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.
Guinea: Censorship Lifted on the Coverage of the President Attack
Souleymane Bah [fr] annonces on GUINÉENS UNIS : “Guinea's National Council on Communication (CNC) has lifted on Thursday [July 28] the ban imposed on July 25 to Guinean media on...
Vietnam: Resolving the dispute over Spratly Islands
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...
United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria
”Poor Arab and Emirati intellectuals and thinkers!” bewails Ahmed Al Mouhareb [ar] while reporting on his Twitter account the deferment the trial of the blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour and...
Practicing legal profession in Vietnam
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.”
Latvia: Arguing the Failed State Case
Juris Kaža of Failed State Latvia? argues why he thinks that Latvia is a failed state lite, and provides historical and socioeconomic reasons for his case.
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...
Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested
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...
D.R. of Congo: “Missing” Governor Jets Back
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...
Syria: Tanks Enter Hama on Eve of Ramadan
On the eve of Ramadan, Syrian troops have entered the city of Hama, reportedly killing as many as 45 people by 11:00 am on Sunday, July 31.
U.S.A., Japan: The US Declares War On The Japanese Mafia
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,...
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...
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].
Russia-USA: Pest and Cholera of Russia Policies
Vadim Nikitin at Foreign Policy Association blog finds US Russia-policies of both the Democrats and the Republicans negative, after Russian ambassador Sergei Rogozin recently met with two US senators.
Hungary: Situation of Roma
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about the situation of Roma in Hungary against the beckground of US-talks with representatives of the Roma group in the country.
Poland-Russia: Passing Out Blame for Kaczynski Plane Crash
Streetwise Professor comments on the Polish report about last year's plane crash that killed the country's president, and goes on to argue that, whereas Polish pilots where mostly to blame,...
Slovenia: New Twists in Arms Bribery Affaire
Sleeping With Pengovsky posts an update about new developments in Slovenia's scandal over bribery in the Patria affaire concerning purchase of Armoured Personnel Carriers from a Finnish company.
Russia-USA: 20 Years Since START I
Hans Kristensen at FAS Strategic Security Blog commemorates the 20th anniversary of START 1, the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty beween the Soviet Union and the USA curtailing the number...
South Sudan/Sudan: Football Torn By Citizenship
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...
Guinea: Weekly Newspaper Le Defi Vandalized
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,...
Zambia: Current Events Through Political Satire
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...
