Stories about International Relations from November, 2006
Arabisc: Arrested Blogger Released and the Civilisation of Terrorism
Egyptian blogger Ramy Siyam – aka Ayoub – is out of jail, after spending an eventful 108 hours being moved from one detention centre to the other. According to fellow blogger Alaa Abdelfattah: “He was arrested in a sweep in downtown while securing the area for the President's visit to...
Paraguay: Land Purchase by US President Bush?
Political Cortex examines rumors that President Bush and family may have purchased land in Paraguay.
The Balkans: Asylum-Seeker; Tito's Portrait
Neretva River writes about a Slovenian citizen seeking asylum in Croatia, and the Croat member of the Bosnian presidency decorating his office with a portrait of Tito, an ethnic Croat, too.
The Balkans: NATO
East Ethnia writes about NATO's credibility in the Balkans.
Pacific Islands: Increasing Chinese Influence
Alext at Golublog:An Anthropology blog points to an article that talks about growing involvement of China and Chinese businesses in Pacific Islands.
Ukraine: Famine Recognized As Genocide
Kyiv, Nov. 25: Remembering Holodomor (Famine) Victims – by Veronica Khokhlova At the Holodomor Remembrance ceremony held in Kyiv on Saturday, Nov. 25, a big board listed the countries that have recognized the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 as genocide: Australia, Argentina, Georgia, Estonia, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, Poland, USA, Hungary. Next...
Russia, Serbia: Energy Plans
Neretva River writes about Russia's plans to build a power plant in Kosovo and route a gas pipeline through Serbia.
Moldova: Another Belarus?
Mihai Moscovici wonders if, following the Minsk CIS Summit, Moldova may turn into Europe's next Belarus.
Belarus: CIS Scandal
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the scandal involving Russian journalists that broke out during the CIS summit in the Belarusian capital. Also, there's a post about the pain the summit is causing to downtown Minsk.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: EUFOR Commander Interview
Finding Karadzic posts an interview from a Sarajevo daily with General Marco Chiarini, who is nearing the end of his one-year term as EUFOR commander in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela: Chance meeting in Second Life
Trinidad blogger Taran Rampersad is delighted to meet a Venezuelan in Second Life: “Perhaps this is the start of a bridge across a geographic divide. So far I've met people from around the world, but there's something magical about meeting someone from right next door.”
Guyana: Piggybacking on Barbados tourism
MediaCritic proposes that the target of Guyana's most significant tourism advertising campaign should be tourists visiting Barbados, a model already adopted by St. Vincent & the Grenadines: “Through a CARICOM engineered initiative our powers that be need to establish some formal initiative with our sister nation in order to initially...
Bahamas: Threats to marine resources
The Bahamas needs to defend its marine resrources and fishing grounds against the encroachment of poachers and similar threats, says Sir Arthur Foulkes.
Brazil: Post-Election Podcast
Luís Afonso Assumpção has published a podcast about his disappointment with the outcome of Brazil's latest elections and his thoughts on Latin America's current political reality.
DRC: Insurrection in North Kivu
UDPS Liege wrote yesterday (Fr): “According to the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), fighting resumed this Monday morning at Kasengezi, about 20 kilometers from Goma. UN troops from India intervened using helicopters and ground operations to bring the men loyal to [General Nkunda] back to their positions near Sake,...
Croatia: Schengen and Eurail
“Slovenia, Italy and Hungary are working to maintain the current border regime that allows Croatian citizens to cross into their countries with only an ID card,” Neretva River reports. And – “From January 1st 2007 passes covering rail travel in Croatia, Ireland, Italy and Portugal will be available, as well...
Serbia: Kosovo and Albanian Flag
One Missionary in Kosovo writes about Kosovars’ claim to the flag of Albania: “The flag itself is one of the challenges to imminent Kosovar statehood. When you ask any Kosovar what the flag of the future state of Kosovo would be the answer is always the same…the ‘shqiponja’ or double-headed...
Albania: Flags and Skyscrapers
Our Man in Tirana writes about Albania's Flag Day and the capital's amazing new skyscraper.
Lebanon: Minister Pierre Gemayel Assassinated
Lebanon witnessed this week the brutal assassination of its minister of industry and trade. This terrorist act overshadowed all other events and topics in the Lebanese blogosphere. Nevertheless, the posts were as varied and different as the political inclinations of the Lebanese themselves. Here is a sample of what they...
Bermuda: Premier hosts students
Edward Rance reports on a dinner hosted by the Premier of Bermuda for Bermudian students studying in the UK and the post-dinner Q&A session where the students asked the Premier some difficult questions.
Bolivia: Morales in the Netherlands
Miguel Buitrago describes Evo Morales’ upcoming travel plans as social unrest continues domestically: “Morales cannot stay outside Bolivia more than 5 days, since he does not have permission of Parliament to travel, he'll go on to the South America – Africa Summit in Nigeria. His final stop will be Cuba...