Tunisia Snapshot: The Economic Fallout of the Uprising & Libya

Unemployed in Gafsa (August 2010)A few weeks before the month of Ramadan sets in, Tunisia faces the economic fallout of two very different recent events. The first happened nearly five months ago and swept General Zine el Abidine Ben Ali from power in a popular uprising which wrought minimum damage on the fabric of Tunisian farming, manufacturing and tourism infrastructure - indeed there were numerous instances of workers defending factories against marauders or Ben Ali's militia. The second has been in Libya, where the three month UN-authorised military intervention, formally led by NATO, in what had already become a civil war, has inflicted considerable damage to the country's infrastructure. The instability attendant to a prolonged military campaign in Libya presents a serious strategic threat to its northern neighbour, Tunisia.

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Syria Feature: Will Aleppo Rise? (Macleod/Flamand)

On the surface, all seems calm in Syria's second city.

Traffic and tourists might not be bustling along Aleppo's ancient thoroughfares in the abundance they once did, but to a casual observer there appears little sign that the turmoil of Syria's four-month old uprising has made much of an impact on its largest city.

But talk to shopkeepers, hotel managers and traders in Aleppo's famous covered souk and one soon finds grumblings of dissent. 

For in the Syrian capital of commerce, no one is making money anymore, threatening to undermine the key pillar of a long established pact between Aleppo's Sunni merchant class and the imposed stability of the Alawite-led regime.

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Protest and the Web: The US Government's Initiative for "Internet in a Suitcase" (New York Times and Al Jazeera English)

The New York Times and Al Jazeera English promote the efforts of the US Goverment and non-government organisations such as the New America Foundation to bypass restrictions on the Internet in other countries:

NEW YORK TIMES: The Obama administration is leading a global effort to deploy “shadow” Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.

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Bahrain and Human Rights: How Regime Supporters Sent a US Diplomat Home (Piven)

side the US embassy in Manama.

They carried signs that said "Give me liberty or give me death" and "Stop supporting dictators".

Ludovic Hood, a human rights specialist in the political section of the US embassy, offered doughnuts to the protesters --- a quintessentially American handout.

In response, a local cleric opined: "These sweets are a good gesture, but we hope it is translated into practical action."...

Those protesters did not expect that, just two months later, Hood would be shipped back to the US from his post in Manama --- prematurely, some say --- after having been threatened on Bahraini pro-government websites.

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Yemen Feature: Who's Who in the Battle for Power (Al Jazeera English and Johnsen)

Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar & His 10 SonsGovernment sources in Yemen said on Sunday that Saleh's sons and nephews have not left the country. That gives Saleh a strong power base inside Yemen; the president has spent years consolidating power within his family.

The elite Republican Guard is headed by Saleh's son, Ahmed, long viewed as a potential heir to the presidency. His nephew Yahya leads the riot police; another nephew, Tariq, is the head of Saleh's personal bodyguards.

Several other brothers and nephews hold key positions in the military and intelligence services as well. Collectively, Saleh's family commands tens of thousands of troops, many of them the best-trained and best-equipped in Yemen.

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"New Egypt" Feature: Military Detains "Thousands" (Hill)

Photo: ReutersBy positioning itself as the guardian of stability, the army has garnered support from a public that remembers clearly how the loathed police force abdicated responsibility for the looters, vandals and street thugs unleashed by the regime against the revolution just a few months ago.

But since it was deployed to the streets on January 28, that same army has subjected thousands of ordinary Egyptians to incommunicado detentions, trials and sentencings in front of military courts that provide little or no due process. Soldiers have stormed demonstrations in Tahrir Square and have beaten activists with metal bars, ropes and electrified batons.

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Syria & Iran Video: Freed Journalist Parvaz "The Beatings in Syria Were Savage"

Al Jazeera English journalist Dorothy Parvaz describes her detentions and interrogations in Syria and Iran over the last three weeks. 

Parvaz offers contrasting stories of the two countries. She was treated "fairly and in accordance with the law in Iran" but her experience of the Syrian prison before that was one of hearing savage beatings "around the clock".

Bahrain Video: The Dismissal of the Workers (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English reports on the dismissal or suspended of more than 2000 private sector employees, most of them Shia, in Bahrain in recent weeks.

The sackings linked to the regime's crackdowns on the protests that started in mid-February.

Egypt Latest: Six Die in Attack on Christian Church (Al Jazeera English)

UPDATE 2030 GMT: A large demonstration from Imbaba has arrived tonight in front of the State TV building in central Cairo.

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The End of Osama bin Laden: Scott Lucas on Al Jazeera's "Inside Story"

A discussion, aired Monday afternoon, of the significance of the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces....

Of the interviews I have done so far, this was the most interesting because it was the most critical of the prospects for American power. In contrast to the celebrations by many in the US, the panellists here --- the other two participants --- Hamid Gul, the former head of the Pakistani intelligence service ISI, and Ahmed Zaidan, the Pakistan bureau chief of Al Jazeera Arabic and author of the book Bin Laden Unmasked --- quickly moved to assess the post-bin Laden challenges for the US, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan.