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Tag: Tunisia

  • Star Wars Tatooine Set “Sinking” into Sahara

    George Lucas had transformed the Tunisian Sahara desert in the barren planet with twin suns called Tatooine, for Episode IV of his “Star Wars” space opera in 1976. Now Luke Skywalker’s childhood home is quickly being engulfed in sand dunes.

    The set of 20 buildings, located northwest of the city of Tozeur, covers an area of around 10,000 square meters, and remains a point of interest for avid “Star Wars” fans, who visit from around the world. The set was used until 2003, for the movies “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” and ever since, sand has been approaching from all sides.

    Per the request of the Tunisian government, the famed set for Anakin Skywalker’s home town, Mos Espa, also remains intact. Loads of visitors make pilgrimages daily.

    Tahar Karya, who was George Lucas’s personal driver during the latest filming in Tunisia, feels the director’s decision to reuse the area in his films was good for the region. “More than 1,500 background actors were employed. Agencies and hotels also benefited,” Karya says, adding that “Over a period of two-and-a-half months, (Lucas) brought activities to the region and beneficial economic activity. We hope he comes back here again.”

    Considering that Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $7.3 billion, the chances he’ll be returning to Tunisia for any productions are pretty slim. Though, Disney may opt to return to the set for the upcoming “Star Wars” sequels. Yet, Episode VII director J.J. Abrams has said filming will take place in London.

    Film crews faced difficulties during production in the harsh Saharan climate. Temperatures reached 135 degrees, and a rare summer rain storm occurred during Lucas’ last visit. It would appear that rebuilding the Tatooine set on a sound stage in front of a green screen would be more practical.

    Karya adds, “Ever since they finished the part of the movie shot in 2003, sand dunes have surrounded the film set from every side. They should not have allowed this to happen.”

    Scientists have tracked the movement of the large dune that has started to cover the set. It is moving at a rate of 4 centimeters per day, and it won’t take much time for the area to be enveloped.

    Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

  • Google Celebrates World Press Freedom Day

    Google Celebrates World Press Freedom Day

    Google announced today that it would be sponsoring a United Nations celebration of World Press Freedom Day. The United Nations designates May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, a day which is, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) website, to “evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence, and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.”

    William Echikson, Google’s head of free expression for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, outlined Google’s part in the event in a blog post on Google’s European Public Policy Blog. A ceremony will be held on May 3rd in Tunisia, hosted by Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki. Marzouki will present the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to an individual, organization, or institution who has “made an outstanding contribution to the defence of press freedom.” In addition, Google will organize a Google+ Hangout from the Tunisian Presidential Palace with the Tunisian President.

    Tomorrow’s events will be followed by a two-day conference where journalists and organizations from across the world will gather to discuss the changing journalistic landscape. From Echikson’s blog post:

    We’re involved here as well. Maha Abouelenein, our head of communications in MENA, will participate in a session about new media in the afternoon of May 4. Khaled Koubaa, our government affairs manager for North Africa, will appear on the same day on a panel titled “Innovation in Gathering and Sharing News. Finally, I will speak on May 5 about freedom of expression.

    It’s interesting and obviously symbolic for UNESCO to hold World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Tunisia, having been just over a year since new media such as Twitter and Facebook played a role in the Tunisian Revolution. It is not surprising that Google is on board, as they have a large outreach to that part of the world, and just recently launched a Tunisian Google site. I do wonder, though, if anyone will mention the radical, free expression of journalism that Anonymous practiced last month.

    Have any opinions about World Press Freedom Day? Leave a comment below and let us know.

  • Anonymous Leaks Tunisia Prime Minister’s Emails

    In their ever expanding role of revealing corruption and injustice around the world, Anonymous has also set their sights on Tunisia. They are protesting the ruling Ennahda party over their perceived lack of action against conservative Salafi attacks.

    This recent attack was announced via a video on the Anonymous TN Facebook page. Unfortunately, that video is no longer available due to copyright claims from Tunisia Live. According to Reuters, the video contained a message stating that the group had released emails belonging to those in the ruling Ennahda party.

