Stories about International Relations from May, 2009
Sri Lanka: Bloggers react to the death of the LTTE leader
The government of Sril Lanka announced via state media and SMS today (Monday, May 18, 2009) afternoon that the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is dead. Obituaries of Prabhakaran note that he was a hero to some and a ruthless killer to others. Sri Lankan Bloggers lament on the legacy of this war lord and what his demise means for the future of the Tamil people and Sri Lanka.
Haiti, Dominican Republic: Repercussions
Wadner Pierre republishes an article from Haiti Liberte that examines the repercussions of the decapitation of a Haitian man by another from the Dominican Republic.
Morocco: On the Motorbike
The blogger The Aesthetic of Lostness writes about the difficulties of being a female motorcyclist in Morocco and what it all means.
Europe: Alexander Rybak
Natalia Antonova writes on GlobalComment about Alexander Rybak, this year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Political Eurovision
As voting for the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway in Moscow, bartlemot tweets that the telephone number to vote for the Armenian entry in Azerbaijan was censored. In a second tweet, the same user says that instead of displaying a telephone number in the lower section of the screen it...
Macedonia: French Military Cemetery in Skopje
Volan presents a photo and video story about the French Military Cemetery in Skopje that houses the remains of 2,930 soldiers from France and its colonies, including Morocco and Senegal, who have fallen during World War I on the Macedonian Front, aka Salonika front (1915-1918). The site presents a historical...
Video: 48 Hour Young Lions YouTube Contest and others you can join
Tonight could be your chance to make it big in the online video field, almost anywhere you live. All it takes is 48 hours to make, upload and get as many votes on your video, and you could go to the Cannes Film Festival. If you can't make it on time, don't worry: following is a list of other contests open for participants from all around the world.
Taiwan: Friendship with India
Taiwanrocks! discusses the friendly links between Taiwan and India.
Grenada, Taiwan: Loan Repayment
As Taiwan takes Grenada to court over the non-payment of a loan, Blah Bloh Blog comments: “Cynical Grenadians like myself are wondering if we can’t offer up former Prime Minister Keith ‘Is me damn money’ Mitchell as a form of restitution…”
Ukraine: Updates on Lutsenko's Scandal
Updates on the Ukrainian interior minister's Germany scandal – at Foreign Notes and Ukrainiana.
Jamaica: Screwed?
While Life, Unscripted, on the Rock is “fully aware that everything is certainly not copacetic here in Jamaica”, she takes issue with an international mainstream media article that she describes as “a totally skewed portrayal” of the island.
Serbia: Skull Tower
Gray Falcon writes: “If there was just one thing I could show someone seeking to understand the Serbs, I would take them to a hill northeast of Niš (Ниш), and show them the Skull Tower.”
Russia: Visa Application Process
White Sun of the Desert writes about the Russian visa application process: “Then at the beginning of this year they decided that all applications had to come with a notarised translation of every page of your passport, including all visas and stamps therein. I have a 48-page passport with stamps...
Egypt: Obama to Address Muslim World from Egypt
The date is all set. US President Barack Hussain Obama will deliver his much anticipated speech on relations with the Muslim world in Egypt on June 4 and the Egyptian blogosphere is as divided as ever, with some questioning whether Obama will turn a blind eye to the country's human rights record. And although the speech and its content and impact on relations with the region are taking a backseat for the moment, the pressing question on many bloggers' minds is: "Why Egypt?"
Cuba, Jamaica: Examining the Revolution
“What has the Cuban Revolution achieved for the people of the country, the Caribbean and the wider world after 50 years in power?” Jamaican diaspora blogger Mark Lee, writing at Abeng News Magazine, attempts to find out.
Uzbekistan: Uzbek regime again named among most oppresive ones
Musafirbek wonders whom he should thank for such a popularity of Uzbekistan in the list of totalitarian regimes published by The Guardian newspaper.
Paris court investigates three African leaders
A Parisian judge has ordered an inquiry into alleged corruption and embezzlement on the part of three African heads of state: Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, Omar Bongo of Gabon, and Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.
Pakistan: Fighting The Taliban
The Pakistan army has started to fight back to take control of several districts of the North-West Frontier Province from the Taliban insurgents. More than half a million people have been displaced due to the fighting and this has become a humanitarian crisis. And the fighting is not going to end anytime soon. Pakistani bloggers weigh in on the situation.
New bill to increase oversight of American mining companies in DRC
Congolese blogger Alex Engwete writes about a new bill in the U.S. Senate to increase government oversight of American companies with mining interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
East Timor: From sighs to steps forward with the use of the Internet
Being willing to listen what bloggers are talking about, Global Voices faces big challenges to cover the blogospheres of regions where people are not using citizen media. That is the case of East Timor, where there are many Internet connectivity problems which make blogging very difficult. But what are the challenges that bloggers from East Timor face when uploading content to the Internet? And what are the projects, nonetheless, arising in the Timorese blogosphere?
Taiwan: Lessons in diplomacy
The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato reviews the book Nixon and Mao: The week that changed the world. He says the book offers lessons for the US and Taiwan in their current diplomacy with China.
