Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome now available in Syria
Google has announced on its blog that users in Syria can now access more of its services. Google Earth, Picasa and Chrome should all now be available for download. So…
Middle East
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Dubai Police Shut Down Twitter and Facebook Accounts
At least 15 UAE Facebook or Twitter accounts have been shut down by order of the Dubai Police this year, The National reports,with ‘electronic crime’ cases more than doubling from…
Iran to Sue Google Over Nameless Gulf
It seems that Google’s woes over its decision to leave the Persian Gulf nameless on Google Maps are far from over, with Iran saying it will sue the tech company…
Volunteers Working to Translate Storify into Arabic
Storify has recently announced that it will be working in cooperation with Taghreedat to translate its interface into Arabic. We caught up with Taghreedat co-founder Mina Takla to find out…
Google Awards $200,000 in Seed Capital to Egyptian Traffic App
Announced last September, the ‘Start with Google’ competition has finally come to a close with Egyptian traffic app Bey2ollak walking away with the grand prize of $200,000 in seed capital….
Iran Forbids Local Institutions from Emailing Gmail, Yahoo Users
Iran has continued its online crackdown, and its move towards a national Internet, by introducing a new regulation that instructs banks, insurances firms and telecom companies to cease dealing with…
Apple's New iPad Launching in 30 Territories This Weekend
The new iPad is coming to 30 additional territories on May 11th and May 12th, Apple announced on its site today. While we already knew that the tablet would become…
Al Jazeera Forced to Leave China as Correspondent is Expelled
Al Jazeera has been forced to close its bureau in China, after the government declined to renew the visa of the organisation’s China anchor, and refused to sanction a replacement….
Twitter Updates Its Mobile Web Version
Twitter has just updated its mobile web version, mobile.twitter.com, the startup announced on its blog today. According to the post, the purpose of this update is to improve Twitter experience for users…
Naqeshny: A Social Network for Debating
Naqeshny is a brand new social network, launched out of Egypt, which brings the art of debate into a public online arena. Naqeshny, which literally means ‘discuss with me’, is…
This Week in Media
One week after our conference in Amsterdam, we are now back with our weekly media roundup. From World Press Freedom Day to Guardian Activate Summit in New York, the last…
Iran Criticizes Google for Nameless Gulf
Iran has lashed out at yet another Internet giant, this time going after Google for what it sees as an egregious omission on Google Maps, AFP reports. The body of water separating…
Sky News is Launching a 24-hour Arabic News Channel
Having just been made available in the US and Canada via Livestation, Sky News is launching a 24-hour Arabic news channel, which has been two years in the making. Tomorrow, Sky News Arabia,…
Flat6Labs Graduates its Second Cycle of Startups
We took a look at Flat6Labs, a Cairo-based accelerator in October when it launched its first cycle with 5 startups under its wing. Fast forward 7 months later, and the…
Newspaper Circulation Declines in the Middle East
With newspapers in the Middle East recording the lowest circulation growth rate in the past 3 years, a small but significant Arabic speaking audience is turning to the digital space…
