Global Voices Online

Sudanese Reem Shawkat writes on Mideast Youth about the “brainless comedy” in Egyptian movies.

John responds to a statement by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit that Southerners should form an independent state. President Mayardit said, “If South Sudanese want to remain as second class citizens, let them vote for unity in the referendum in 2011. And if they want to be free, they should vote for separation.”

Laura discusses peace efforts in Sudan: “In the three days since the Sudan Now initiative launched, we’ve seen a number of bloggers and journalists qualify their reports of activist frustration by noting that the Obama administration has indeed been active in trying to address the multiple crises in Sudan”

Intlxpatr, self-described as an expat currently living in Doha, Qatar, comments on the case of a Sudanese UN female employee Lubna Hussein, who has been sentenced to 40 lashes for the “sin” of wearing trousers in Khartoum.

Sokari urges readers to vote for Pambazuka News, the source of authentic voices of Africa’s social activists and analysts : “For the fifth year running, Pambazuka News has been selected as one of 25 finalist nominations in the ‘Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics’ competition.”

The Sudanese government wants journalists to be registered; “The Sudanese government started a move last week to issue a law on journalist to require them to register themselves with the government media regulator so that the government would monitor them if they misuse there power as journalist.”

What do you see on these images taken in rural Kenya? asks Erik. “Under each image you’ll see why it’s interesting. By the way, I too missed the relevance of the flip flops at first glance…”

Daudi Were blogs from the G20 Summit discussing Africa's relevance on the global scene: “On the global scene African countries have very little influence, even less power and no force at all (except against other African countries).”

Ryutaro Yanagawa (柳川龍太郎) in his podcast program Nekura Nomikon Onvoice (ネクラのみ来ん on voice) [ja] reflects upon issues related to Japanese foreign politics. In the last episode, the podcaster invites us to not forget those areas of the world, such as Darfur or Sri Lanka, that too rarely are the centre of media attention. He also expresses worry over the role of Japan abroad, particularly in Somalia, where recently the Maritime Self-Defence Forces (自衛隊, Jieitai) have been dispatched to collaborate in an anti-piracy mission.