Global Voices Online

Kaghz Pareh (means a piece of paper) says[Fa] that according to news sites Spain signed a contract with Iranian government to construct 1000 toilets in Iran. The blogger says I got surprised by this piece of news because each day government announces new inventions and progress in nuclear technology but we are unable to construct even our own toilets.

Ângela Carrascalão [pt] describes how rice entered East Timor via Indonesia, substituting native corn, and the problem the country now faces in times of food shortage: “When it was no longer part of the current diet of the East Timorese people, the population almost ceased to grow corn, and the idea that the maize could help to overcome the shortage of rice in the market is not even contemplated.”

Audio Story is a blog[Fa] where people can listen to different stories,articles and so on. In Audio Story we read that 5 million people,including the blind, can not read in Iran and thanks to this blog they can listen to stories, books and articles.

Cazimar [pt] echoes the news that the Chinese An Yue Jiang ship was allowed to dock in Luanda only to unload merchandise destined for Angola. The blogger asks Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos why he wants weaponry and call people to react: “Be careful with this delivery of weapons. You may be backfired. The weapons are your only guarantee of your independence (for which you fought), against this gang of dictators and corrupt negotiators. They'll try to disarm you, so that they can massacre you. The voting weapon will be a farce. A circus made in China, similar to Zimbabwe and Kenya.”

In the Ecuadoran Constituent Assembly, there is a proposal to revert the mines back to the state, and Libertad Ecuador [es] thinks that is a bad idea for the country's development.

Victor Solano of ¿Comunicación? [es] provides a post-event evaluation of the First Latin American Web 2.0 Gathering held in Bogotá, Colombia, which attracted 160 attendees and another 130 virtual participants.

La Gringa's Blogicito provides continuing coverage of melon contamination in Honduras and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent report on their investigation into the matter.

Foreign tourists and Argentine nationals pay different fares for internal flights in the country. Argentina's Travel Guide provides some background information on the policy and that the law to eliminate this price differential has yet to be implemented.

The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) is free for its students, but Esteban Grinberg of De Todo Un Poco [es] suggests that a small monthly registration fee should be applied so that improvements can be made to the departments and so that students have greater duty to complete the work.

Miguel Centellas of Pronto* provides an overview of the May 4th Referendum to be held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Victor Vasques [pt] is giving away five pairs of tickets to the PangeaDay event in Rio de Janeiro to readers of Com Limão (With Lemon) blog. Contestants only need to send a video or catchphrase about “I want to attend to Pangea Day” via email and the five best chosen by the blog team will make it.

A death in Hong Kong is a blog set up by concerned Filipinos who are demanding a proper investigation to the mysterious death of a Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong

Youthful Insight reviews the food and agricultural policies of Indonesia

Im Sokthy reports that Cambodia could be the world's largest rice-exporting country in the next few years

Sparklette blogs about the thematic exhibition at the Singapore Philatelic Museum featuring rats

The Lost Boy lists his top 100 Thailand blogs.

NotaRazi asks whether it is correct to transfer out the money of a Malaysian state organization a few days after the state fell to the Opposition.