Hungary: British Council To Move Out

According to Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar, the British Council is closing 10 of its 19 offices in Europe, including the one in Hungary. The library will stay, though.

Ukraine: Tymoshenko in D.C.

LaurenceJarvikOnline shares his impressions of Yulia Tymoshenko, who was in Washington, D.C., this week: “She described her nation as ‘in crisis’–and took a number of hostile questions about her legal problems from Russian-speakers in the audience. Tymoshenko handled them with grace and aplomb, didn't bristle, smiled even. She's definitely a...

The Balkans: Bloggers Discuss the ICJ Verdict

On Monday, after nearly ten months of deliberation, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre was an act of genocide, but that the pattern of the atrocities committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 war (which claimed more than 100,000 lives) was “too broad” to...

Iraq: US Allies No Longer Allies

The US allies are no longer its allies, rats are leaving the sinking ship and Canada is no longer in the flock. If you want to understand what I mean read what Iraqi blogger Ladybird has to say here.

Trinidad & Tobago: Young and black in Babylondon

London-based Trinidadian Sinistra posts part two of her “Young and Black in Babylondon” series: ‘“So, what do you speak in the Caribbean? African?”’

Egypt: Mossad Spy Update

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia continues to follow news on an Egyptian-Canadian accused of spying for the Mossad here. “He wasn't spying for Israel despite the fact that he went to the Israeli Embassy , knew the three other wanted Mossad officers and considered them as friends and was going to Israel...

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa writes about the foreign occupation of Somalia and “hatemonger websites”: Overall, it is clear that the foreign occupation and possible recolinization of Somalia has dawned on the so-called leaders of “Transitional Federal Government” (TFG)—a euphemism of “Tigre Founded Government” (TFG) as well as their shadowy...

Madagascar: Expulsions in France questioned

(courtesy of sarkostique) Stemming from ongoing racial tensions and amplified by the riots of last summer, fear of immigrants led the French ministry of homeland security to crack down on illegal immigration. Immigrants of Malagasy origins were also affected by the new emphasis on expelling any immigrants without proper accreditation....

Indonesia: Citizen Diplomat

Maverick Indonesia blogs about meeting an Indonesian diplomat and his ideas of a citizen diplomat. “But most important is what Aula calls the second track diplomacy. Any Indonesian can be the ambassador of the country, through interactions with people from other countries. Thus, every Indonesian must understand the nation’s foreign...

Guatemala, El Salvador: A Web of Corruption and Murder

“The recent case of the open assassination of three prominent Salvadoran politicians and their driver in Guatemala provides a dramatic snapshot. It's shone a light on the criminal justice system in Guatemala; and the state of relations between El Salvador and Guatemala.” writes Patrick Hall. Tim Muth has also been...

China: Government study tours questioned

Somewhat related to this recent post, Sichuan province Writer's Association member and Strong China blogger Li Hongzhi looks at a recent decision from the organizational department of the provincial Communist Party which limits government leaders’ training trips abroad. Chinese teachers go abroad to experience and learn, as do liberal intellectuals...

India: Quattrocchi in Argentina

Varnam on the politics played to avoid extraditing a man who could end up ruining the reputation of some very important people. “Remember Ottavio Quattrocchi? The middle man for Bofors who represented Snamprogetti and big pal of ex-dead-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi? He was arrested in Argentina on Feb 6th and...

Sri Lanka: Saddam and the Sri Lankans

True Sri Lankan on what appears to be a lot of silence regarding the execution of Sri Lankans. “When Saddam Hussein was hanged there were massive protests in Sri Lanka organised by certain sections of the muslim community but a few days ago 4 Sri Lankans were beheaded and then...

Tunisia, France: How To Wash the Dirty Laundry At Home

Mouwaten Tounsi deplores (Fr) that ex-Tunisian diplomat Khaled Ben Saïd is being judged in France for torture. He would have liked Ben Saïd judged in Tunisia. He proposes a reconciliation-based justice. The process would focus on indemnification of torture victims by the government rather than on prosecution of officials who...

Syria: Iraqi Refugees

Matthew Carrington visits an area inhabited by Iraqi refugees and shows us fleeting moments of their lives here.

Korea and Japan: nationalism

James from Japan Probe collects a few youtube video on Japanese T.V programs (with English subtitles) about the tensions between South Korea and Japan. The video seems to suggest that anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea is related with the nationalistic education.

Guyana: Exodus and integration

MediaCritic sees the “exodus” of Guyanese to other Caribbean territories as “likely to result in is a skewering of national identities and push those voices that trumpet and cling to narrow parochial inclinations into the background. With the inevitable cross-nationality marriages, dual-citizenships and other multi-national personalities single nation nationalistic fervor...

The Balkans: Reactions to the ICJ's Verdict

The massacre in Srebrenica was an act of genocide, declares the International Court of Justice. East Ethnia blogged while waiting for the verdict – and then provided an initial reaction as well as a guest-blogger's opposing point of view.

Russia: Feb. 23; Hatred for Bush

How do young men of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk celebrate the Army Day? Why do Russians hate George W. Bush? Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert answers these questions – here and here.

Lebanon: Academia, Agriculture and Construction

Let us begin this week’s roundup of the Lebanese blogosphere with non–political posts. Let us start from a post about two Lebanese salads that are used as appetizers during meals: Skylark shows us (Fr) how to prepare Fattush and Tabboule, which are two delicious Lebanese salads that are usually found...

Syrian Blogsphere: Free Kareem, Towards a Democratic Syria, Arabism and More

The Syrian blogsphere reacted to the news about the sentencing of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman with disgust. Abu Kareem from Levantine Dreamhouse wrote… The language of the charges is sickeningly familiar. It is the language that paranoid authoritarian governments use when they feel threatened, when someone tells the TRUTH....