Global Voices Online

Ambar discusses desperately trying to feel part of the Uzbek family she married into, but constantly feeling like an outsider.

Vadim reports that Tajikistan's president wants to remove the Russian -ov from his last name, changing it to Rakhmon. Further, he wants a general return in Tajikistan to traditional national toponymy.

The CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 says that Armenia's largest minority group, the Yezidis, are divided over the upcoming parliamentary election.

Gene Daniels says that the heavy police and military presence on the streets of Bishkek marred Kyrgyzstan's Navruz celebrations. There is speculation that the president ordered the heavy security presence to dissuade his opponents from staging protests.

Sue Sypko says that celebrating a holiday like Navruz is tough to do for a group because everyone disagrees on how to spell the holiday's name, how to decorate, and what food to serve.

Foreign Notes reports on Yuri Lutsenko's legal problems and the obstacles his People's Self-Defense Movement is facing. Also, read about Ukraine's fuel and energy minister's visit to London.

Sean's Russia Blog and La Russophobe (guest-blogging at Publius Pundit) report on the current problems at Moscow State University.

The beatroot writes about Poland's anti-abortion politicians (21 comments so far) and the country's involvement in Iraq (70 comments!).

“In what I think is a first in Egyptian political history, on Sunday 18 March, 102 opposition legislators began a boycott of parliament’s plenary sessions. The sessions are devoted to swiftly passing what the Mubarak regime is calling ‘amendments' to the 1971 constitution,” writes Egyptian blogger Baheya. “In reality, the alterations augment executive powers and constitutionalise the exclusion of Mubarak’s challengers,” writes the blogger.

Egyptian blogger Ibn Al Dunya links to an article which claims that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son and heir-apparent Gamal fainted for five minutes prior to a NDP General Secretariat meeting.

The Glory of Carniola writes about the “diabolical” parking meters recently installed in Maribor; a “memorable” birthday gift (memorable in a diabolical kind of way, I'd say); and yet another Slovenia/Slovakia mix-up.

Andy of Siberian Light interviews Nathan Hamm of Registan (and also the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Editor for Global Voices Online).

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the Russian billionaires and the Russian “elite.”

The Economist's Edward Lucas reposts his piece on the “Tripoli Six”: “Bulgaria has tried hard to make the scandal an international issue, and has also raised money to help the AIDS-infected children. But Libya appears to want to do a deal, involving freedom for the Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, convicted of organising the Lockerbie bombing, and payment of $2.7 billion in compensation—the exact amount paid by Libya to the victims of that outrage. The argument amounts to: ‘You release a justly convicted Libyan, and we will free six unjustly convicted foreigners.' Amazingly, much of the rest of the world, including many African and Arab countries—and even some European politicians—seems to agree with Libya’s attempt to link the issues.”

The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his pieces on East European churches; Solzhenitsyn; Chechnya; Poland's relations with other EU members; color revolutions and foreign funding.

Olechko writes about Lutsk artists and showcases some of their work.

The Turkish Invasion warns readers of the upcoming Turkish invasion: “This weekend you will have a chance to see, meet (and hate) a lot of Turkish guys in Moscow. It is the annual “Operation White Meat: Assault to Moscow” or MITT (Moscow International Tourism Fair) as the foreigners and sensible people call it…”

Egypt-based blogger Issandr El Amrani links to an article which claimed that the State Security banned Kifaya leader Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Meseiri from holding seminar on jokes.

Egyptian blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy says that an anti-Mubarak demonstration is being planned in London, UK, on March 26. “Egyptians in London will demonstrate in front of the Egyptian Embassy, Monday 26 March, from 12pm to 3pm, to protest Mubarak’s authoritarian constitutional amendments,” he writes.

Egyptian blogger Nora Younis is calling upon her readers to rally against the constitutional amendments in Egypt at a rally in Washington DC, US, on March 26.

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is excited that hobbits are not a figment of imagination and really existed.. or so the story goes.

Mike Abundo has a post on Christine Gambino, a Filipina nursing student in the U.S. Gambito is giving up her nursing career to pursue her online career. “With one fell swoop, Christine has singlehandedly begun the viral transformation of the Filipina global image: from lowly-paid nurse to social media maven.”

Dubai-based blogger Dubaiwalla visited NYC, where he clicked a lot of photographs which he posted here.

Fotu of Samoa looks at the evolution of Samoan national flag.

US famous restaurant outlet Hooters will open an outlet in Dubai in the next two years, writes blogger Fahad Al Mahmood. Meanwhile, blogger John B. Chilton says the concept with fit right in while a raging debate continues at Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif's Den.

myHimachal on an effort by citizens for local development. “Setting a rare example of ‘peoples action for the development’ by crossing all the social, cultural and area boundaries , thousands of resident of Himchal Pradesh and Uttrakhand have joined hands to develop Choor Dhar Hills known as heaven of adventure tourists and trackers all over country.”

S.K. Thew in Malaysia questions Malaysian Information Minister's advice to people asking them to give more weight to what they read on mainstream media compared to blogs.

