· June, 2011

Stories about International Relations from June, 2011

China: Sudanese President Bashir's Visit Raises Eyebrows

  30 June 2011

In the same week that China voices support for an International Criminal Court warrant out on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, it rolls out the red carpet for another ICC fugitive, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Online, it's a much different story.

Palestine: Two Boats Sabotaged as Flotilla Floats Onwards

The Freedom Flotilla 2 to Gaza will be missing an Irish ship, it emerged today. The MV Saoirse has been reportedly sabotaged while at berth in the Turkish coastal town of Göcek and will now not be able to take part in the flotilla, aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza and presenting humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

South Sudan: An Argument Against Arming the South

  30 June 2011

Here is an argument against arming South Sudan: In recent commentary, some in the advocacy community have suggested that the United States actively move to provide the new Republic of South Sudan with anti-aircraft weapons system technology, including “medium-range surface-to-air missile systems.”

Bermuda: The Attitude/Economics Equation

  30 June 2011

Politics.bm says that 30 years after tourism's heyday, “Bermudians are wondering where all the tourists went” and fears that the same thing will happen to the country's stake in international business; Vexed Bermoothes echoes his concern about Bermuda's economic outlook, saying: “At the rate we are going, we may soon...

Azerbaijan: Freedom of Eurovision, including for Armenians

Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on news from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that it expects Azerbaijan to allow all accredited individuals and ticket holders for next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku unfettered entry into the country with firm guarantees for their security. The blog notes that yesterday, for example,...

Azerbaijan: Photojournalist detained, deported

whatwaswritten, the blog of Global Voices author Leyla Najafli, translates a story from RFE's Azeri service reporting that Diana Markosyan, a photojournalist from Bloomberg, was detained at Baku airport earlier today. The American-Russian dual citizen of Armenian origin attempted to enter Azerbaijan without a visa as CIS citizens can. However,...

Sri Lanka: China Investing In Land

  27 June 2011

Indi.ca is concerned that Chinese investors are being allowed to reclaim and own 500 acres of Sri Lankan land from sea paying $700 million to the Sri Lankan government.

Haiti: BBBC Benefits in Question

  27 June 2011

An interesting post on Bill Clinton's housing initiative, Building Back Better Communities (BBBC), which “seeks to construct housing projects across the nation of Haiti”, but upon closer examination, “seems as though the initiative won't live up to its name and in fact will build worse communities than even before the...

Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence

  27 June 2011

Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is beyond time that the appalling homophobia that is a blight on certain parts of Jamaican society come to an end.”

Syria: French Embassy Website Hacked

On Saturday, June 25, since at least 3PM GMT, the website of the French Embassy in Syria appears to have been hacked: anyone connecting to the French embassy website is automatically redirected to another site (http://th3pro.pro/fr/), where, to the tune of the Syrian national anthem, a message in French and...

Barbados: The Warner Effect

  24 June 2011

Barbados Underground comments on Jack Warner's FIFA resignation: “Warner is generating ‘heat’ which is not doing T&T and the wider Caribbean any favour in the international arena. All the world waits to hear if the sordid details arising from the Fifa Ethics Report will be leaked to the media. Worrying...

A Syrian Solution for North Korea

  24 June 2011

Libyan and Syrian cases are significant to North Korea's possible change by exhibiting how quickly ruthless totalitarian regimes can become unstable in the face of resistance, wrote Joshua from the One Free Korea.