Latest posts by Ayesha Saldanha
1 May 2012
May Day Marked Around the Arab World
May Day, or Labour Day, is commemorated in many Arab countries. In this post we look at some of the day's events this year: in Libya it became a national...
22 April 2012
19 April 2012
8 April 2012
Lebanon: Palm Sunday and Easter Celebrations
In Lebanon two Christian celebrations took place on April 8, 2012 as churches following the Gregorian calendar celebrated Easter Sunday and churches following the Julian calendar celebrated Palm Sunday.
3 February 2012
Bahrain: Celebration and Criticism Greet “Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012″
February 2 saw the official launch of Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012, which has been both welcomed and criticised by Bahrain's netizens. As the celebration was taking place, opposition...
20 December 2011
Palestine: Planning a Virtual Funeral
It is extremely difficult for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to visit Israel, and for political reasons it is impossible for most other Arabs to do so. At...
11 December 2011
Egypt: A Baha’i Blogger's Take on the Elections
The Baha’is of Egypt number perhaps only 2,000 people, but over the years the community has faced discrimination and sometimes hostility. Global Voices Online has spoken to Baha’i blogger Wael...
5 December 2011
Ashura Commemorations Around the World
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is a period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Events reach a climax on Ashura, the tenth day of the month. Ayesha Saldanha...
28 November 2011
Egypt: The Country Votes
Egyptians are voting in parliamentary elections on November 28 and 29, and despite calls for a boycott, it seems that most people have chosen to participate.
18 November 2011
Egypt: The Mini-States Of Cairo
So you thought Cairo was a city? Actually it's a series of mini-states that operate independently of each other. In this post, blogger Karim Shafei explains how Cairo really works.
17 November 2011
Palestine: Freedom Riders Challenge Israeli Segregation
On November 15 a group of Palestinian activists were arrested while travelling on a bus carrying Israeli settlers. The activists called themselves the “Freedom Riders”, after the American civil rights...
23 October 2011
Tunisia: A Rendezvous With History
Today Tunisians have been voting for a Constituent Assembly, the body charged with writing a new constitution and appointing a new transitional government. In the run-up to the elections, bloggers...
6 October 2011
Palestine: Blogger Rasha Hilwi Not Welcome in Tunisia
Rasha Hilwi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, is a well-known journalist and blogger and was among the Palestinian bloggers refused visas to Tunisia in order to attend the 3rd Arab...
6 July 2011
Trydar y Cymry! The Welsh Language Thrives Online
"Trydar y Cymry" means "the twittering of the Welsh" or "the Welsh twitterers" (the verb "trydar" now being used in connection with Twitter) and is an example of the Welsh...
30 June 2011
India: The Future of Wikipedia
Wikipedia celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, and almost 100 cities and towns in India registered to host celebrations, the highest number of any country. This year the Wikimedia Foundation...
6 June 2011
Palestine: Hopes Dashed as Rafah Crossing Stays Closed
On May 28 Egypt opened the Rafah Crossing between it and the Gaza Strip, supposedly on a permanent basis. However, Palestinians soon discovered that Egypt was limiting the number of...
15 April 2011
Palestine: Remembering Murdered Italian Activist Vittorio Arrigoni
Long before the deadline set by his captors arrived, kidnapped Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was killed, apparently hanged. Bloggers in Gaza and elsewhere have reacted with disbelief, anger and sorrow.
14 April 2011
Palestine: Kidnapping of Italian Activist in Gaza
Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped on Thursday 14 April, 2011, in Gaza by a Salafi-Jihadi group, who said that they would kill him if Sheikh Abu Al Waleed Al...
24 March 2011
Egypt: Taxi Driver Finds Lost Camera Owner via Facebook
What would you do if you found a camera, and wanted to return it to its owner? One Egyptian taxi driver decided to do it the Egyptian way and utilise...
14 March 2011
Palestine: Demonstrations For Unity Begin
Palestinians were not at first mentioned on the Arab “revolution timetable“, but a date for protests was indeed set for 15 March. These protests are taking place in towns and...
