Category: Politics

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China Politics

U.S. Defense Chief to Meet His Chinese Counterpart as Relations Thaw

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will meet his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie next week on the sidelines of an ASEAN conference in Hanoi as the United States and China move to end an eight-month freeze on military exchanges.

Gates is reportedly planning to travel to China early next year.

“I think we are efforting to put together a meeting of that sort when Secretary Gates and his Chinese counterpart are attending the ASEAN-plus ministerial in Hanoi early next week,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters.

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Culture & History Current Events International Relations Issue Politics

Kim Jong-il Attends Concert Marking “Victory” in the Korean War

North Korea’s iconic leader Kim Jong-il hailed his country’s “shining victory” and sang patriotic songs while attending a concert  on Wednesday, according to official media outlets.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a concert yesterday celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Korean War as the two main adversaries from that conflict conducted war drills off his country’s eastern coast.

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Central Asia Current Events Politics

Minsk Yet to Receive Extradition Notice for Ousted Kyrgyz President

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belarus at the moment has not received any notice from Kyrgyzstan about the extradition of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who is currently in Minsk. This was stated by Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei Savinykh, at a press briefing on April 22.

Answering journalists’ questions about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, a spokesman of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry underlined: “We’re faced with a serious international problem. Our President, Alexander Lukashenko is working on directions for a resolution. There is no doubt that this problem can be solved only within the framework of international law.”

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Eastern Europe Economy & Foreign Trade Politics

Belarus Looking Outside Russian and Europe for Partners

Venezuela and China may become new strategic partners of Belarus. Lukashenko’s delegation visited Caracas while the vice-chairman of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, Xi Jinping paid an official visit to Minsk.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has asked the government to look for new commodity markets. “There are other fish in the sea besides Russia and Europe — it is necessary to reach out to the new regions”, he told Interfax. According to Lukashenko, Belarus is being pushed to embrace new partners because of unfair trade conditions with Russia and evasion of arrangements.

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Current Events North Korea Politics

Kim Jong Il Said to be Planning Trip to China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is likely to visit China later this month, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported today.

According to the Japanese paper, Kim will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss aid issues and the North Korean nuclear program. Kim’s last trip abroad took place four years ago when he visited China in January of 2006.

China remains North Korea’s biggest ally and has helped buffer the regime form increasing pressure by the United States, Japan and South Korea to return to the negotiating table over nuclear disarmament talks. In 2008, China accounted for 73 percent of North Korea’s international commerce, according to figures from the Korea Trade- Investment Promotion Agency in Seoul.

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Culture & History Current Events Eastern Europe Politics

Ukraine’s Yanukovich Sworn into Office

Yanukovich Sworn In

After a lengthy, interesting, and highly competitive presidential election in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich was finally sworn into office in the country’s capital of Kiev yesterday.

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Current Events Eastern Europe Politics

Tymoshenko Drops Legal Challenge, Renews Attacks

KIEV, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Monday renewed her attacks on President-elect Viktor Yanukovich, whom she accuses of winning election through fraud, and rejected any post-election deal with him.

In a televised statement she accused her rival of already beginning to sell off Ukraine’s gas pipeline network — a sensitive issue since it touches on relations with Russia — and predicted he would not stay in power for long.

The sharp attack by the fiery 49-year-old premier, who on Saturday dropped her legal challenge to Yanukovich’s election, significantly raised political tensions before his inauguration on Thursday.

“Yanukovich, who came to power by lies, is not our president and he will not last long,” she told a televised broadcast. “I want to say that I would not, under any circumstances, create a coalition together with Yanukovich,” she declared.

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Central Asia Culture & History Current Events Politics

Turkmenistan to Establish Opposition Party

By ALEXANDER VERSHININ

The Associated Press
Friday, February 19, 2010; 6:46 AM

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan is set to allow the creation of a second political party this year, breaking up the one-party system that has been in place since the Central Asian nation gained independence, state media reported Friday.

The only political force registered in the ex-Soviet nation is the pro-government Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, which is closely modeled on the Communist Party.

“If anyone wishes to propose creating a new political party, we can register one this year, as stipulated by the Constitution,” President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov said at a government meeting Thursday. The constitution that was adopted in 1992 allows for the formation of political parties.

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China Current Events Legal & Regulatory Politics

“China has no Dissidents”

In a session that lasted less than ten minutes, a Beijing court on Thursday upheld an 11-year sentence against popular Chinese human rights activists Liu Xiaobo, co-author of the pro-democracy Charter 08.

After the court decision, US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman called on “the government of China to release him immediately and to respect the right of all citizens to peacefully express their political views and exercise internationally recognized freedoms”.

European Union representatives in Beijing said: “The EU believes that the verdict against Liu Xiaobo – for his role as author of Charter 08 and for publishing articles concerning human rights on the internet – is entirely incompatible with his right to freedom of expression.”

Beijing said the prosecution was in accordance with Chinese law.

“China has no dissidents,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

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Current Events Eastern Europe Politics

Yanukovich Declares Victory in Ukraine

Yanukovich

Opposition leader Viktor F. Yanukovich has declared victory over current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election, which has garnered immense international attention over the last few months.

It is not yet official, and Tymoshenko will not concede, but exit polls currently put Yanukovich three to four points ahead.

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