Global Voices Online

Central Asia

The Kyrgyzstan Kid attends the wake of a stranger in a small town in northern Kyrgyzstan.

Registan.net comes in with two interesting stories: first, the US State Department has ordered Embassy families to evacuate Tashkent, and it looks like the Peace Corps may be evacuating soon, as well; and second, internet cafe fines for viewing political websites are higher than fines for looking at porn in Tashkent.

Photo by TKnoxB

East Asia

Peking Duck reminds us that June 4 is coming up again soon, and suggests that the Ching Cheong arrest was part of the annual crackdown.

New Mongols notes an article that outlines increasing democratic trends in the homeland of Genghis Khan.

Southeast Asia

The Aseanist responds to a thought-provoking comment with a long, well-reasoned post about the upsides—and the downsides—to regional integration.

From the Philippines comes mp3s of the sessions from iBlog, the Philippines’ first blogging summit. Also, Crainial Cavity looks at what it takes to be a Filipino journalist—donning disguises, different routes to work, and, if all else fails, skipping town seem to be the recommended modus operandi…

South Asia

One of the biggest stories to hit the subcontinent this week has been the Indian government’s decision to ban smoking in movies and TV shows. Even movie stars are denouncing the law, though at least one blogger has issues with the actor’s quick response.

Photo by Steve Evans

Middle East

Several Egyptian bloggers have posted their thoughts on the assaults on women demonstrating against the Mubarak regime last week, and the “Protest in Black” demonstration yesterday in response to the attacks.

Meanwhile The Dumb North African reports on statistics on quality of life and inequality in Egypt and asks, “Just how representative do the likes of us bloggers think we are?” — leading to lively discussion in the comments.

In Iran, DoctorZim points to a survey claiming that 92% of Iranians will not vote in the upcoming presidential election, while IranScan discusses an article arguing that the elections don’t matter, because presidential power is so weak. Congrats to GlobalVoices participant Hoder, who was recently featured in several mainstream news articles.

Mahmood Al-Yousif in Bahrain is concerned about the impact of Western-funded development projects on the local environment. Omar from IraqTheModel asks if the “Integrity Committee” is the right way to fight government corruption in Iraq. And Beirut Spring has changed his blog photo for 5 days in protest of the murder of journalist Samir Kassir.

Africa

Ory blogs about the politics of foreign aid in Africa and Jeffrey Sachs’ new book. Ethiopundit discusses revolutionary democracy in Ethiopia and The Emperor’s New Clothes. And Black Gold reacts to a Human Rights Watch report about violence around the gold trade in the DRC.

Europe

Afoe does its own roundup
on why the Dutch rejected the Constitution treaty, including the interesting stat that 80% of young people voted against the treaty. AFOE also rejoices that the Bavarian cabinet may permit carwashing on Sunday afternoons.

Finland for Thought is happy that deregulation may permit shops to be open on Sundays.

A young boy playing outside in Hungary came across several skulls and bones, and the construction company responsible for recently filling the lot with fresh dirt disclosed that earth had come from a nearby graveyard. Pestiside describes the scene.

Norway's Fjordman reflects on the significance of the French and Dutch votes — “Whatever you think of European integration, there is something inspiring about 20 million people who, having been told what to do by their most respected politicians and after listening attentively, then do the exact opposite. This week’s referendums in France and the Netherlands are probably the most significant event in European history since the end of the Cold War….”

HispaLibertas celebrates “Don Quichotte du Non,” a blogger who “took on European elites.” Find out more by reading HispaLibertas.

Today's blog roundup by Amanda Michel, Erica George and Paul Frankenstein