Global Voices Online

A Malaysian blogger asks if the ban on selling sand to Singapore is still in effect.

RantingsbyMM shares a story on how she was able to get back her money from a taxi driver who overcharged her in Vietnam.

A company in Thailand bought more than 100 popular Burmese songs to be sold as ring tones for mobile phones in Thailand.

The 2009 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is out and although Living in Barbados always takes the results “with a pinch of salt”, he notes that “greasing palms is unfortunately seen as a part of doing business worldwide.”

Serendipity from Minneriya, Sri Lanka believes that a level playing field is essential to protect the local industry from the mighty multinationals who have competitive advantage and “it is the duty of the Government to level it”.

Profy writes about the newly-launched ForbesRussia.ru website and “their obvious lack of interest in anything local and specific to the Russian market, in particular in the field of social media and social networking.”

Travelwires' post about Good Food and Wine show in South Africa: “According to Cashmore, record crowds thronged through the entrances to see, taste, participate and buy. Many of the visitors came back for a second and even a third time.”

Theresa lists PayPal alternatives for African entrepreneurs: “Although PayPal is ubiquitous in the States and Europe, there are many alternatives available online, most with far more relaxed policies about where and how money can be sent.”

Rick Lowe issues a few words of warning to the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce when it comes to doing business with Cuba: “The Chamber stands for ethics in business and I believe they are on shaky ground recommending we do business with a regime in Cuba that apparently does not honour basic human rights…”