Swedish Harbours blocking Israeli goods

The harbour of Gothenburg @Hamnarbetareförbundet

By Marina Ferhatovic

For a week now, the harbours in Sweden, have been leaving the goods on ships to and from Israel untouched.

- It is a way for us dock-workers to take a stand, even if it is in a very small way, against the blockade of Gaza and for an independent, international investigation of the Israeli boarding of the Freedom Flotilla, says Erik Helgeson, the trustee of the Swedish Dockworkers Union in Gothenburg to Swedish Television.

A Lebanese Flotilla is ready to reach Gaza

Julia is one of the ships that will try to sail to Gaza @journaliststogaza.wordpress.com

By Alessandro Di Maio

Almost a month later after the Flotilla incident that caused the death of 9 Turkish activists and diplomatic tensions between Israel and Turkey, a new flotilla could sail on the water of the Mediterranean Sea to break the Israeli naval block on the Gaza Strip.

Dear French national team: We will never forgive you!

French trainer Raymond Domenech showing national shirt @starmaillot.com

By Elif Kayi

OPINION. France never really was a soccer nation. Not that they always had poor players or that they never managed good performances on the field. But if one considers soccer also from a socio-cultural point of view, the French never showed a particular enthusiasm for what one usually calls “the round ball”. For decades France figured as a kind of strange animal at the core of a European tradition, which had integrated the culture of penalties and corners into its history long ago.

Slideshow: Romanians fail to stop “social genocide”

Protesters fainted during protests @EMAJMagazine

By Luciana Grosu

20,000 angry Romanians surrounding the parliament building in Bucharest were not enough to stop the government’s new financial plan which is described by the opposition as “social genocide”.

EMAJ reporter awarded with Freedom of Speech Prize

Elif Kayi (to the left) together with award winners from Chad and France. @EMAJMagazine

By Marina Ferhatovic

“The biggest challenge for a today’s journalist is first of all to survive“, says Elif Kayi, a journalist from France and a part of the editorial team of EMAJMagazine, who received a Freedom of Speech Prize, awarded by the French press club of Marseille. EMAJMagazine caught up with this young journalist on the go, to get to know more about the award winning story, her impressions and the challenges of journalism.

Award winning story: Not every Turk is born a soldier*

By Elif Kayi

Turkey. In this country, forged, nurtured and closely watched by the military, it is a crime to refuse one’s military service. Despite that fact, hundreds of thousands avoid it.

*awarded with the Freedom of Speech Prize, Marseille 2010

Lebanon’s security dilemma: An issue related only to Israel and Hezbollah?

Hezbollah soldiers @Flickr

By Gülsen Devre

OPINION.  LEBANON. “We will return Syria to the Stone Age by crippling its power stations, ports, fuel storages and every bit of strategic infrastructure if Hezbollah dares to launch ballistic missiles against us,” an Israeli minister, who remained anonymous, was quoted in the Lebanese Daily Star website recently. These threats came after American and Israeli allegations over scud missiles that were said to be smuggled into Lebanon through the Syrian border. Syria has denied these accusations, while Hezbollah prefers to remain silent on the issue until today, as “these are internal matters”.

Aleppo to be the first child friendly city in MENA

Syrian children playing indoors @Pawel Krzysiek

By Elsy Melkonian

Children are expected to be leading a happy life. Yet, for eight year old Basel Saeed, happiness is still not a part of his life, “I like Aleppo, but I hate being deprived of lovely parks to play football with my friends. Roads are too dangerous to ride bikes. I want to have fun and I want to be happy”.

Video: Icons from Morocco

Asilah, a Phoenician trade base and a Portuguese fort @Mohamed Ezz Aldin

Tanger, Asilah, Casablanca and Rabat are four Moroccan cities represent a cultural mixture between the Mediterranean and North Africa. Mohamed Ezz Aldin, Egyptian photographer and radio presenter, shares with EMAJ magazine his latest video from a recent trip to Africa’s closest point to Europe.

Romanian democracy… Last seen on TV

Basescu, actual Romania’s president, ex-marine officer, pictured as a "pirate“ @EMAJMagazine

By Luciana Grosu

The financial crisis, weakness of political leadership, taxes and unemployment drives Romanians to boiling point, while immigration to EU countries become young people’s dream.

“Israel’s triple fiasco”: Read francophone press reactions on Flotilla

A Freedom Flotilla ship @freegaza.org Flickr stream

By Elif Kayi

ROUND UP. Most writers in Francophone press in France, Belgium and Switzerland criticized Israel heavily for the attack on Flotilla, while others raised questions related to roles played by Turkey, Hamas and US.

Flotilla: When reports become the news

Photo from thermal imaging footage released by Israel for incidents happened on one of the Flotilla ships @freegaza.org Flickr stream

By Adi Halfon

OPINION. On Monday evening my cell phone rang. My mother was on the line, asking me how am I doing in Berlin and if I encountered any hate crimes since the morning, as a result of the famous Flotilla events. “Watch out”, she said, “The international image of Israel right now is problematic”.

Stockholm: Thousands demonstrating against the Flotilla attack

@EMAJMagazine

By Sami Halabi and Assaad Thebian

The central Sergels Torg square in Stockholm is not the place you would normally expect to hear the words  “stop the blockcade,” or “boycott Israel;” or even “In our souls and with our blood we support you Palestine” in Arabic no less. But that is what happened as thousands of people descended on the square today in support of the “Freedom Flotilla”, the campaign that was a fast reaction after the Israeli commandos shot fire on the ship convoy trying to break Gaza siege.

Flotilla: Israel endangers its own security

@freegaza.org Flickr stream

By Alessandro Di Maio

OPINION. At present moment the details remain unknown, but it is certain that the consequences of the attack launched this morning to international flotilla direct to Gaza, will mark negatively the already affected Israel’s image in the world. The greatest risk is to lose the traditional and strong alliance with what is now a regional power, Turkey.