· July, 2011

Stories about Politics from July, 2011

Poland: Smolensk Report Blames Both Polish and Russian Sides

On July 29, Poland presented its final report on the 2010 Smolensk plane crash, in which 96 people died, including the then president of Poland Lech Kaczynski. While putting the major blame on the Polish pilot's error, the report also pointed at the fault of the defective lighting at Smolensk airport and Russian air controllers.

Vietnam: Resolving the dispute over Spratly Islands

  31 July 2011

Vietnam Talking Points uploads an article by Thi Quang Lam, a former general in the South Vietnamese Army, who writes about the dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea involving Vietnam, China, and other Southeast Asian nations.

Practicing legal profession in Vietnam

  31 July 2011

Attorney Huynh Van Dong writes about the challenges facing lawyers in Vietnam. He reports that an increasing number of lawyers are now in jail for “expressing their own personal opinion.”

Russia: US Support of Opposition?

LJ user grad46 (Maxim Petrovich) claims [ru] that several Russian opposition groups are funded by US-interests. Until recently an opposition activist himself, Petrovich publishes corroborating documentation, accuses several leading opposition activists of taking American money, and is interviewed [ru] on the issue by Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.

Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested

  31 July 2011

Mozambicans are reacting to what appears to have been the arrest yesterday of controversial and talented MC Azagaia. While there is no official news, some of his 4,600+ fans showed their support on Facebook and have created a “Free Azagaia” event. The rapper was questioned in 2008 by police, who...

D.R. of Congo: “Missing” Governor Jets Back

  31 July 2011

Alex Engwete posts a video of “missing” Governor Moïse Katumbi of Katanga province and his family after they returned from his holidays spent at a still undisclosed location: “The millionaire governor had chartered what looked to me like a Falcon jet…Upon deplaning he was interviewed by the local press on...

U.S.A., Japan: The US Declares War On The Japanese Mafia

  31 July 2011

Investigative journalist Jake Adelstein reported [en] that US President Obama has officially declared war on the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, as it represents an “extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” Japansubculture.com also published the text of the actual executive order.

Ukraine: Timoshenko Facing the Law

LEvko of Foreign Notes follows up on the trial against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and finds that – despite a weak case – the process is likely to end with a guilty verdict for a number of political reasons.

Russia: News as Rap

Edmund Downie at Foreign Policy Passport reports that Russian president Dmitri Medvedev is much impressed by news agency's RIA-Novosti introduction of news in the form of musical rap info [ru].

South Sudan/Sudan: Football Torn By Citizenship

  30 July 2011

What is the future of Sudanese football following the decision not to grant citizenship to Southern Sudanese living in the north?: “A large number of southern players have a significant presence on Sudanese football teams, including al-Hilal and al-Merreikh. They have also formed the mainstay of Sudan’s national team, as...

Guinea: Weekly Newspaper Le Defi Vandalized

  30 July 2011

Lamine Camara writes on infoguinee.com [fr]: “The central office of the independent weekly newspaper Le Défi was vandalized and completely ransacked by anonymous looters on the night of July 20- 21, 2011. Those non-identified individuals, after wrecking havoc on equipments, computer and hardwares, left a scribbled message on a sheet of...

Zambia: Current Events Through Political Satire

  30 July 2011

Kalaki's corner is a political satire on current events in Zambia in the form of a weekly story: “Spectator Kalaki, aka Roy Clarke, came to international attention in January 2004 when he wrote a story about a foolish elephant. This story was read by the then president of Zambia, Levi...