Stories about International Relations from April, 2013
China's Anti-Japanese TV War Dramas Knocked for Vulgarity
The Chinese entertainment industry's incessant production of anti-Japanese TV dramas, under the scrutiny of netizens for a while now, has hit a nerve with China's state-controlled media after two photographs from a war drama showing a nude girl saluting a group of Chinese soldiers leaked online.
Can Cyprus Turn Back from the Abyss? Three Options to Escape the Financial Crisis
The small island of Cyprus continues its race against bankruptcy. Following the European decision to tax all depositors, the Mediterranean republic faces a critical situation. Three options are emerging for the island: to carry out an agreement with Europe, to turn to Russia, or to declare bankruptcy and leave the Eurozone.
Haiti: CARICOM Should Speak Up
Appalled by the “legal immunity” that the United Nations appears to have in the country's cholera epidemic, Kevin Edmonds says that it's high time Caribbean leaders speak up for Haiti.
Petitioning North Korea to Stop Nuclear Threat
As war rhetoric intensifies every day in Korean peninsula and even nuclear threats were made by North Korea, an online petition by ICAN was posted on Change.org, urging North Korea and heads of the Six-Nation Talks to return to the negotiating table.
Putin Unfazed by Topless Protest in Hannover
On Monday, 8 April 2013, Putin's tour of a trade fair in Hannover with German Chancellor Angela Merkel took an unexpected turn when three members of the controversial Ukrainian feminist and self-described “sextremist” organization FEMEN [en] staged a half-naked protest [photo gallery] aimed at the Russian president. Their bodies painted with anti-Putin slogans in...
Margaret Thatcher's Top Five China Moments
Pete DeMola from Beijing Cream reviews Margaret Thatcher's China policy by looking into her five most significant moments and positions in China, including 1. fell down the stairs at the Great Hall of the People; 2. advocated against the Great Firewall; 3. lobbied against serving sea slugs and shark fins...
Haiti: Too Fragile to Shoulder the Blame
Can I get an A-MEN? When it comes to an analysis of the country's aid management failures, kiskeácity admits she couldn't have said it better than Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck.
Egyptian Comedian Accused of Pakistan Insult
Satirist Bassem Youssef tweets: A new investigation started against me accusing me of: insulting Islam(again), spreading atheism & insulting Pakistan #LOL He was recently accused of insulting Islam and Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in his TV programme El Bernameg [The Programme]. The court rejected the lawsuit.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Cuba Getaway Offends Diaspora Bloggers
You might not think that political bloggers would be particularly interested in the whereabouts of celebrities, but the minute Beyoncé and Jay-Z, touched down in Cuba, an anniversary getaway became the business of the Cuban diaspora in the United States.
Chinese Colonel: Avian Flu is an American Conspiracy
A People's Liberation Army colonel declared the avian flu outbreak in China an American conspiracy and suggested that Chinese authorities should not react with too much concern to the tragedy as the death toll will be low.
Chinese on North Korean Propaganda
Fauna from ChinaSMACK puts together some comments from Chinese netizens on a North Korean propaganda video about Americans.
North Korea Nuclear Threats Draw Arab Laughs
North Korea's threats to attack US military bases, including those on the American mainland, drew laughs from a number of Arab netizens.
Anonymous Hacks North Korean Sites, Reveals South Korean Users
Hacktivist collective Anonymous hacked into North Korea's official Twitter and Flickr account revealing registered users of the country's official website. The news was initially welcomed in South Korea, but opinion quickly turned after some users on the list turned out to be South Korean.
India: A Different Take on Syria
German Ulrike Reinhard links to a series of videos featuring Prem Shankar Jha, a well known journalist in India, who offers a different take on what is going on in Syria.
Cuban Blogger Denied US Visa
Cuban blogger, teacher and GV author Elaine Díaz Rodríguez was denied a visa to enter the US [pt] Wednesday, April 3, 2013, preventing her from participating in the International Congress of Latin-American Studies. Brazilian journalist Alex Haubrich reported Elaine's frustration with and criticism of the US government's criteria.
In Global Downturn, Sustainable Development Begins at Home
It is becoming even more clear that sustainable development in the world's poorest countries should not be based on external wealth or redistribution, but must instead be generated at home.
Anonymous Reportedly Hacks North Korea
Hacktivist collective Anonymous claims to have hacked North Korean government websites and stolen more than 15,000 user records. North Korea Tech blog wrote about their message posted online.
South and North Korea in ‘State of War’
North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats against South Korea and its allies. The North's latest aggression, however, has been as intense as ever and tensions in East Asia region have escalated dangerously fast over the past few weeks.
What do we do at Global Voices Catalonia?
On 27 February, the Global Voices international community of bloggers presented its Catalan edition in Barcelona. In this post we explain who we are, what we do and how to collaborate with us. Do you dare to widen your horizons?
Al Jazeera: Amplifying (Global Voices) Women's Voices
Global Voices women rose to the challenge when Al Jazeera's Opinion editor announced he wished to flip the gender ratio that typically rules in the media, publishing 80/20 in favor of women throughout the month of March.
