· February, 2014

Stories about International Relations from February, 2014

NASA's New Photo of North Korea

  27 February 2014

Any international readers interested in North Korea would probably come across at least once this famous photo of Korean peninsula from NASA demonstrating a stark difference in the light emission of two Koreas at nighttime. NASA finally updated a new satellite image and it is ‘even more dramatic than the monochrome NASA satellite image of...

Caribbean: How the Media Shapes Perception

  27 February 2014

Both Venezuela and Haiti have been facing anti-government protests. However, the international media’s escalation of the Venezuelan crisis and their complete silence when it comes to Haiti, raises some important questions about the United States’ inconsistency in upholding the values of human rights and democracy. Kevin Edmonds calls out the...

Madagascar Still Awaiting a New Prime Minister, Government

  25 February 2014

A full month since President-elect Hery Rajaonarimampianina took position as the new head of state in Madagascar, there are still no indication who the new prime minister will be and what government he/she will assemble. Ma-Laza argues that the main issue is not really the identity of the prime minister but...

Pakistan, Stay Out of Syria's Civil War

  25 February 2014

A day after a tiny news items titled, “Saudi Arabia ‘seeking Pakistani arms for Syrian rebels” appeared in Pakistani newspapers, political blogger Ahsan Butt posts a provocative piece warning Pakistan's foreign policymakers against tiptoeing into Syria's affairs. In “This is not our war (Syria Edition)” on the Five Rupees Blog, Ahsan...

First Open Heart Surgery in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  23 February 2014

The health international network La Chaîne de l’Espoir (The Link of Hope) reports that 7 Congolese children in critical conditions benefited from open heart surgeries [fr] on February 14 in Brazzaville, Congo. With the help of the Congo Assistance Fundation as well, Prince Béni and Maya, both suffering from cardiomyopathy were...

What Does Civil Society Engagement Really Mean?

  14 February 2014

Is civil society really being heard by inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations, World Bank, or World Trade Organization? CIVICUS, the world alliance for citizen participation, is polling all civil society organizations (CSOs) who have ever engaged with an IGO to get a clear picture. Eventually they wish...