Global Voices Online

Qatar-based Al Jazeera has launched an all-English blog which can be accessed here.

Intlxpatr, self-described as an expat currently living in Doha, Qatar, comments on the case of a Sudanese UN female employee Lubna Hussein, who has been sentenced to 40 lashes for the “sin” of wearing trousers in Khartoum.

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 relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs,” announced the centre.

Paraglider, at the UAE Community Blog, reports: “The Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority and Ministry of the Interior (!) requires that access to any bar shall be on production of a valid ID or Passport. Originals only, no copies. But it is not enough just to flash the card. The details, name, ID number, date and time, are to be manually entered into a log-book…Because there was no explanation accompanying the ruling, rumours are rife.”

Marjorie in Qatar links to a number of essay collections about Qatar's history and culture that are available online.

Qatari blogger Amal Almalki writes about the dilemma she faced when deciding whether to continue wearing the abaya: “I had to question and convince myself of what it means to me. Is it a religious or a cultural symbol? Is it used as a cover-up or a statement?”

Marjorie in Qatar asks, “Is there any real difference between a kingdom, a sultanate, and an emirate?”

At Qatar Living, OfMyHeartShape links to an article which says that 22-year-old Qatari Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani will be spending $10 million a year on a drag racing team.

The Qatar Visitor blog discusses the media environment in Qatar, finding that there are contradictory forces at work.