Cuckoo's Call on Nandigram - “Nandigram is a symbol of humble people’s defiance, protest, militant resistance and sacrifice against the globalising local state. It has broken the stupor, apathy, cynicism and mute, opportunistic acceptance defining the intelligentsia and middle classes in Calcutta and West Bengal.”. This comes at a time when the government seems to care little about what citizens really want.

I, Me, Myself on how even as organisations cater to an international audience, they don't always get the local preferences right. “The text on the Google Pakistan page in Punjabi has been written in the Gurmukhi script, which most Punjabis in the Pakistani part of Punjab can not read (except, perhaps, some members of the small Sikh community there). Most of them read and write the Punjabi language in the Shahmukhi script.”

Dubai-based blogger Seabee laments the loss of beaches in Dubai. He shows us in photographs what has replaced the emirate's “huge stretches of soft white sand with warm turquoise water to swim in” which have now turned into huge construction sites.

Nepal Monitor on Nepal as an impulsive nation. “All sorts of crazy stories develop in Kathmandu. If it suits your agenda, you don’t have to verify them. You don’t have to second-guess them. They help in news media’s feeding frenzy. You don’t have to explain them. They help create a level of suspense.”

Deepak's Diary on an artist - Laxman Shrestha. “He says he embarked on the journey searching for the answer for his question of truth. “I found it in art,” he says, “therefore painting for me is a penance.”

Xanana Republic Gazette gives us a glimpse into how the “trouble” alerts are sent out in East Timor.

Yemeni blogger Omar Barsawad is encouraging people to visit his country. “Due to some few incidences, associated with the so called ‘terrorism' - Yemen has been (wrongly) made to appear dangerous and unsafe.But contrary to what some or many think, Yemen is very safe. Where else can one stop by on any high way and rest or help others, so easily, without fear? Where else can one walk the streets at any time of day or night without the fear of being mugged or robbed? Very few countries can claim or boast that,” he writes.

Blogger Jane links to an article which claims that there are children languishing in Yemeni prisons.

Yemeni blogger Omar Basawad is excited his campaigning is successful in bringing attention to the plight of turtles in his country.

Melissa de Leon reminds readers that “in Panama and the rest of Latin America, Holy Week and Lent are among the most important dates on the calendar.” Here's a great introduction to the importance of Holy Week in Latin America along with some tasty recommendations for what to cook.

Gilad Lotan reviews an article arguing for telecom regulation reform in Mexico in order to increase broadband penetration.

Mario Posas runs through the pros and cons of privatizing Hondutel, Honduras' state-owned telecommunications monopoly.

Update: From a reader: “This Honduran article that you wrote about appears to be a translation of a 1995 article??? It talks about President Reina and who is going to run for president in 1997. Our president is Mel Zelaya. Very strange that it would appear in 2007.”

Miguel Octavio challenges the latest numbers on poverty reported by Venezuela's new Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas.

Chapinadas on Central America's Caribbean Garifuna population.

Can Cook, Must Cook reviews “The Soul Of A New Cuisine” by Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson and is impressed by his “fantastic tribute to a continent that has inspired so many cooking styles especially in Caribbean and Latin American food.”

Haiti Innovation applauds the implementation of preferential trade status for Haiti via the HOPE Act: “…this is a first step. There is still much to do in Haiti…but let this minor triumph in Haiti’s economic stabilization be a reminder to us all that with hard work, perseverance, and faith, much can be accomplished.”

Cuba and Coffee - CubanAmmericanPundits.com explores the cultural significance of this seductive drink.

Mad Bull refers to a story in the Jamaica Gleaner citing new evidence that Pakistan's cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, may not have died of natural causes.

An ode to the colour pink by Tom at Paradise Found.

Duong Lam Anh blogs about a visit to the historic town of Hoi An in Vietnam. The blogger is impressed with the change that tourism has brought to this city. “The road along the river, used to be empty, if not deserted, is now filled with restaurants and shops. People have changed, too. They seem to be more professional in their business.”

Dili-gence has a post on the current travel situation in Dili, the capital of East Timor. Australia and some other countries had issued travel warning to East Timor and some aid-workers had left East Timor temporarily after violence broke out a couple of weeks back.

Thanks Roland for translating the details of Local Action rally in March 18 from Inmediahk.net. Indeed, there were no mainstream news report about the police abuse and the rationality of the rally.

James from Japan Probe blogs about the Tokyo governor candidates' stand and debate on nationalism, in particular to the policy of coercing teachers to stand and sing the national anthem ‘Kimigayo'.

A blogger posted about his pot-smoking experience in the Netherlands on his blog and got busted for doing drugs overseas - Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole.

David Bandurski from China Media Project post a translation of a recent editorial in Southern Metropolis Daily, which argues that China's well-publicized appetite for Olympic gold has become a kind of Midas touch, spoiling the spirit of friendship and harmony that the Games have come to symbolize.

The picture of “nail house” from Chongqing has been widely spread in BBS and mainstream media. Lyn Jeffery from virtual China gives some more background about the case.

DANWEI also has a report, puts the discussion under the context of the recent property law.