BUFF Featured on BBC Arabic

BUFF "Cooking on iPad Wrapped by BUFF" was featured on BBC Arabic's tech show "4 Tech" aired Saturday 14 July, 2012.

New TV channel run exclusively by fully veiled women

By Sarah El Sirgany, Special to CNN

July 31, 2012 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A new TV station is run by and features women wearing the niqab
• The niqab is a black fabric that covers a woman's entire face except eyes
• Some say the programming lets women's voices be heard; others say it's a U-turn for rights

(CNN) -- After graduating from the mass communication department of Cairo University, Heba Seraq-Eddin couldn't find a job. Potential employers turned her down, she says, because of her veil. Heba wears the niqab, the black fabric that covers her whole face, except for the eyes.

"I used to tell them I won't appear on camera, my niqab won't be visible," recalls Serag-Eddin, trained as a director and camera operator. But there were no job offers and she felt that the networks rejected the very concept of the niqab in the workplace.

Then she came across an ad for a new TV channel called Maria, run exclusively by niqab-clad women. She was hired right away.

Maria, the first channel of its kind anywhere, kicked off with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on July 20. Until it gets more funding and staff, it's a daily four-hour broadcast on its mother channel, Al-Omma, an independent channel seen in the Middle East.

In an apartment in the eastern Cairo district of Abasya, the female volunteers of Maria share two studios with Al-Omma's staff. Men occasionally help move the colored wooden panels on set and perform other technical chores. And Islam Abdallah, Al-Omma's executive director, steps in to offer advice on how to talk to the camera.

Critics say the programming is a "U-turn" on any Arab Spring advances.

While new hires are being trained, the station is using the skills of other women who favor the hijab -- the veil that's more like a head scarf -- to help. But the objective is to depend solely on niqab-clad women. So far, they all work as volunteers.

"I felt that we finally have a place in society after being marginalized. As women wearing niqab, we had no rights, and no one to talk about us. Through Maria, we'll find people like us talking about us, with no discrimination," Seraq-Eddin says.

The niqab has sparked many debates about discrimination over the years. Public universities' ban of them during exams or in dormitories were the subject of numerous court battles and were condemned by advocacy groups. Women often complain of an unwelcoming job market with an unwritten discrimination.

Maria director Alaa Abdallah says that being part of the TV project showed her and other team members that they did, indeed, have the skills for the job.

"We are trying to create a better society after the earthquake of freedom that was January 25," Alaa Abdallah explains. She says Egypt's intellectuals should support her right to speak up and her right to give a marginalized segment of society a voice.

One of those intellectuals is not convinced. The network taps into the rhetoric of women's empowerment, says Adel Iskandar, media scholar at Georgetown University, but there is a "very strong case to be made that it's a gimmick."

Others are worried that the rise of political Islam in Egypt will radicalize the society. They argue that a TV network that features only women with covered faces is a "U-turn" on the path of the so-called Arab uprising.

Poll: Religion not biggest enemy for Arab women

Alaa Abdallah says she avidly supports freedom of expression, but wouldn't grant her critics the same leeway she demands. "I stand by freedom of expression as long as it isn't hostile to Islam," she says, arguing that "secular and liberal" channels are "destructive" in the way they are promoting ideas that would reshape society.

Abu Islam Abdallah, Alaa's father and the owner of Al-Omma, believes he's restoring the balance. By stressing the niqab, he believes he evens out what he describes as the "racism" against these women.

He describes as heretic the type of democratic system that allows women "to dress immodestly, work as dancers and even be members of Parliament." That's "pandemonium," he says.

Al-Omma -- which means the nation -- is full of "anti-Christianization" rhetoric. There is less of that on Maria, named for the woman thought to have been the prophet Mohammed's Coptic wife. Its female-oriented, cultural programming "within a religious framework," as Alaa Abdallah describes it, might even have greater potential than Al-Omma and its donation-based funding model.

Maria caters to a niche market untapped even by ultraconservative channels, according to Iskandar. But normalizing the appearance of women covered from head to toe in black could be a double-edged sword. "It takes away from their mystique, their exoticism," he argues.

Others believe Maria might end up isolating the niqab "community" and only underline the controversy over the full veil.

Either way, the biggest challenge, according to Iskandar, will be to overcome what may be visually dull presentation with creative content.

Shura Council, press council argue over editor selection process

MENA

Thu, 19/07/2012 - 21:38

Photographed by other

The Supreme Press Council has no right to demand the dissolution of the Shura Council’s committee for choosing the editors-in-chief of state-owned newspapers, said Fathy Shehab Eddin, the head of that committee.

“It is the Supreme Press Council that should be dissolved as it no longer truly represents the journalists after the revolution,” Shehab Eddin, who is also the head of the Shura Council’s culture committee, said on Thursday.

Earlier in July, several prominent media figures and journalists protested against the Muslim Brotherhood-led Shura Council’s power to choose the editors that would lead state-run publications. They expressed fears that the Brotherhood would take control of state newspapers altogether.

Some suggested that the selection process be postponed until after the new constitution is drafted and approved. The constitution would define the Shura Council’s responsibilities and powers.

 “The Supreme Press Council is against the development of the media and rejects the new criteria for choosing chief editors that were accepted by all journalists,” Shehab Eddin added.

