Stories about International Relations from May, 2007
Ethiopia: shady dealings of international media
“When news that three New York Times reporters were caught in Deghabur while they were trying to cover rebel activity in the region sipped through last week, American diplomats in Addis Ababa immediately contacted Ethiopian government officials, including the Prime Minister to demand their release. That triggered a chain of...
Iraq: US and Iran Meet Over Iraq
“Iranian and American officials (their ambassadors to Baghdad as far as I know) will meet to talk tomorrow in Baghdad. The dialogue, however, started about a week ago…. I'm honestly not expecting much good from such meetings, not in the foreseeable future because the tone of their dialogue on the...
Francophone Morocco: Politics, Power, and Money
"If you don’t do politics, politics will do what it wants with you." Or, do politics make any sense in Morocco? Hamza Daoui checks in on this week's blogging to see what the Francophone Moroccan bloggers have to say.
Singapore's Myanmarese Go Online for Double Taxation Petition
Myanmar residents abroad have to pay an additional tax to the Myanmar government in addition to the tax they pay in their host countries. Failure to pay this this tax results in Myanmar embassy denying them consular services. Myanmarese residents in Singapore are using their blogs and other online means to get support for a petition to avoid this double taxation.
Estonia: Part of Nordic Community
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's relations with its Nordic neighbors: “Estonia is too small and too far for serious investment when dollars and pounds can flow into larger, closer markets like Poland, Hungary, or the Czech Republic. For the Finns, Swedes, and to a lesser extent the Danes and...
Poland: Ryanair Case
The Polish government doesn't like to be made fun of: the latest case involves Ryanair, the beatroot reports.
Afghan Whispers:Refugees,War Lords and Orphanages
Several Afghan bloggers have discussed Iranian government’s decision to expel Afghan refugees to Afghanistan. Some of these refugees have lived in Iran for years. Marine Gustavson, from Parsa NGO shows in our photo.You can see more photos here. Afghanistan's government called the consequences of sending back thousands of people to...
Israel: Myths About the Asian Community
Israeli blogger Fily discusses myths about the Asian community in Israel. “Why, I wonder, don’t the Asian students mingle with the locals? Why is it that the Israelis obsessed with Asia don’t make the effort to try to meet the Asian students? You see, I know that some of my...
Suriname, Barbados: CARICOM Failing Caribbean People
As Suriname announces plans for the construction of a nuclear power facility, Barbados Underground writes, “This affair epitomizes the ineffective organ we call Caricom.”
Iran:Neo-Cons To Plot Iran Strategy Amid Caribbean Luxury
Thanks to Sibil Tala we get information about a “Neo-Con” led conference about Iran.According this information the workshop, entitled “Confronting The Iranian Threat: The Way Forward,” is to include “30 or so leading experts who will analyze the implications of Iran’s activities, the diplomatic challenges, military and intelligence capabilities, the...
Russia: Investments in Austria
Robert Amsterdam writes about Russian investments in Austria.
Estonia, Russia: More on Cyber War
Edward Lucas writes on “cybersecurity,” and Urmo, in the comments section, gives an update on the Estonian-Russian “information war.”
Syria: Lebanon is Boiling
Writing from Syria, Mustafa Hamido says: “Lebanon is boiling. It is the filed of all conflicts in the world. When US tried to prove its strength in the world after its clear defeat in Iraq went to Lebanon and has supported anti-Eastern powers which includes an important portion of Christian...
Qatar: Why Somalia isn't Iraq
Qatar-based blogger Abdurahman Warsame explains why Somalia isn't like Iraq. “There has been bomb attacks in Mogadishu since the city fell to the Transitional Government. A number of civilians were killed in various attacks, the prime minister Ali Ghedi and Mayor of Mogadishu, former warlord Mohamed Dheere, have both survived...
Darfur: The Reality, the Agenda & the Proposed Solution
Darfur, in the minds of different people, constitutes and means different things. This is due to the fact that we, the general public around the world are getting exposed to a tirade of conflicting views and information. As that continues, so will our polarization. Therefore, the long and seemingly endless...
Join the Debate on Darfur 10am (EST) TODAY!
Further to our earlier post, here's a quick update on the Reuters Newsmaker event on Darfur, which takes place in New York starting at 10am EST today. Our Sub-Saharan Africa editor Ndesanjo Macha will be live-blogging the event at his blog, Jikomboe, so you'll be able to follow the proceedings there. Reuters will be tossing to the GV team from time to time for questions and feedback, so please leave any comments you may have either on this post or on Ndesanjo's blog. In related news, Reuters Alertnet this morning released the results of its poll on the situation of Aid workers in Darfur (full coverage here).
China: Comparative Studies
Quifeng from bullog writes about the arrogant nature of comparative studies in China [zh]. For example in observing India, researchers like to explain the superior of Chinese developmental path over India.
Taiwan and China: Chinese speech
ESWN translated a debate over a popular song called Chinese Speech by S.H.E. The song criticized by Liberty Times (pro-independent newspapers) for misleading and corrupting the next generation in Taiwan into thinking that they also use ‘Chinese speech.’
Egypt: Human Rights Council
Egypt's bloggers held their own online protest on the eve of the election of Egypt to the UN Human Rights Council. Bloggers Nora Younis and the Free Kareem and the Free Monem blogs all posted a video stating why the country shouldn't be on the council. Kareem was jailed for...
Iran: Iran-USA Negotiations, the Chinese Model and Expulsion of Afghans
Iran accepted a U.S. offer last Thursday for direct negotiations about conditions in Iraq. It can be viewed as a historic moment as it is the first time that Iran has agreed to bilateral talks since the United States broke diplomatic relations in 1980 after American diplomats were taken hostage in Tehran. Negotiation between these two countries becomes even more interested when we take into consideration that Iranian officials have called the USA "the Great Satan" while Washington still considers Iran to be a member of the so-called axis of evil.
Russia: Documentary on Litvinenko at Cannes
Sean's Russia Blog writes more on the Litvinenko case – and on the documentary on the subject to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.
