
UAE – Much Oil, Fiew Rights
Dubai – Oil rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) harassed, arrested, and jailed activists, and disbanded the elected boards of two of the country’s most prominent civil society organizations, says [Human Rights Watch](http://www.hrw.org/) (HRW) report “[UAE: Free Speech Under Attack](http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/25/uae-free-speech-under-attack)”
“Sharp Rise in Palestinians Uprooted by Israeli Demolitions”
Geneva – Almost 1,100 Palestinians, over half of them children, were displaced due to home demolitions in the West Bank by Israeli forces in 2011 – over 80 per cent more than in the previous year – according to a [United Nations new report.](http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41051&Cr=palestin&Cr1=)
Egypt: Jubilation, But…
Cairo, 26 January – It started as a day of celebration, with tens of thousands of Egyptians converging on Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of Egypt’s revolution, 25 January. The morning crowd — dominated by bearded Islamists — waved flags and strolled peacefully in the Square — flashpoint of the eighteen day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
The myth of ‘isolated’ Iran
So yes, this larger-than-life psychodrama we call “Iran” may turn out to be as much about China and the US dollar as it is about the politics of the Gulf, or Iran’s nonexistent bomb. The question is: What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Beijing to be born? [We took permission from Mr Escobar to run his story on Pressenza, appeared Asia Times.
Egypt: State TV Employees Stage Sit-in Protesting Censorship
Cairo, 23 January – Egyptian state TV –for decades the mouthpiece of the authoritarian regime– is an ugly towering block of concrete and steel overlooking the River Nile at Maspero in downtown Cairo. In the post-revolutionary era, it is a heavily fortified fortress surrounded by barbed wire and stone barricades.
TV satellite operator usurps court’s prerogative to silence Kurdish TV station
Reporters Without Borders is stunned by Paris-based TV satellite operator Eutelsat’s decision yesterday to stop carrying the broadcasts of Copenhagen-based Kurdish TV station Roj TV on the grounds that a Danish court found it guilty of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed separatist group regarded by Turkey as a terrorist organization.
Statement by the congregation of Syrian Artists for Freedom
In the beginning, the corrupt security forces of the police state shot the unarmed
civilians, then claimed to start the movement of reform by killing thousands. This
murderous regime cannot resuscitate the bodies of murdered victims or bring the
carnage of bodies back together; nothing can restore a life lost except a brighter future
than prevents the loss of more lives.