The Smartest Smart Phone Ever? Samsung Thinks So

Available now in Middle Eastern markets, the newest version of the Samsung Galaxy is quite frankly, amazing; a rumbling in Mali; Egyptian elections are causing depression; and memories of calm summers in Damascus

Do Arabs have first crack at the newest of the elite smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy III ?

The Next Web: Middle East [2]

Samsung Galaxy S III comes to 28 markets in Europe and Middle East, will go worldwide in July

"Korea electronics giant Samsung has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S III, its much-anticipated new smartphone, has launched in 28 markets across Europe and the Middle East today, with plans to increase that number to 145 worldwide by July, according to Reuters. Today’s wide scale launch is the firm’s largest single device push ever, it says, and the planned July extension will increase the number of carriers offering the phone to 296 worldwide – which will finally include US operators."

The Moor Next Door [3]

RE: Mauritanians in Northern Mali

Something's happening here (in Mali), but what it is ain't exactly clear: "Mauritania’s armed forces have been on heightened altert since at least last November, with increased patrols and excercises on the border in response both to kidnappings and the rebellion in Mali. "

Foreign Policy Posts [4]

Egypt's Depressing Run-Off

"Given the turbulent path of Egypt's post-revolutionary transition, it somehow seems only right that last week's first round of the Presidential election managed to produce the worst of all the possible run-off combinations: the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed al-Morsi vs. the SCAF's Ahmed Shafik. It's fair to say that the sky appears to many people, once again, to be falling.

Maya Saloon [5]

Summer in Damascus

Maya Saloon is a " Syrian Arab (emphasis on Arab) awakening in a modern world that's gone insane". She reflects on peaceful summers in a now strife-filled Syria. "As the sun's light starts to change from a harsh yellow to a mellow gold, the first stirrings of life and sounds make their way out of the street. The cats start to dart from car to car as they awaken from their heat induced stupor, and the first shops start to re-open as their owners get back to work and ready themselves for the evening shoppers."