Stories from and

MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012

  29 December 2012

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Why is the GCC Quiet about Gaza?

  17 November 2012

“Gulf countries awfully quiet about Gaza,” tweets Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell. Lebanese journalist Antoun Issa adds: @antissa: Amazing how eager GCC are to arm Arabs to fight each other, while disappearing completely when it comes to Palestine. #Gaza The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of Bahrain, Qatar,...

Yemen: Host to Gulf Cup 2010

  21 November 2010

Gulf Cup 2010 kicks off in Aden, Yemen, on November 22. Yemeni blogger Omar Barsawad reflects on the significance of having Aden host this football championship which brings together teams from Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Middle East: “Blood Borders”

  20 May 2010

Martin W. Lewis from GeoCurrent Event blog reviews Ralph Lewis’ “Blood Borders” article on the idea of a complete reshape of Middle East borders in order to fit more appropriately the ethnic and religious affiliations of the region.

Oman: Tweeps Meet Shashi Tharoor

  7 February 2010

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Shashi Tharoor is to have a meeting with the Twitter community of Oman on February 5.

Oman: Online Activists Questioned

  14 September 2009

The Initiative for an Open Arab Internet [Ar] reports that a number of online activists have been summoned for questioning by the security and military forces and made to sign declarations that they will refrain from discussing Omani public affairs and the ‘symbols of the Sultanate’ online.

Arab World: Berkman Launches New Arab Blog Study

  19 June 2009

Harvard University's Berkman Centre for Internet and Society has released a study of the Arabic blogosphere entitled Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere. About 35,000 active blogs were covered. “The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its...

Libya: Qaddafi's Fashion

  1 May 2009

In a “little sartorial digression” Lalla Lydia picks on Libyan president Colonel Muammer Al Qaddafi and Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed's fashion.

Gulf: How things work

  25 February 2009

Smile O Smile shares this joke on “how things work” in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

Oman: New Job

  11 February 2009

Paradise in Me, from Oman, writes about her first few days in her new job in this post. “A lot of fainting, morning sickness, food, weird craving absent minded pregnant women is what I surround myself with for average 8 hours a day,” she explains.

Bahrain: Why is God not Saving Palestinians?

  19 January 2009

American Coolred38, who lives in Bahrain, asks: “In your opinion…is it safe to assume…that the millions of prayers sent to God by Muslims asking for Palestinians to be saved and for the genocide to stop once and for all have fallen on deaf ears…but prayers sent out with hopes of...

Oman: Unequal Treatment over Visas

  5 December 2008

Muscati from Oman is enraged at the treatment Omanis receive when they apply for Schengen visas to visit Europe. “The reason I'm writing this post is that I am pissed off that Oman has a visa on arrival policy for countries that don't have quick visa procedures for Omani citizens,”...

Oman: Flying Cigarette Butts

  25 November 2008

From Oman, Kay writes: “Things I have seen in the last few days: sharks in a mall – Dubai mall Aquarium, a chihuahua in a lady’s tote bag in Muscat City Center), a dvd of my friend’s knee surgery, the most beautiful sunset, half a dozen lighted cigarette butts flying...

Oman: Blogger's Meet Up Planned

  20 November 2008

Oman Community Blog is planning a blogger meeting. The dates have not been finalised – but tentative dates are the 17th, 18th or 19th of December.

Oman: More Congestion

  12 October 2008

The Muscati from Oman writes about traffic congestion in his country concluding that traffic “is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”