Mona Anis translated part of Ahmed Fouad Negm's poetry into English

Egyptian writer Mona Anis has received Amed Fouad Negm's award  from the hands of and prince Constantijn (photo Prince Claus Foundation).

Egyptian poet Ahmed Fouad Negm — who died at the beginning of this month at the age of 84 — was honored on 11 December as the principal winner at the Dutch Prince Claus Award ceremony in Amsterdam.  Negm was to have received the award from Prince Constantijn, but instead the price was received by Egyptian writer Mona Anis on his behalf. Anis and Negm, as was announced during the ceremony,  had been working a  few months before Negm's death on the “first serious translation” of Negm’s poetry into English. The collection ''I Say My Words Out Loud '' is made available online, published by the Prince Claus Fund (click here)

American drone kills 15 wedding guests in Yemen

In 2011 an American drone killed 17-year old Abdel-Rahman al-Awlaki in Yemen together with his teenage cousin and six others. Abdel-Rahman had left his home in order to look for his father, preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who was suspected of having links to al-Qaida and shortl;y before also had been killed by an American drone. 

Fifteen people on their way to a wedding in Yemen were killed in an air strike after their party was mistaken for an al-Qaida convoy, local security officials said on Thursday.
The officials did not identify the plane in the strike in central al-Bayda province, but tribal and local media sources said that it was a drone.
"An air strike missed its target and hit a wedding car convoy, 10 people were killed immediately and another five who were injured died after being admitted to the hospital," one security official said.
Five more people were injured, the officials said.
The United States has stepped up drone strikes as part of a campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), regarded by Washington as the most active wing of the militant network.
Human Rights Watch said in a report in October that US missile strikes, including armed drone attacks, have killed dozens of civilians in Yemen.

Naguib Mahfouz medal for Syrian author Khalifa

Khaled Khalifa

The 2013 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature went this year to the Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa for his novel ''La Sakakin fi Matabekh Hazehi Al-Madina'' (No knives in the kitchens of this land). The literary prize, awarded by the American University in Cairo, has since its inception in 1996, been given out on 11 December, the day Mahfouz was born, in 1911, (so exactly 100 years ago this year).
Khalifa's novel is about the price that Syrians have paid under the rule of the Baath party, headed by President Bashar al-Assad.
This year's panel of judges included: Tahia Abdel Nasser, professor of English and comparative literature at AUC and granddaughter of late president Gamal Abdel Nasser; Shereen Abouelnaga, professor of English Language, Cairo University; Mona Tolba, professor of Arabic literature,Ain Shams University; Hussein Hammouda, visiting associate professor of Arab and Islamic civilizations at AUC; and Abdo Wazen, Lebanese poet and literary editor of Al-Hayat newspaper.
Unfortunately the writer himself was not able to attend the ceremony, due to the ciorcumstances in Syria.

Protests and demands for an investigation after murder of journalist Garmyani in Iraqi Kurdestan

Garmyani

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has written to the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Massoud Barazani, to urge his government to carry out a thorough investigation into the murder of journalist Kawa Mohamed Ahmed Garmyani who was shot dead in the town of Kalar in east Kurdistan, Thursday 5 December.
According to IFJ affiliate, the Kurdistan journalists' Syndicate (KJS), its member Garmyani was gunned down at 9pm outside his house. Media reports say that a few days before his murder he had announced on his Facebook page that he had documents relating to a corruption case that he was planning to write about in the local ‘Rayal' magazine, of which he was editor in chief. Garmyani (32) was also a correspondent for the ‘Awene' newspaper. According to reports, Garmyani had been involved in disputes with local politicians because of his investigative reporting and he recently registered a complaint with Garmyan police against one of them.

Egyptian appeals court reduces sentences of women protesters

An Alexandria appeals court reduced the sentence of 14 female Islamist protesters previously sentenced to more than 11 years in jail,  to a suspended sentence of one year.
In November  a criminal court sentenced the 14  to 11 years and one month for destruction of private property, attacking security forces and stirring violence. Also it ordered that seven female minors among the women be placed in a detention centre until the age of majority. These seven minors, aged 15 to 17, ware acquitted.

The 21 women were arrested in late October during clashes with residents following a demonstration calling for the reinstatement of president Mohamed Morsi. The harsh jail sentences handed down to them had  sparked outrage in the country.

American singer almost won ''Arabs got Talent

Update Sunday 8/12:  Arabs Got Talent was won by the Syrian dance group Sima. The 23-year old American Jennifer Grout performed the song “Wahashtini” (“I’ve Missed You”) by Nour Mhanna,but did not win. The fact that she had been one of three finalists, however, was already a remarkable achievement  for someone who does not speak Arabic. (en of update)

MBC's show 'Arabs got talent' might well be in for a surprise yet again. Last year it was the Palestinian Mohammed Assaf from Gaza who came as it were from nowhere an won big time. This year it might be even more astonishing: 23-year old Jennifer Grout from Massachussets the United States, who hardly speaks a word of Arabic is a finalist an has been tipped as possible winner. This Saturday during the finals in Beirut, the final results will be known. 

Jennifer spent most of her life studying classical music, is what CNN reported about her. But studying at McGill University in Montreal she came across an article online about the famous Lebanese singer Fairouz. ''And  I was just really mesmerized by her singing," she remembers. "It was like nothing I had heard before."

The next thing she discovered was the famous Egyptian 'nightingale'  Umm Kulthoum, and that changed her life. She began studying Arabic and learning how to play the oud. After college, she moved to Morocco, where she learned local Berber music and began performing in Marrakesh's Jemaa el Fnaa Square.

