· April, 2009

Stories about Politics from April, 2009

Caribbean: Funding the Fight against HIV

  30 April 2009

Both Abeng News Magazine and Repeating Islands note that “Caribbean governments have been urged to provide financial support for the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP).”

Cayman Islands: Same Old

  30 April 2009

“This election has the potential to again be nothing more than ousting current politicians who do very little and replacing them with politicians who are entirely incapable of bringing their generalizations to life”: The Cayman Islands’ Blog Man is afraid it's politics as usual for his country's upcoming elections.

Sri Lanka: Living In Fear

  30 April 2009

Indi.ca sheds a light on the lives of Tamils in Colombo as some of them are living in fear of being arrested for questioning without prior charges. The bloggers comments: “Perhaps this is necessary in the short-term (this being my lifetime) but it’s important to remember that this is a...

India: The Maoists-Naxalites And The Threat To Democracy

  30 April 2009

On 16th of April, 2009, just as the Indian elections began, the Maoists attacked police and poll booths in Latehar district of the eastern state of Jharkhand in India. Words From Solitude provides background of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its factions and the naxalite movement to understand...

Georgia: Alternative Eurovision

  29 April 2009

Following the scandal surrounding Georgia's aborted attempt to enter a song mocking the former Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow, This is Tbilisi Calling says that the country will instead hold its own alternative international song contest.

Azerbaijan: Police

  29 April 2009

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the continuing saga of Parviz Azimov, a youth activist recently expelled from his university. The blog notes that whereas the police usually concentrate on preventing serious criminals from carrying on their activities, in undemocratic countries they usually focus on youth and political activists...

Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal

The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.

The Conflict In Sri Lanka And The Indian Elections

  29 April 2009

Madhu at Indian Election 2009 blog comments: “Tamil Nadu elections have been hijacked by the conflict in Sri lanka, all the political parties raise this issue and only this issue.” The blog also reports that the hunger strike of Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. Karunanidhi was an alleged ploy...

Taiwan: Participating in the World Health Assembly

  29 April 2009

The news that Taiwan will be participating in the World Health Assembly under the name Chinese Taipei came from the island's president and is received simultaneously as humiliating, a major step toward international recognition, and as nothing really important.

Cuba: Path to the Future

  29 April 2009

“This little accessory hanging from the hip could well come to be all the newspapers we lack at the kiosks”: Cuba's Generation Y has faith in the potential of SMS to be a reliable source of information.

Jamaica: Mad Tax

  29 April 2009

Abeng News Magazine‘s Michael Spence says: “The new gas tax added in the latest Jamaican national budget is bad but when you tax reading material…this has to come from a government that has gone mad and is intent on helping the poor to get poorer.”

Egypt's First Independent Union Formed

Egypt's real estate tax collectors have formed their first independent trade union since 1957. In addition to local recognition, the union has won international legitimacy after being accepted in the international body Public Services International. One blogger follows the developments from their start until the moment of triumph - with hundreds of photographs.

Ecuador: President Correa Wins Reelection

  29 April 2009

With the majority of votes counted, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa appears to be headed towards re-election without the necessity of a run-off. His party, PAIS Alliance, also captured the majority of seats in the National Assembly giving it increased power in the country. However, there are a lot of still unresolved problems facing the nation, and Correa hopes his "21st Century Socialism" will help address these issues.

Armenia: Shooting the Messenger

  29 April 2009

Security, in the Caucasus and beyond…. comments on the tendency for nationalist voices in Armenia and the Diaspora to shoot down any proposals intended to promote peace and reconciliation with Turkey by discrediting them and preventing any open discussion or independent thought.

Fiji: New rule creates thousands of retirees

  28 April 2009

A recent government decree in Fiji orders all civil servants 55 years and older must retire Thursday, April 30. The new rules affect any person working within Fiji’s government, police force and prisons service. Previously, those workers would be employed until turning 60.

Indian Elections 2009: God and Country

  28 April 2009

The ongoing elections in India have exposed deep fractures in the country's religious landscape. Blogs are buzzing with allegations and counter allegations of religious persecutions in the land where you can find devotee of every major religion in the world. Persecution of Christians is a hot topic among Indian and foreign...

Armenia: Joke of the Day

  28 April 2009

Unzipped says joke of the day in Armenia is news that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) are now calling themselves an opposition political party. Having left the ruling coalition government yesterday in protest at talk of possible reconciliation between estranged neighbors Armenia and Turkey, the blog says that...