11 February 2011 will forever be an historic day for Egypt. It was then that weeks of protests around the country finally forced Hosni Mubarak, the US-backed president of the country for the past 30 years, to leave office. On 12 February, EI’s Matthew Cassel spoke with blogger and activist Mona Seif about the revolution, how it began, and what it means for Egypt’s future. Read more about Egyptian activist Mona Seif: It's a revolution, and it's not over
Yesterday I stood among more than a million people in Cairo. They came to Tahrir Square in the morning, some even came days ago and haven’t left since, and all day long they energetically called for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Matthew Cassel writes from Cairo. Read more about Undaunted in Cairo's Tahrir Square
The Palestinian Return Centre, a London-based advocacy organization, has become the latest target of defamation and attempted sabotage in Israel’s ongoing campaign against groups and individuals active in promoting the issue of Palestine and Palestinian human rights. Matthew Cassel reports. Read more about Palestinian Return Centre vows to carry on despite Israeli attack
Over the past month, journalist and activist Jody McIntyre has joined a growing number of students, workers, activists and others in the UK protesting a government decision to cut public sector funding, especially to education. Jody, who spent months alongside Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip protesting the Israeli occupation, is now back in London attending and reporting on various student-led actions. The Electronic Intifada’s Matthew Cassel spoke with Jody at his south London home. Read more about Resisting an ideology of inequality: Jody McIntyre interviewed
“Khosh amadid” quickly became the new catchphrase for many Lebanese when thousands of signs reading “welcome” in Farsi went up in areas around the country. The occasion was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s two-day visit to the country last week. Matthew Cassel comments for the Electronic Intifada. Read more about Ahmedinejad in Lebanon: shifting regional power balance
The image of the five men attending peace talks at the White House can easily be dissected as the following: a dictator, a monarch, a puppet and two heads of state responsible for the region’s only military occupations — not the best ingredients for making world peace. Matthew Cassel comments. Read more about Washington peace talks: democracy need not apply
As cars plastered with the flags of Brazil, Germany, Argentina and other favorite World Cup teams drove across Beirut on Sunday, Palestinian refugees and their supporters carried Palestinian and Lebanese flags as they marched through the capital. They called for their human rights in Lebanon, where they have lived without them for more than six decades. Matthew Cassel reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Palestinians in Lebanon demonstrate for their rights
Last week Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech over video link from an unknown location, as he frequently does. The leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamic resistance and political group Hizballah addressed the audience in Beirut to present the group’s new manifesto, their first since 1985 when the group unveiled its initial open letter. Matthew Cassel analyzes. Read more about Hizballah's call for legitimacy
“This is my story, the story of an Arab woman,” Wadad Makdisi Cortas states in the opening line of her memoir A World I Loved. Born Wadad Makdisi in Beirut in 1909, which at that time was considered a part of Syria, she discovered Arab nationalism at a young age and lived a life true to the idea in every sense. Cortas believed passionately that Arabs, in order to protect their culture and values, should liberate themselves from Western colonialism which sought to impose its ways and divide the people. Matthew Cassel reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Book review: "A World I Loved"
BEIRUT (IPS) - One can be born in Lebanon and live here all one’s life, and still not be a Lebanese citizen. Lebanon is one of few remaining countries in the Middle East where a mother is unable to pass citizenship to her children. Campaigners have succeeded in securing that right in countries such as Egypt, which amended the law in 2004 to allow women to pass citizenship to their children, and in Algeria, which granted women full citizenship rights in 2005. In Lebanon the struggle continues. Read more about Women battle for citizenship rights
