Vivian Salama has spent much of the past decade reporting in the Middle East and South Asia for Bloomberg News, BusinessWeek, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and USA Today, as well as a number of academic journals. She also has appeared as a political commentator on the BBC, France24, Bloomberg TV, TV New Zealand, CBS News, and many more. She covered the revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen.

Banjo Time

A strange scene can be found on Wednesdays at the Elks Lodge: tattooed and pierced youngsters join with their nursing home elders for drinks, merriment, and some damn good banjo music.

Arab Spring Fallout

The trial of Mohamed Morsi and 14 other Brotherhood officials begins today in Egypt, with supporters protesting against the military’s coup.

Extremism

Deep in the Sahara, the camps of the Polisario are reportedly becoming prime recruiting grounds for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Vivian Salama reports from Morocco.

Egypt convicted 43 American NGO workers, including Sam LaHood, son of the U.S. Transportation secretary. Vivian Salama speaks with one of the Americans sentenced in absentia to jail time.

Coptic Christians and other minorities in Egypt are feeling voiceless under the country’s new Islamist government. In fact, the problem is region-wide, reports Vivian Salama.

CENSORSHIP

From Kuwait to Saudi Arabia, online protesters are finding themselves imprisoned or restricted. Vivian Salama reports on the battles being fought for freedoms in the Gulf countries.

TWITTER

The Egyptian president’s Twitter account lashed out in response to a tweet from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Vivian Salama and Mike Giglio report on the social media diplomatic incident.