Edited translation from MENA

Journalists syndicate suspends ties with Sudanese counterpart

Egypt Independent

Thu, 19/07/2012 - 20:34

Photographed by Tahseen Bakr

The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate announced Thursday that it would suspend ties with the Sudanese Journalists Union due to “its chief Mohi Eddeen Titawi’s shameful and unprofessional handling of the detention of Egyptian journalist Shaimaa Adel, who was released from Sudan earlier this week.”

The syndicate also criticized the Federation of Arab Journalists' stance on the case. In a statement, the FAJ had supported Titawi's criticism of the Egyptian journalist.

Sudanese authorities detained Adel, a reporter for independent daily Al-Watan, on 3 July in a cyber cafe in Khartoum. She had travelled to Sudan to cover protests against government austerity measures and soaring prices.

Titawi said Adel did not follow proper procedure to declare herself as a journalist when she entered the country.

The Journalists Syndicate praised President Mohamed Morsy’s intervention for the release of Adel, who travelled back to Cairo with Morsy on the presidential plane out of Addis Ababa. The syndicate demanded that Egyptian authorities show more concern for international violations against Egyptian citizens.

Morsy releases military prisoners, addresses nation in Ramadan speech

 Egypt Independent

Thu, 19/07/2012 - 23:20

Photographed by other

President Mohamed Morsy announced Thursday night that he has pardoned 572 military prisoners who were detained in connection with the 25 January revolution or protests during the transitional period to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

He said that these prisoners had no charges proven against them, and that this was only the first phase of pardoning military detainees.

Morsy expressed his hope that this Ramadan, which begins Friday morning, will be “a month of wellness for Egypt, the Arab and Islamic world, and the whole world.”

In the speech, Morsy called on Egyptians to set an example for the world in production, stability, security, and support for the poor. He also affirmed Egypt’s commitment to its “sister countries” in Africa and promised to work with the African Union to develop and stabilize the continent.

Egypt’s main problems, listed as security, traffic, fuel shortages, access to food and pollution, will not be solved without the coordination of state bodies, Morsy said. He called for a national initiative on 27 July to clean the streets in Egypt, an initiative which he dubbed “clean nation.”

He assured that Egypt has numerous resources, but that work needs to be done in order to boost the economy and ensure the fair distribution of wealth to citizens. He also urged citizens to use the complaints offices he had opened, or to file complaints with the government online or by phone.

Morsy emphasized the importance of free speech and freedom of the press, saying, “In this critical state, the Egyptian media needs to be liberated from the legacy of the ousted regime.”

Microsoft makes its first ever loss

Microsoft 's advertising business struggled to compete with rival Google

The computing giant Microsoft has made its first-ever quarterly loss after it wrote off some of the value of its online advertising business.

The loss came after it wrote down the value of Aquantive by $6.2bn (£3.94bn, 5bn euros), which failed to bring the profits expected by Microsoft.
That led to a $492m loss in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of $5.9bn a year ago.
The company has not made a loss since it joined the stock market in 1986.
It took over Aquantive in 2007 but it struggled to compete with rival Google.
Microsoft paid $6.3bn for Aquantive.
Microsoft is doing well in other areas, despite the decline in popularity of its Windows operating system, which dominated the personal computer market for years.
Revenue for the three months to June rose by 4% to $18.06bn.
Mosaic Excluding the adjustment for the asset write-down, and the holding back of some income related to the launch of its Windows 8 system, Microsoft profits beat those expected by investors.
Shares were up 1.6% after the results were announced.
Microsoft says the update of the Windows systems is the most important redesign in more than 10 years.
Windows 8, which will launch in October, will feature a new look that will present applications in a mosaic of tiles.
Importantly, it will also enable the operating system to work on tablet computers, which along with smartphones are the fastest-growing sector of the computing market.
Microsoft is also planning to release its own tablet, the Surface.
Earlier this week, Microsoft previewed its next version of the Office system, which is expected to be released next year.

Lie detectors for sex offenders 'to be rolled out'

Lie detector tests are considered too unreliable for use in criminal trials in the UK

Mandatory polygraph testing for sex offenders is set to be rolled out across England and Wales following a successful pilot scheme, ministers say.

It found offenders who were tested were more honest and gave better information, which meant they were managed more effectively.
The pilot took place in the East and West Midlands probation areas from April 2009 to October 2011.
There are approximately 3,000 sex offenders on licence in the community.
Of these, 750 are considered to be in the most serious category of offender.
Prison recall The government said it was now considering how the tests could best be used to manage offenders.
The pilot scheme found offenders using lie detectors made twice as many admissions to probation staff, for example admitting to contacting a victim or entering an exclusion zone.
Offenders also reported that the tests helped them to manage their own behaviour better
An offender can immediately be returned to prison if the lie detector tests and other information indicate they have broken their conditions or present a risk to public safety.
The government said the tests would be in addition to the rigorous conditions sex offenders face when they are released from prison, which includes signing the sex offenders register.
Truthful answers A Downing Street source said: "It's vital that we protect the public from serious sex offenders. That's why the conditions after they leave prison need to be both strict and rigorously enforced.
"The pilot schemes using lie detectors to manage offenders in the community have been a success.
"So now we're looking at how it could be rolled out to provide probation officers with more information to manage the most serious sex offenders."
Polygraph tests, often referred to as lie detector tests, measure blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and levels of perspiration.
Experts use the tests to assess whether an individual is answering questions truthfully.