Syrian students banned from using supercomputer at KAUST University in Saudi Arabia

Syrian students denied academic access to IBM supercomputer at KAUST due to US sanctions

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) honors US political restrictions over internationally-set academic freedoms and integrity

Damascus (October, 2009) –  The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the new world-class research university in Saudi Arabia, has denied [...]

Buy Shares in the Syrian Dream

By Abdulsalam Haykal, for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The original article can be viewed at http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=26077&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0&isNew=1#.
I spent summers as a young boy in Damascus, while my fellow Syrians were flocking to my coastal hometown of Tartous to savor the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the heat of Damascus, my summers there were [...]

Haykal Media’s Forward Magazine launches Syria Banker ‘09 guide

Damascus, (SANA) – Haykal Media launched on Sunday at Dedeman Hotel the Syrian Banker ‘09 guide by Forward Magazine. The supplement provides services to the market and clients such as retail loans, loans for companies and commercial facilitation in order to help finance trade and industry.
The supplement also contains information on Syria, banking activity and [...]

Late Syrian Prime Minister Khaled al-Azem commemoration event

Responsible for an economic boom from 1941 onwards, late Syrian PM Khaled al-Azem will be remembered at an event on June 1 (today) at the Rida Said Hall (University of Damascus). Economist Ghassan Kalaa will be delivering a lecture about al-Azem along with editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine, Sami Moubayed.
Organized by Forward Magazine’s sister magazine, Aliqtisadi, [...]

To Barack Obama from a Syrian citizen

Damascus, 13 December 2008
Mr. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
c/o President Jimmy Carter
Dear Barack, 
You certainly want to know more about Syria, and I will volunteer —even uninvited— to share some information that can be useful until you manage to see for yourself.
This is a time of festivity in Syria. The end of Eid [...]

Suggestion Box of Doomed Ideas: Cinema in Syria

 
I had intended this for a later post, but I got to thinking about it since so many coffee shops were being overrun by viewers of soccer matches. First, though, some background of the situation as I understand it. In the good old days we only hear about in magazines (like our March 2009 issue [...]

The Suggestion Box of Doomed Ideas: Parking in Damascus

In what might become a regular feature of the blog, I start today with a suggestion that truly can only be described as doomed. Not because it’s a bad idea, mind you, I don’t think it is, and I’ve had some support. Simply put, it is doomed because no one will ever, ever take the [...]

Carter v.s Forward Magazine: 1st Syrian media outlet to conduct an interview with a U.S President

Forward Magazine is the first Syrian media outlet to ever carry out an interview with an American president. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is the first American leader to speak to Syrian media – he spoke to Forward last month and broke many important news, including:

The appointment of a US ambassador to Syria is expected [...]

Bush & the “Good Ol’ Iraqi Shoe!”

The Iraqi reporter who hurled a show at president Bush a couple of days ago reminded me of a political satire released by Hollywood back in 1997 – one of my most favorite movies.
Dubbed “Wag the Dog,” the movie starred Dustin Hoffman (a creative Hollywood director and special effects specialist) and Robert De Niro (playing [...]

Syria: A European Arab Country?

So if Syria is to belong to another group other than the Arab World, would it be Europe, or Asia?
Perhaps this is a more legitimate question to be asked by Turks about their country, especially with their bid to join the European Union.  However, this is a question that is being asked today about Syria, [...]