Arabic news stories on Newser

'Death Is Not Imminent' for Hasan Despite Multiple Shots

Will McCahill — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:23:59 CST

Suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan isn’t mortally wounded despite taking at least four bullets, military officials say tonight. “I would say his death is not imminent,” notes a spokesman at the Texas military base where the Army psychiatrist killed 12 and injured 31 earlier today. Meanwhile, the...

Web Addresses Will Gain International Flavor

Nick McMaster — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:12:42 CDT

In the biggest change ever to the system, Web domains will soon be available in the native scripts of Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, and other non-Latin-based languages. A proposal expected to be approved this week means “Internationalized Domain Names” could be up and running as soon as mid-2010. China and Thailand...

US Still Lacks Translators in Vital Languages

Kevin Spak — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:03:02 CDT

Nearly eight years have passed since 9/11, but national security agencies remain disturbingly low on translators for crucial dialects, the Washington Times reports. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives email and text-message each other freely in languages the CIA largely ignored before 2001. "I can't explain it," says...

Disney Takes Aim at Family-Friendly Mideast

Rob Quinn — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:55:01 CST

Disney has decided it's a big world after all, the Financial Times reports. The company is making its first Arabic-language movie, aiming to tap into demand for family-friendly fare in the Middle East. The Last Storyteller will be produced somewhere in the Middle East and distributed in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon,...

Army May Pay $150K Bonus to Arabic Speakers

Sam Biddle — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:26:58 CDT

The Army may pay $150,000 to US soldiers who speak Arabic if they agree to stay in the service, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The Army also is ramping up its program to recruit and train Arabic speakers, both in the US and abroad. If the retention bonus is...

MTV Launches New Arabic Channel

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:45:00 CST

How do you say "pimp my ride" in Arabic? Fans will find out when they tune in to MTV Arabia, a new channel launched yesterday in Dubai. The youth brand hopes to deliver its sassy programs to an Arab world, where two-thirds of the population is under 30, without offending...

Arabic, Asian Languages Gaining More US Students

Lucas Laursen — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:00:00 CST

American students are studying Arabic and Asian languages more than ever before, according to a Modern Language Association survey. Spanish has been the most studied language since 1995, still with more than 50% of students, but Arabic is fastest-growing, jumping 126.5% from 2002 to 2006—making up 1.5%...

Businesses Line Up for .Asia Domain Rush

Jonas Oransky — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:14:08 CDT

The regional internet domain .asia has opened for registration; businesses and governments will get first crack at trademarked and other protected names. The public will come rushing in to scoop up what’s left of the suffix in February 2008. The second regional domain—.eu began selling in April 2006—.asia...