· April, 2006

Stories about International Relations from April, 2006

DRC: T.I. Petition & Elections Debate

  30 April 2006

“Master of the Universe,” a threat to Kabila? By Etienne Ngandu Today UDPS Liege echoes an AFP article announcing the presidential election will take place July 30. The election was postponed for a year last June and the July 30 date is later than the June 30 deadline mandated by...

Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba: Morales’ TCP

  28 April 2006

Evo Morales has announced a free trade agreement with Venezuela and Cuba. A free trade agreement except that it shall be called a TCP, or “Trade Agreement of the Peoples.” Alvaro Ruiz-Navajas explains the difference, or lack thereof, in a two part series. Chilean blogger Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas has...

Poland, Russia: Katyn Massacre

  28 April 2006

In 1940, the Soviets executed some 22,000 Polish officers; the victims’ families have now brought charges against Russia and are demanding full disclosure of the truth about the tragedy. Vilhelm Konnander examines the issue.

Taiwan: A Chinese Africa

  28 April 2006

In ‘Hu charms Africa‘, Taiwan-based American blogger Richard at The Peking Duck links to a story on China's “efforts to create a new world order ” evidenced by president Hu Jintao's recent visit to Africa. “Score another one for Mr. Bush,” Richard writes. “His inane ‘War on Terror’ is chasing...

DRC: Blogger Wants to Petition T.I.

  28 April 2006

Blogger Tony Katombe proposes (FR) on Prince du Fleuve du Congo that he and compatriots from the country and abroad petition Transparency International to “investigate the allegations of the implication of Louis Michel, William Lacy Swing, Aldo Ajello and other international officials in the illicit exploitation of mining resources in...

Nigeria: China's Scramble for Africa

  28 April 2006

Chippla has an excellent post on China's scramble for Africa…”In the new scramble for Africa, China appears to be a winner on all fronts—getting lucrative deals while choosing not to interfere in the internal politics of nations. And, if these nations increase their purchasing power with time, China sees a...

Honduras, El Salvador: Defining Boundaries

  27 April 2006

Honduras News and Tim's El Salvador Blog both mention the finalized agreement between El Salvador and Honduras over the border dividing the two countries. The decision closes an unfinished chapter of the 1969 “Soccer War.”

Georgia: Dinner Party

  27 April 2006

Susan says that it is easy for expats to get on the news on slow news days in Georgia. She took part in a traditional Georgian supra outside the Russian embassy to protest Russia's ban on Georgian wine and made the evening news.

DRC: UDPS Predicts “Electoral Comedy”, “Terror”

  27 April 2006

UDPS Liege discourages (FR) the Congolese from taking part in the upcoming “electoral comedy” unless of course certain conditions are met. They predict that “Joseph Kabila will be elected on the first round with 72%. He will be protected by European Union and MONUC [UN Mission to the DR of...

Belarus: Milinkevich Arrested and Sentenced

  27 April 2006

Belarus bloggers react to the news of Aleksandr Milinkevich's arrest: Andrei Khrapavitski points out that “today practically all the key names of the Belarusian oppositions have appeared on prison rolls;” TOL's Belarus Blog sees this as “the biggest test for Belarusian people after the falsified presidential election;” and br23 blog...

Thai horror movie angers Cambodia

  27 April 2006

Alvin at chlim01 is bored finds the latest Thai horror flick tasteless as it is set in a prison that resembles Khmer Rouge's dreaded concentration camp. People in Cambodia are not too happy with their neighbour. A comment on another post at KI Media is asking the Cambodian people to...

Russia: Kateryna Chumachenko's 1983 Letter

  27 April 2006

Michael Averko, a Diaspora Russian contributing to Russia Blog, writes about the letter that Kateryna Chumachenko, a (formerly) Diaspora Ukrainian wife of president Yushchenko, wrote to the Washington Times 23 years ago. In it, Chumachenko wrongly suggested “that Russian-Americans didn't petition to have Russia listed as a captive nation.” A...

Nepal: What it means for South Asia

  26 April 2006

Pickled Politics on what the current events in Nepal mean for the rest of South Asia. “An insurgency has forced an autocratic ruler to give power back to the people. What if others try the same in their countries? I bet President Musharraf is apprehensive.”

China: American expansion discouraged

  26 April 2006

Sun Bin blogger gives some economic-model advice to the United States in response to their perceived China-containing intentions: “You will lose…The US has to kickbox also in Middle East, S. America, Europe, Russia and Africa. The US could then be dragged into exhaustion like the Soviet Empire. This is not...

Japan: Bush photo mocked

  26 April 2006

Blog of the Riding Sun‘s Gaijin Biker has a caption contest for a photo of American president George W. Bush pulling on the arm of Chinese president Hu Jintao's suit during Hu's talk at the White House last weekend. Some contenders: “Let go of my gorram jacket before I get...

Guyana: Funeral of slain government minister

  26 April 2006

Guyana Providence Stadium posts a photograph and a two-line report on the funeral of Guyana's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, who was murdered this past weekend. Guyana Resource Centre posts a Guyana news agency report on comments made by the Canadian High Commissioner during a speech made at...