· January, 2012

Stories about International Relations from January, 2012

Cuba: Human Rights Double Standard

Lilianne Ruíz, blogging at Translating Cuba, compares a television spot “that shows a series of watercolors of butterflies from one of the five officials of the Interior Ministry imprisoned in...

31 January 2012

US, Russia: The Flying Balalaika Brothers Bridge Cultural Gaps in Texas

Like many of their compatriots, musicians Zhenya Kolykhanov and Sergey Vaschenko emigrated from Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and have since established themselves in Austin, Texas. Through their band, The Flying Balalaika Brothers, and a non-profit called Musical Connections, they work to bridge cultural gaps by exposing Texans to international art.

30 January 2012

Cuba: The Cardinal Rule

In the context of the country's upcoming papal visit, Angel Santiesteban writes: “What we Cubans have to achieve won’t come from anyone’s visit, nor from the ‘peace concert’, although it...

27 January 2012

Myanmar (Burma): Betwixt and Between

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, urging further support from the international community in Myanmar. Such engagement will be particularly important for refugees and internally displaced people.

27 January 2012

Portugal: State Radio Silenced after Angola Opinion Piece

A week after the broadcast of an opinion piece by the journalist Pedro Rosa Mendes on public radio, the end of the program was announced. The piece criticized the coverage of an event with several politicians and business men from Portugal and Angola. Bloggers immediately reacted to the "axing of freedom of expression".

27 January 2012

Serbia: The Media War Against Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie was concerned about the reception of her director's debut movie, 'In the Land of Blood and Honey', in Bosnia and Serbia, and some of her fears turned out to be justified. Sasa Milosevic reports on the virtual battle that Jolie's film has caused.

26 January 2012

Iran: ‘The pain of sanctions’

European Union has adopted an oil embargo against Iran. Faren Taghizadeh, a presenter at BBC Persian TV posted [fa] in Facebook: This is one of the adversities of being a...

25 January 2012

Why do I wish to see Hong Kong's independence

Amid a series of social and cultural clashes between Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong netizen Marie Meow has written an open letter (English translation here) on Facebook exploring...

25 January 2012