A R A B I C A ارابيكا
TERMS OF SANCTUARY
CNN Arabic is reporting that fleeing Gaddafi family members agreed to certain conditions by the Algerian government before being given sanctuary in that country. A Libyan convoy of seven cars carrying 31 people, including Gaddafi family members, arrived at the Algerian border at 8:45 Monday morning.
The family is “allowed no phone calls from outside” Algeria, CNN Arabic reports. Algerian paper A-Nahar reported that the family agreed to make no public statements and take no calls because “any phone call would put Algeria in a position of political embarrassment,” and could be interpreted as “managing the war from a distance.”
Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter Aisha, a UN Goodwill Ambassador believed to be in her 30s, gave birth on the Algerian side in the early hours on Tuesday morning.
A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
Ibrahim Almojel, a Saudi citizen, tweets: “The Arab League must intervene in Syria. What is happening in Syria far exceeds the craziness of Libya.”
OVER THE MOON
Sheikh Gamal Qutb, chairman of the Fatwa Committee of Egypt’s Islamic Al-Azhar University, spoke to the press to dispel persistent rumors that Israel was to blame for “discord and confusion” regarding the sighting of the moon that signals the end of Ramadan. Qutb stressed that “what is being said is not true at all,” and that in fact, Saudi Arabia and Egypt did agree on the sighting of the new moon and that the three-day holiday of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan began on the correct day. The sheikh did not elaborate on how Israel might have sabotaged the appearance of the new moon.
ROAD RAGE
Egyptian local news website Al Youm Al Sabaa reports that thousands of Egyptian residents of the town of Wadi Natroun blocked the nearby desert highway for hours on Wednesday to protest the many fatalities and accidents on the perilous road. Residents attribute the high casualty rate to a lack of bridge or tunnel for pedestrians to safely cross the highway. Families have been calling for a pedestrian crossing for decades to no avail. The final straw for residents was the death of a small child this week after being hit by a speeding car on the highway.
A local official arrived on the scene and promised to install temporary speed bumps. The protesters opened the road after the bumps were placed on the highway. The website confirmed the official’s promise that the General Authority for Roads and Bridges will begin building a bridge over the highway next week.
August 31, 2011
photo credit: illustir