politics

It was revealed on September 13, 2011, that four out of ten South Korean diplomats find it nearly impossible to use proper diplomatic language in English, prompting the public to raise questions on the competency of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.

Billboards in Cairo to welcome Erdogan by AymanM from yfrog on Twitter

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's speech about the Palestinian bid for a statehood at the Arab League was translated online live by members of social networking sites, namely Twitter, for those who did not speak Arabic or Turkish. The response to his speech which was filled with more cliches than substance was diverse, from those who believed Turkey's stance was justifiable, to those who were dismayed at the level of hypocrisy shown by Turkey towards Kurds struggling for autonomy.

Here are some of the sound bytes from Erdogan's speech:

@RawyaRageh #Erdogan: #Israel must respect human rights, act like any other state to end its isolation #Turkey #ArabLeague

Since many Danish citizens living abroad are not eligible to vote in the upcoming election in Denmark on September 15, 2011 the Danes Abroad Business Group Online (DAGBO) hosted an informal online election poll for their members. Seventy percent of those questioned said loss of voting rights negatively affects their interest in Danish politics.

This post is part of our special coverage Macedonia Protests 2011.

The legislative and executive branches of the Macedonian government continue to ignore the demands of protesters against police brutality. During the past three months, the protesters have employed various creative tactics to draw the attention of the public and break the ban on reporting and even discussing the protests imposed by the ruling party on the media under its control, as well as on its cronies and members.

Up until mid-July, the protesters continued to meet near the monument of Mother Teresa every day at 6 p.m. Unlike the first few weeks of the protests, during this later period the marches did not take place every day. Instead, the protesters self-organized into thematic bodies to take part in different kinds of activities.

Hugging the Parliament

The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) recently produced a public service announcement aimed at encouraging Jamaicans to unconditionally accept members of their families who are homosexual. The organisation hoped to have had the spot broadcast on national television in August - but as a new month begins, the Jamaican media still appear to be firm in its stance that it will not air the advertisement, which features former Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe Christine Straw and her gay brother, Matthew, sharing their personal story.

Two different takes on the appointment of Barbados' new Chief Justice, here and here.

Algerian-American Kal, from The Moor Next Door, shares some thoughts on the Arab Spring. “This blog does not write about “Arab revolutions”; no such thing has taken place in the Arab countries from a results-oriented stand point. Important and substantive political change came to a number of Arab countries in 2011. But nothing as of yet can be called a revolution, socially, economically, culturally or politically in the Arab region,” he blogs.

Li Keqiang, China's current vice premier and premier-to-be, began three-day visit to Hong Kong on August 16, 2011. On the first day of his visit, Li tried to show concern for Hong Kong people's livelihoods by visiting a center for the elderly and a residential campus in Lam Tin district. However, Li's “friendly” gesture turned into a performance of political brutality when a male resident was forcibly dragged away and arrested by a number of “men in black”, because he wrote a political t-shirt with the slogan “Vindicate June 4“.

Diaspora bloger Jdid defends Rihanna's costume and dancing style at the country's recent Kadooment, while Cheese-on-bread reviews her homecoming concert; Barbados Underground adds: “The world maybe about to totter into another recession which is not good news for the tourism dependent Barbados. Rihanna’s homecoming is anticipated to provide a needed boost to the tourism product…”

Hundreds of Chilean students, fighting to overhaul their education system, clashed with an intensified police force as they protested without permission on Thursday through the center of Santiago.

The Student Confederation of Chile (CONFECH) called students across Chile to protest in April, a month after school began. Students were fed up with the growing privatization trend in Chile that began under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in the 1980s.

So far, every protest for education reform ended with marchers drenched by water cannon jets and clouds of tear gas. Thursday morning’s protest was no different, except some politicians said, this time the violence against students crossed the line.