Global Voices Online

Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] wonders why Angonotícias [pt] website has not had any updates for a while and links display the message FORBIDDEN – erro 403. “Angonotícias may have many faults, and it is actually good because it means that you can not please absolutely every one, but shutting it up on the eve of the elections is at least strange, very strange!”

Would you like to have a look at São Paulo without going there? Paulo Bicarato [pt] tips about the website BR360, Brazilian panoramas and virtual reality.

On July 24 1976 the Mozambican government nationalized all privately owned industries. “After 32 years, what do we make of the process of nationalization and its impact nowadays? Do buildings and business still belong to the Mozambican state? Were they returned to their owners? If not, who are the new owners? Was the process fair? What is the impact?”, questions Reflectindo sobre Moçambique [pt]

Pedro Dória [pt] reports that a contestant in the local elections for Porto Alegre, Brazil, was forced to close down her Orkut account and suspend her videos on YouTube. “They are being censored: they can't express themselves using all the resources allowed by the Internet allows. They can not use the Web to communicate in complete freedom with their supporters”. Read more about elections regulations in Brazil.

Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva has ratified the agreement to standardise the Portuguese language and its spelling in a move to make the language, spoken in 8 countries, more uniform globally. O Hermenauta [pt] has written a round up of reactions from both sides of the ocean and concludes the agreement is still a disagreement.

Pitigrili [pt] retorts to an article about Africa's oilfields on a newspaper which stated that few will benefit from Africa's oil boom: “Of course, the Western multinationals don't like the reconstruction deals between Angola and China, where oil is the currency exchange. But the Angolan people finally see asphalt and basic education and health infrastructure making a coming back since the beginning of the 1975 civil war. If we look at the African reality, it's a unique case of reconstruction benefiting the entire population.”

Commenting on a piece of news about the arrest of a three Venezuelans suspected of being smuggling cocaine into West Africa, Jorge Rosmaninho [pt] asks: “if three were caught, how many of them have passed through unscathed?”

Brazilian comedian and actress Dercy Gonçalves, famous for irreverent interviews and notorious bad language, died today at the age of 101 years [June 23 1907 - July 19 2008). 365 Dias [365 Days, pt] uploads a collection of films to remember her career.