Best of the international blogosphere

Germany's Deutche Welle hands out the Best of the Blogs awards each year to pioneering blogs in 10 languages, and this year's winners are a stellar lot. The judges (no strangers to blogging themselves) were clearly looking for sites that offer their readers a glimpse into different cultures and countries, exactly what a good blog should endeavor to achieve. Always one to promote our fellow bloggers around the world, Passport presents the top non-English-language blogs in the winner's circle.

• German: Letters from Rungholt. A German in Israel blogs about her life on a kibbutz.
• Spanish: La Huella Digital. A look at current events and media in Spain.
• Russian: Magazeta: Alles über China. A blog from Russia about neighboring China.
• Portuguese: Apocalipse Motorizado. A Sao Paulo-based blog self-described as "Scenes from a down-trodden city. Air pollution, aggressiveness, fear, stupidity, egoism, corruption. Survival in a city of tinted windows."
• Dutch: Bureau Belgrado. Dutch journalists blog about developments from Serbia and Montenegro.
• Persian: Zeitun. On this blog, currently banned inside Iran, a young woman in Tehran writes about her daily life.
• French: La Buvette des Alpages. Dedicated to shepherds, this blog champions biodiversity in the French countryside.
• Arabic: Jar el Kamar. This citizen journalist fearlessly blogs about political oppression in and around his hometown of Alexandria, Egypt.
• Chinese: The Colourful World - Shuweicao's Blog. This Chinese foodie tragically lost her stomach to cancer. She carries on blogging about gourmet delicacies, anyway.

Hat tip: Guardian news blog