Stories about International Relations from August, 2011
Guyana: Supporting T&T's State of Emergency
Demerara Waves reports that Guyana has officially declared its “support of Trinidad and Tobago’s limited state of emergency that has been imposed to quell a spike in drug-related murders and other forms of violence.”
Russia: Memories of 1991
Kim Green of The Greenery shares her memories of living in Russia in 1991 as a student, right after the August Coup 20 years ago.
Russia, Libya: RT's Coverage of the Conflict
Democratist writes about Russia Today's coverage of the situation in Libya.
Armenia: Artificial smiles and a beauty pageant
Unzipped comments on the closing ceremony of this year's Pan-Armenian Games, an irregular sporting competition intended to bring together young Armenians from all over the world. The blog criticizes what it says was “the most boring, pathetic and tasteless ceremonies I have ever seen in Yerevan.
Nepal: The Taslima Nasreen Controversy
Bangladeshi writer in exile Taslima Nasreen was drawn into a controversy and had to cancel her trip from India to Nepal after she tweeted to her Nepali friends that she didn't consider Nepal a foreign country. Read more about the debacle at Ushaft's blog.
China-Africa Project Hope
China Media Project translated some local news about some doubts and questions about the 26-year-old chairperson, Lu Xingyu, of the China-Africa Project Hope, who defends herself against public criticism by describing her position as “second-generation benevolent”.
Russia: State News Agency Calls PM Putin “Increasingly Autocratic”
Siberian Light notes that RIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, has called the Russian PM Vladimir Putin “increasingly autocratic” in an article on the visit of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il to Russia.
Somalia: Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan In Mogadishu
afrik.com reports [fr] on Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's visit in Mogadishu: “The prime minister, his wife Emine and other [Turkish] political and business leaders, as well as artists, are in Somalia to meet the victims of the drought and famine raging in the country.”
Ukraine: 20 Years of Independence
As Ukraine is about to turn 20 years old, Alexander J. Motyl of Ukraine's Orange Blues and Vasyl of uaMuzik sum up the current political and social situation in the country.
North Korea: Kim Jong-il's Yachting Holiday
Michael Madden from the North Korean Leadership Watch published a post on North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il's lavish lifestyle in the impoverished nation. It is believed Kim’s fancy life has not changed despite international sanctions banning the sale of yachts and other luxury goods to North Korea.
North Korea: Speculation Looms over Kim Jong-il's Visit to Russia
Net user 100gf from Politics and Computers blog posted a brief summary on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Russia, a rare official visit for the first time in nine years. As Kim is expected to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev regarding energy and denuclearization issues, speculations have...
Bangladesh, India: Comparison Of The Two Bengals
Jyoti Rahman attempts to compare the performance of erstwhile East and West Bengal and opines that the physical division of Bengal is not necessarily a bad thing.
Russia: Ex-UK Ambassador's Diary of 5 Days in August 1991
OpenDemocracy.net publishes – here, here and here – excerpts from the August 1991 diary of Rodric Braithwaite, who was the British Ambassador in the Soviet Union back then.
Lebanon: Special Tribunal Unseals Indictment
“The first question that comes to mind is: is this it? After nearly six years of investigation, does the case truly rest solely on telecommunications data? What about witness testimony? Forensics? DNA analysis? Magnifying glasses and trench coats?” asks Qifa Nabki while summarizing the indictment and posting his first reaction...
East Timor: Students Arrested While Supporting West Papua
On August 17, a demonstration in support of West Papua in Dili ended with the detention of three Timorese students, reports the blog East Timor and Indonesia Action Network. Students were calling for the right of West Papuan to self-determination while condemning human rights violation by the Indonesian military and...
Cuba: Pablo Milanés’ Voice
Generation Y blogs about the upcoming Pablo Milanés concert in Miami, which some in the diaspora are agitating to boycott: “The troubadour who proposes to sing in Florida in a few days is a man who has grown and matured artistically and civically, conscious, as well, of the need for...
Ukraine: Closing Window to West
LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about increasing western critique against the trials against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and several of her ex-colleagues, and how this – combinded with corruption and bad business climate – is effectively closing the window to integration with the European Union.
Baltics-Sweden: Twenty Years of Independence
Albatros of Litauen blog reports about [ger] Swedish celebrations of 20 years of independence for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and how Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, apologised to his Baltic colleagues for recognizing soviet annexation during World War II.
Online Gaming Hackers, North Korea's Next Major Income Source.
Edward Castronova from the Terra Nova commented on allegations that North Korean army of online gaming hackers have breached the servers of popular South Korean online gaming sites to raise badly needed cash.
China: The Xinhai Revolution and Tibet
High Peaks Pure Earth translated Tibetan Chinese blogger Woser's recent blog post about the political implication of Xinhai Revolution to Tibet by comparing the fate of Tibetans with Mongolians and Uyghurs.
Russia: 20 Years Since the Putsch
Putin Watcher writes about the Putsch that dealt “the fatal blow to the Soviet Union” 20 years ago.
