This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

After a two-day blackout, internet services resumed on Saturday in and around Damascus and in major cities according to press reports from inside Syria.

The communications outage made it difficult to follow the situation on the ground as fighting reportedly intensified between pro-government and rebel forces, especially in the area close to the Damascus international airport.

With the conflict showing no signs of abating and communications becoming increasingly difficult or unreliable, a “spontaneous campaign of solidarity… ( Read on! )

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

On Thursday, the US-based internet connectivity monitoring firm, Renesys, reported that internet was cut off in Syria. Starting at 10.26am GMT on Thursday, the company reported that all of Syria's 84 IP address blocks were inaccessible, “effectively removing the country from the Internet.”

Renesys also posted the following graph which seems to show a nationwide total internet shutdown:

Image courtesy of Renesys

Renesys' observation was later corroborated by Akamai, a major internet monitoring company, which posted a… ( Read on! )

A court in Rabat has sentenced a young man to serve three months in jail for failing to fast in public during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. “[Individual freedom,] a right we are not likely to see protected anytime soon,” laments Yabiladi [fr], who reports the news.

Written by Hisham Almiraat · comments (0)
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The bay'a is the name of the annual “loyalty” ceremony where dignitaries from across Morocco pledge allegiance to King Mohammed VI. Critics [fr] of the ceremony decry a “shameful show of servility and a display of archaism,” whilst proponents contend it establishes a symbolic contract between the ruler and the Moroccan people.

Originally, the bay'a is an act of allegiance to the successors of Prophet Mohammed. The Moroccan King claims to be descendant from the Prophet and derives part of his authority from his supposedly sacred genealogy.

Abdelilah Benkirane is the serving prime… ( Read on! )

A video of a marriage proposal during a tweetup in Casablanca is buzzing in the Moroccan social media sphere. “So far The Geekiest marriage proposal in Morocco,” comments Amine Hachimoto, who first published the video on Youtube.

Written by Hisham Almiraat · comments (0)
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