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Tuesday Global Blog Roundup

Categories: East Asia, Eastern & Central Europe, Latin America, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Europe, Bolivia, Finland, Georgia, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, India, Ireland, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, North Korea, Philippines, Uzbekistan

We're always looking for new ideas and good stories to write about. If you have a story or a blog post that you think would be a good fit for our daily roundups, email us with the link and a short blurb about what it's about! [1]

Central Asia

Hans from Kaukasus reports the news that travel to Georgia (the country, not the state) is now visa-free for visitors from the EU, the US, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and Israel, [2] and invites tourists to come and visit the scenic Central Asian republic.

Registan confirms that the Peace Corp has decamped from Uzbekistan [3]. They also note a slightly odd story from Kyrgyzstan; apparently the acting president has decreed that all regional leaders have to take—and pass—a physical fitness test. [4]

East Asia

[5]
Little Cart Noodles gets to tour the USS Nimitz when it makes a port call in Hong Kong [6] and takes a whole series of neat photographs.

Over on the Korean Peninsula, the Marmot helpfully points to an article that discusses Kim Jong-Il’s favorite foods [7].

Photo by noe0712 [8]

South-East Asia

Kenny Sia writes about the always touchy subject of racism in Malaysia; he looks at the state-sponsored preferential treatment Malays receive over other ethnic groups and wonders if it’s gone too far. [9]

The latest political imbroglio in the Philippines revolves around a tape of a telephone call that allegedly implicates President Gloria Arroyo in election fraud. Except that there’s another version of the tape that apparently proves that the first tape was doctored. Except that others believe that both versions of the tape have been doctored. The one thing that’s clear, according to The Sassy Lawyer, is that someone needs to be in jail [10]… we’re just not sure who. Inside PCIJ has more background on the scandal [11].

Latin America

The big story in Bolivia is the resignation of President Carlos Mesa. Publius Pundit has a good general roundup of the situation [12], while Barrio Flores [13], MABB [14], and Ciao! [15] have immediate reaction posts up. MABB also has a more reflective post that worries that the country may be on the verge of breaking up [16], and Open Veins has photographs of some of the protests [17].

South Asia

Youth Curry reports that the growing trend of efficient discount airlines (think JetBlue or RyanAir) has reached India, and is changing the way Indians travel [18].

On the lighter side, Chien(ne)s Sans Frontières has a post covering the very latest in Bollywood rivalries, featuring two of the subcontinent’s biggest glamour queens [19].

Europe

In an only-in-Ireland stunt, a young man recently embarked on a Guinness-only diet for a week (well, Guinness with bread, and a pint of milk and a vitamin C supplement). This being the internet age, the natural thing to do was blog about the experience [20].

In the wake of the EU Constitution referendums in France and the Netherlands, Heiko Hebig thinks that he “should start referring to the Draft EU Constitution as the ‘Terri Schiavo Constitution’” [21].

Despite the fact that Finns are found to be very progressive and broadminded as a group [22], Phil at Finland for Thought is distressed that Finland is still listed as a “Tier 2” country in the United States’ report on human trafficking [23].

In Hungary, Vandorlo of Central Budapest notes that Hungarians are abandoning fixed-line phones, with only a third of them using them to place their calls [24].

Late-breaking Hungarian news: Pesticide.hu reports that Hungary has it’s third president of the post-communist era [25], though the parlimentary vote is not without controversy.

Africa

Mental Acrobatics asks: “What would you say the single most important event of the 20th century was for Africa/Kenya?” [26]

Chanuka wonders why Africa needs more loans and more aid when its leaders drive around in lavish cars while ordinary citizens can barely afford a bicycle [27]