The above video is taken during her first appearance at ''Arabs got talent'' and it's hilarious, because it shows how she had a hard time with the jury speaking almost only Arabic (and the jury with her not speaking Arabic at all). But her interpretation of Umm Kulthoum's  ''I forgot the sleep and its dreams'' (nisseet il-noum w'ahlamhu) was warmly welcomed. Her performance of Syrian singer Asmahan's "Ya Toyour (Oh Birds)" got her through to the finals. And tomorrow evening we'll know more.

At least 52 people killed during attack on Yemen's ministry of Defense

Damaged cars in the Defense ministry's compound. (AP).

(Updated). A car bomber and gunmen dressed in army uniforms attacked Yemen's Defense Ministry compound in the capital Sanaa on Thursday morning, killing at least 20 people in one of the worst attacks in Yemen in 18 months, Reuters reported. 
 "The attack took place shortly after working hours started at the ministry, when a suicide bomber drove a car into the gate," a Defense Ministry source said. tells Reuters. Then other attackers opened fire, beginning a gun battle that seems to have continued even as ambulances arrived on the scene. The violence also spilled into a hospital in the compound.

Update: According to Yemen's Supreme Security Commission 52 people were killed, including at least seven foreigners, while at least 167 people were wounded, nine of them seriously. Among the dead were  two aid workers from Germany, two doctors from Vietnam, two nurses from the Philippines and a nurse from India. Among the Yemeni civilians killed were a doctor and a senior judge. The attack was claimed by al-Qaida's local branch in Yemen and follows a rise in U.S. drone strikes. (En of update)

Lebanon puts northern city of Tripoli under control of the army

People in Tripoli run for cover as fighting goes on. (AFP)  

Lebanon Monday put Tripoli under the Army’s control for six months in an attempt to end recurrent sectarian fighting in the northern city linked to the war in Syria. Shortly after the announcement was made by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati following a high-level security meeting at Baabda Palace, the Army staged raids in and around Tripoli’s rival neighborhoods in search of gunmen’s hideouts and weapons.
The measure, which fell short of declaring the restive city a military zone, came as troops and security forces bolstered their presence in Tripoli, where 13 people have been killed and over 80 wounded in three days of clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Egyptian constitution leaves open which comes first: presidential or parliamentary elections

Meeting of Commission of 50 in the building of the Shura Council. 

A draft Egyptian constitution completed on Sunday opens the way for a presidential election to be held before parliamentary polls, potentially changing the transition plan outlined by the army when it ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
The original plan said a parliamentary election should take place before the presidential one. But the draft constitution avoids stipulating which vote should happen first. The draft constitution says the "election procedures" must start within six months from the date of the constitution's ratification, meaning Egypt may not have an elected president or parliament until the second half of next year.
The change was announced by former Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa, chairman of the 50-member constituent assembly, as it completed its final draft on Sunday. The draft must now be put to a referendum this month or next.
The change leaves it up to interim President Adly Mansour, to decide which election comes first, or whether to hold both at the same time. Mansour was installed as head of state after Mursi's ouster. Critics say he is just a front for army rule.

Fighting in North Yemen flares again, at least 120 dead

Dar ul-Hadith academy, the site of the fighting in Damaj. 

Fighting between Shi'ite Houthi rebels and Sunni Salafis in northern Yemen has killed more than 120 and a government official in charge of enforcing a ceasefire accused the Houthis of breaking the truce, a newspaper said on Sunday.
The latest round of fighting between the Houthis and Salafis has added to the challenges facing U.S. allied Yemen, already grappling with a southern separatist movement and an insurgency by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda.
Amin al-Hemyari, head of government observers monitoring a ceasefire reached last month, said the death toll among Salafis in the town of Damaj had risen to more than 120, with dozens wounded, the government-run al-Thawra newspaper said.
He said no casualty figures were available for the Houthis.

Thousands demonstrate in Aden for secession of South Yemen

Demonstration in Aden on 30 November 2013 (Facebook, via almasdaronline.com)

Thousands demonstrated in South Yemen's main city Aden on Saturday to demand a return to independence, a day after President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said only autonomy was on the table, AFP reported.
The rally in central Parade Square came as southerners marked the anniversary of the end of British colonial rule in 1967, which created an independent state that lasted until union with the north in 1990.
Demonstrators waved southern flags and banners proclaiming: "Yes to Freedom and Independence," and: "Our Goal is the Reclamation of Statehood."
Security forces set up checkpoints across the city and on its outskirts to control the large number of demonstrators who poured in from adjacent provinces, but kept their distance from the rally itself.
Fuad Rashed of the hardline, pro-independence wing of the Southern Movement, which organised the rally, told AFP: "We are determined to pursue our peaceful struggle to achieve our demand."

Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher now also in custody

Ahmed Maher (with sunglasses) on his way to the court. (Reuters).


(Reuters) - Ahmad Maher, a leader of the 6 April movement and a symbol of the uprising that ousted president Mubarak in 2011, turned himself in to the authorities on Saturday after an order was issued for his arrest for defying the new law which restricts demonstrations.
The law, passed a week ago by the army-backed interim government has provoked an outcry among rights groups. Maher and around 100 supporters made their way to the Abdeen court, chanting: "Down, down with military rule! I'll write on the prison wall that army rule is shameful and a betrayal!"
Clashes broke out between security forces and activists outside the court after Maher turned himself in. Police fired tear gas and used their batons to disperse the crowd. Maher will be detained for at least a day one day while his case is investigated, prosecution sources told Reuters.
Maher was set free some hourse later the same day, pending investigations aginst him.