· August, 2013

Stories about International Relations from August, 2013

A Letter on Syria to Western Narcissists

From Lebanon, Sean Lee, of The Human Province, pens a letter to Western narcissists on Syria: But please, don't let the conflict in Syria be about opposing America. Let it be about Syria, and what might actually help Syrians – you know, the actually existing people who are dying by...

Iran: Facebook Diplomacy

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, posted a short piece with six questions about Syria on his Facebook page which received 1,100 comments as of Friday, August 30. Some called Zarif on the hypocrisy of criticizing Western intervention as intervention, when Iran has its own presence on the ground.

India-Bhutan Friendly Relations: A Reality Check

  19 August 2013

Blogger Yeshey Dorji from Thimphu, Bhutan comments on the current state of apparently friendly India-Bhutan relations: India’s unabashed transgression into our domestic affairs has demonstrated that where it is an understanding between two unequal partners, there is little reason to believe that any commitment – whether written or unwritten, will...

Is ‘Free Tibet Movement’ Dying?

  10 August 2013

Is it any wonder that many Tibetans are now losing hope? Neapali blog Blogdai criticizes the failures of the ‘Free Tibet Movement’ for not being effective enough to reduce Tibetan suffering.

Madagascar Agency Suspended from Network Tracking Money Laundering

  7 August 2013

Lambo T. reports [fr] on the website of La Gazette de La Grande Ile that Samifin [mg], the agency in charge of cleaning up the financial sector and combat transnational illegal operations in Madagascar has been suspended from the Egmont Group of financial intelligence units. Egmont is an international network that helps tracks...

DREAM Helps Reduce AIDS Cases in Africa

  1 August 2013

An interview with Paola Germano, leader of Comunità di Sant'Egidio's DREAM programme in Africa. She explains why research has confirmed a reduction in AIDS cases in sub-saharan Africa.