    The emails contain phone numbers, bank transactions and invoices paid during the election campaign in Tunisia last year. One of the higher profile leaks included an email from Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali. The Tunisian government seems to think the emails are pretty old, but are investigating if the emails from Jebali are from before or after the election.

    While this isn’t as bad as the leaks that hit Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Anonymous claims they have more info that they are withholding for the time being. The group says they will release these emails if the Tunisia government doesn’t “work to the best of [their] ability to avoid Internet censorship and to respect human rights and the freedom of expression.”

    Reuters said this attack from Anonymous comes on the heels of protests from the conservative Salafi Muslim faction in Tunisia. They are attempting to implement Sharia law in the country which culminated in the group attacking the national theater in Tunis which resulted in some actors being injured.

    With the help of Google Translate, you can check out the Anonymous Tunisia Twitter feed where they will be announcing any further ops in their current campaign. You can also check out the Anonymous Tunisia blog (also in French) for more information.

    While the Tunisia op is definitely smaller than previous Anonymous operations, it has the potential to blow up if their threats of releasing more important emails holds true. This one could get really interesting really fast. We’ll keep you updated on any developments.

  • Muhammad Facebook Pictures Land Tunisians in Prison

    Reuters is reporting the story of two Tunisians who received prison sentences for posting to Facebook cartoons depicting the image of the prophet Mohammad. The Tunisian justice ministry said Muhammad was depicted naked in the cartoons. Reuters quotes a justice ministry spokesperson as saying, “They were sentenced…to seven years in prison for violation of morality, and disturbing public order.”

    In January 2011, Tunisians ousted their longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. That revolution sparked what is now known as the “Arab Spring,” where populations in many North African and Middle Eastern countries began revolting against their autocratic leaders. Tunisians held their first free elections late last year, electing a moderate Muslim government. An overwhelming majority of Tunisians are Muslim, with 98% following Islam.

    The two men, Jabeur Mejri and Ghazi Beji, were sentenced on March 28. Mejri is beginning his 7-year sentence, but Beji is on the lam. In an interview with Tunisia Live, Beji claims he fled Tunisia when he heard that Mejri had been arrested. Beji said he and Mejri uploaded manuscripts of books, one in English, the other in Arabic, that were critical of Islam. The texts contained the pictures for which they were sentenced.

    Reuters claims the story didn’t get out about the sentencing until Tunisian bloggers began publishing details online. From the Reuters story:

    “The sentences are very heavy and severe, even if these young people were at fault,” one Tunisian blogger, Nebil Zagdoud, told Reuters.

    “This decision is aimed at silencing freedom of expression even on the Internet. Prosecutions for offending morals are a proxy for this government to gag everyone.”

    Using religion as lubrication to force oppressive social policy on a country? Sounds familiar. What do you think? Is the new government in Tunisia just as bad as the previous one? What is your opinion of blasphemy laws or the role of religion in government? Let me know in the comments below.

  • Google Launches Iraqi, Tunisian Domains

    Citizens of Iraq and Tunisia who are lucky enough to have Internet connections may now find it easier to conduct Web searches.  Today, Google announced the launch of the local search domains google.iq and google.tn for the two countries.

    This is in many ways an interesting development.  For starters, it’s almost impossible not to think about the political and military turmoil in both countries (and in Tunisia in particular) and what effects Google’s move might have.

    Perhaps the company’s trying to show its commitment to the free flow of information, hoping it can help locals make better decisions.  Or the timing could be coincidental, part of Google’s regularly scheduled efforts to reach more potential users.

    Either way, the move does represent a milestone of sorts in terms of growth.  A post on the Google Arabia Blog noted, “This recent launch brings the number of local Google search domains worldwide to 184 with 15 domains in Arab countries.”

    The post also pointed out, “Up until recently, users in Iraq and Tunisia had to visit other domains in order to use the search user interface in their language of choice.  With this launch, the new domains will enable users to access Google search in local languages like Arabic and Kurdish in Iraq and Arabic and French in Tunisia.  Eventually, this will lead to access to more locally-relevant content.”

    Additional local search domains are supposed to launch this year, too, so keep an eye out for them.  Hat tip goes to Ahmad Al-Shagra.