Stories about International Relations from January, 2010
Dominican Republic: Helping Neighboring Haiti After Earthquake
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola. While those in the DR only were shaken, Haiti suffered devastating damage after the earthquake struck. Dominicans are doing what they can to help their neighbor.
India: SMS Based Social Networking Platform
Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics discusses about the Indian technology start-up ‘SMSGupShup’, which is a SMS-based social networking platform, and the business model of similar services.
Hungary: Pécs, the European Capital of Culture
Marietta Le describes preparations for a year as one of the three European Capitals of Culture in Pécs and reviews and translates some of the netizens' reactions.
Bangladesh: Living Dangerously
Asif Saleh and Jyoti Rahman at Unheard Voice criticizes the actions of India’s trigger happy Border Security Force (BSF), who are responsible for a number of death of Bangladeshis each year.
China: Iranian Cyber Army aims at Chinese critics, misses target entirely
"The feelings of the Iranians were hurt by the Chinese people," writes one Chinese Twitter user after pro-government Iranian hackers attacked China's largest search engine, which prompted a counterattack by pro-government Chinese hackers against two dozen Iranian government websites.
Iraq/Saudia Arabia: The Clerics War
Saudi-Iraqi relations have plummeted to a new low following remarks by Saudi Sunni cleric Mohammad al-Ureifi against Iraqi Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani during a Friday prayer sermon. Bloggers react to the development in this round up by Tarek Amr.
Bangladesh: Exchange Rate Problem And Price Hike
J Rahman at Mukti thinks that Bangladesh taka has an exchange rate problem with Indian rupee: “There seems to be a pretty good relationship – taka depreciates against the rupee today, and rice prices in Dhaka rise a year or so later.”
Barbados: Anti-Terrorism Measures
“The series of terror events in the USA in recent months is a vivid reminder that people who are determined to do wrong or evil are not easy to stop”: Living in Barbados thinks that the government “needs to be vigilant too and to have in place mechanisms that do...
Egypt: Galloway is a persona non grata
Zeinobia writes about the new official news that British MP George Galloway has been declared persona non grata in Egypt – on the background of the Free Gaza March last week. He has been deported from the country and blacklisted in the official and some of the unofficial media too.
Russia: Death Penalty Moratorium Extended Indefinitely
Russia has indefinitely extended a moratorium on the death penalty that was due to expire on Jan. 1. Numerous comments were posted on RuNet, and they essentially reflect the returns of opinion polls on the death penalty issue.
Barbados: Road Toll Gang
Barbados Free Press chastises the police for not clamping down on the Boscobel “Road Toll Gang”, which “stop[s] tourist hired cars by standing in front of them. They inform the drivers that the road is closed, instruct them to drive another way and then demand money for the ‘assistance’.”
Haiti: Free & Fair?
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre features a letter from a U.S. Congresswoman who expresses concerns that the island's upcoming elections would be “a set back for Haiti's democratic development if these elections will not be fair and credible.”
Australia: Whaling War of Words
The whale hunt seems to be the forgotten war in the public relations hype that surrounds the collision of the Sea Shepherd’s Ady Gil with a Japanese whaler in the Southern Ocean. GV author Kevin Rennie gathers blog reactions from Australia
Caucasus: New media bringing people together
Julien Frisch Watching Europe comments on a recent attempt to use new and social media to overcome negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus. The blog details how online services such as Twitter meant he discovered the project, but also asks when will the traditional media also cover such stories.
Azerbaijan: Chess victory
Thoughts on the Road says that while there might be a military stalemate between Armenia and Azerbaijan still locked into a state of war over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, chess teams from the two countries this week met to compete against each other in the World Chess Championship...
Brazil: 2009 Green Retrospective and COP15
Almost one month since the United Nations Climate Change Conference, bloggers discuss still; as well as criticizing its outcome, year-end-blog-retrospectives mention the event as one of the most important of 2009.
Caucasus: Unity in Diversity
With three unresolved conflicts and a local media that often self-censors, blogs comment on an online project hoping to break stereotypes by reporting on examples of ethnic groups otherwise in conflict in the South Caucasus co-existing peacefully together.
India: On Racism In Australia
Madhavi at The Trajectory comments on the Government of India’s advisory for ethnic Indians in Australia and questions – who is over-reacting on the racism issue: India or Australia?
India: University Portal Offers Free E-education
Think Change India informs that “the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched a portal called Flexi-Learn in an effort to offer education over internet free of cost.”
Georgia: Tragedy ushers in the New Year
As citizens of Georgia waited in anticipation of the New Year, two high profile scandals were instead set to dampen the holiday spirit. As part of plans to decentralize government, a Soviet-era statue to thise who died during World War II was set to demolished in Georgia's second largest city to make room for the construction of a new parliament building. A mother and her child were tragically killed.
South Asia: Looking Back At 2009 (Part 2)
This is the second part of our retrospection of some of the major events, which took place in 2009 in the South Asian countries, seen through the eyes of the citizen journalists.
