Belarus: Helsinki Committee Banned

Vilhelm Konnander reports on the ban of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee by Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime.

Ukraine: GUAM Founds ODED

Vilhelm Konnander writes about a new organization whose founding members are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM): the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (ODED), to be based in Kyiv, Ukraine. GUAM-ODED is intended as an alternative to the Commonwealth of Independent States

Estonia: Interview With Aili Jogi

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa writes about Aili Jogi, who, at the age of 15, together with a friend, destroyed the first monument to the Soviet soldiers in Tallinn, the Estonian capital.

Vietnam: Learning from Bangkok

The blogger at Antidote to Burnout looks at Bangkok as a model for urban development for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Hong Kong: Tiananmen massacre remembered

Photos, translation and analysis from EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong look at the declining attendance of Hong Kong's annual commemorations of the 1989 military crackdown in Beijing which saw many students, workers and Beijing locals shot dead on the streets.

Indonesia: Bali Photos

Venitha at Singapore Adventures travels to the Indonesian island of Bali and posts some pictures from there.

Myanmar: Bad News Once More

Dathana is disappointed. He was looking forward to good news from Myanmar but the SPDF has once more let him (and other Myanmar citizens) down.

China: Wu Hao case

The desperation of imprisoned Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao's sister Nina can be felt on her MSN Spaces blog which hasn't been updated for nearly two weeks. The most recent post informs readers that her little brother has been denied access to a lawyer. “Unbelievable!” says one reader. “Nina,...

Vietnam: Cultural Differences

Wanna, a Cambodian student in Vietnam visits his Vietnamese friend's house for dinner. Wanna makes some interesting observation on cultural difference between Cambodia and Vietnam.

China: Jailed journalist campaign

myrick at Asiapundit blogs on Amnesty International's new irrepressible.info campaign which aims to protect free speech on the internet, and a parallel campaign to see jailed journalist Shi Tao set free.

Indonesia Earthquake

China: IP rights lacking

In ‘China Ponders Propaganda Role for Non-Red Parties,’ China Confidential‘s Confidential Reporter sees the combined 500,000 members of China's non-Communist political parties—contrasted by 70 million Communist Party members—more as propaganda tools than a sign of democratization, and observes a lack of commitment from the Chinese government in upholding intellectual property...

Japan: Love, death and money

Japundit‘s JP summarizes the details in one of the hottest news stories in Japan right now, one “that involves deception, betrayal, greed, murder and many of the other trappings of a soap opera” and revolves around 45 million yen, a dead Japanese man and his Filipina beneficiary. “I saw her...

China: Destitution inspires art

Guangzhou-based Supernaut artist-blogger Frances D'Ath finds inspiration for her death-themed works in the killings and violence which have taken place over the past year in clashes between villagers and Communist authorities in several small villages around southern China's Guangdong province in her post ‘云浮, 汕尾, 太石 and other holiday places.’...

South Korea: Chinese labor unattractive

A post by James J. Na on The Korea Liberator blog looks at a decrease in Korean manufacturers doing business in China as labor conditions in the Communist state continue to improve, and costs rise. “They should do what the Chinese do already,” says Na: “go to Vietnam instead. And,...

China: June fourth buildup

Chinese authorities get a little anxious around this time every year, says Celia at China Activist Weekly, and this year is no different.

Belize: Fauna photos

Mollusca‘s “Belize 2006″ photoset on Flickr includes some dramatic images of the country's fauna, including the highly venemous fer-de-lance snake, a colourful grasshopper and some tiny tree frogs.

Dominica: The Nature of tourism

Both Titlayo and Francomenz write about their recent vacations in Dominica. Titlayo posts a beautiful photo of Trafalgar Falls, noting that they are “one of Dominica's main tourist attractions, especially for cruise ship visitors, who were there in abundance the day we went.” Francomenz cautions that “Dominicans have an awesome...

Rock Steady: Desmond Dekker

Mshairi remembers Rock Steady great, Desmond Dekker who passed away recently. Who can ever forget “Israelites”

Africa: Slavery & colonisation

Afrikan Eye has an informative and extensive piece on Slavery and Colonisation in Africa.

DRC: Mining industry

Peaceful Rising, a blog about Chinese influence in the developing world comments the state of the DRC cobalt mining industry which has run into decay “Since the Gecamines went bankrupt in 1990, its open mines have been invaded by thousands of self-employed hand-diggers and artisan miners, known in French as...