Week # 103- Dated January 17-23, 2010
WESTERN EUROPE
The British government raised its terror threat assessment last week from "substantial" to "severe", the second-highest level, suggesting an attack on the country is "highly likely".
An official of the watchdog body for Italy's judiciary has announced the barring of a judge who refused to hear cases because of the presence of crucifixes in the nation's courtrooms.
The finance ministers of Euro zone nations backed Greece's anti-crisis plan last week, but warned that the country must take urgent measures to reduce its public debt and budget deficit.
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
Romania's EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner-designate Dacian Ciolos was approved unanimously for the post on January 15th after his hearing at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels. According to data supplied by the EU's statistical office, Romania and Bulgaria are among the EU members whose citizens face the highest risk of poverty in the bloc.
Meanwhile the Romanian Supreme Defence Council has announced plans to send 600 additional troops to Afghanistan this year, increasing their presence to more than 1,600.
Outgoing Croatian President Stipe Mesic has warned that he would intervene militarily if Republika Srpska (RS) tried to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Pristina-based daily Koha Ditore reported that the government and the International Civilian Office (ICO) are intensifying efforts to create a new municipality in northern Kosovo. Meanwhile the Montenegrins in Kosovo have demand to be recognized as a national minority and have also sought better diplomatic ties between Montenegro and Kosovo.
The Council of Europe (CoE) issued a report last week urgeing an end to the political crisis in Albania. The CoE said the contested June 2009 general elections should be investigated, as the opposition, including the Socialist Party (SP), has demanded.
UN war crimes tribunal prosecutors insisted last week that the sentence of former Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Army General Rasim Delic be more than doubled, from three to seven years in prison.
US/CANADA
In the USA, Overruling two important precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations, a bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled last week that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The ruling reversed a century-long trend to limit the political muscle of corporations, organized labor and their massive war chests. It also recast the political landscape just as crucial midterm election campaigns are getting under way.
President Barack Obama's administration scrambled to save the nomination of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke as more opposition emerged from members of the president's own party. This underscores a shift in the political landscape after the loss of a seat in Massachusetts that ended the Senate supermajority for the party.
China has rejected a call by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the lifting of restrictions on the Internet in the communist country, denouncing her criticism as false and damaging to bilateral ties.
Meanwhile World markets slipped lower last week, led by bank stocks after President Barack Obama proposed a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street to avert future financial crises. President Barack Obama's plan to limit financial risk-taking is expected to force banks, such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N) or JPMorgan (JPM.N), to shed parts of their private equity operations.
According to the Bank of Canada, the nation’s economy is on track to recover this year and the outlook has improved since October. Meanwhile according to a recent poll Canada's ruling Conservatives are slightly ahead of the main opposition party and an election now would most likely result in deadlock.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina's Central Bank remains at the center of a worsening row between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the bank governor and now threatens to engulf the Congress and the courts. Last week President Fernandez, the controversial leader accused her own Vice President Julio Cobos of plotting to destabilize Argentina and cause the fall of the government to further his own ambition.
Brazil says food prices held inflation at 4.3 percent in 2009, the lowest in three years and below the government's target of 4.5 percent. The chairwoman of the International Olympic Committee's oversight panel has said that Rio de Janeiro is on track to overcome infrastructure and security challenges and deliver a "very good" 2016 Olympics.
Mexico is sending 2,000 police officers to boost security in violence-ridden Ciudad Juarez after human right groups criticized an army-led clampdown against drug gangs in the border city.
Meanwhile the country hosted a preliminary meeting for the Group of 20 (G20) summit attended by senior officials of G20 foreign ministries.
President Hugo Chavez suspended rolling blackouts in Venezuela's capital a day after they began and sacked his electricity minister, saying government officials imposed a rationing plan riddled with mistakes. Venezuela's government has imposed blackouts of four hours every other day throughout the country to combat an energy crisis, which experts say will further jeopardize the country's worsening economy.
President Hugo Chavez has also announced a 25% increase in Venezuela's minimum wage to try to blunt the effects of soaring inflation. Last week the government also nationalized a chain of supermarkets controlled by France's Casino on charges of price gauging after the government devalued the bolivar currency. It has also seized three banks and ordered two other financial institutions closed, as the country reeled from a currency devaluation implemented to improve state finances.
Last week the Honduran Congress voted to withdraw from the Venezuela-led trade bloc called the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes has also announced this week that his government will not adhere to the ALBA bloc, despite a recent declaration of intention to join. Meanwhile according to Venezuelan Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez the ALBA bloc’s common currency, an electronic compensation system called the Sucre will be put into use starting this month.
While the Chavez voiced the government’s intention to mend ties with the United States, the overture was followed last week by accusations that the US was using the earthquake in Haiti as a pretext to occupy the devastated Caribbean country.
The Venezuelan government has sent a second humanitarian aid taskforce to Haiti. Meanwhile Brazilian efforts in Haiti include the provision of food and water to the devastated region. Also the country's Defense Ministry is studying the possibility of sending additional troops. Mexican President Felipe Calderon too has pledged 15 to 20 tons of aid a day in the wake of the crisis. §
The British government raised its terror threat assessment last week from "substantial" to "severe", the second-highest level, suggesting an attack on the country is "highly likely".
An official of the watchdog body for Italy's judiciary has announced the barring of a judge who refused to hear cases because of the presence of crucifixes in the nation's courtrooms.
The finance ministers of Euro zone nations backed Greece's anti-crisis plan last week, but warned that the country must take urgent measures to reduce its public debt and budget deficit.
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
Romania's EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner-designate Dacian Ciolos was approved unanimously for the post on January 15th after his hearing at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels. According to data supplied by the EU's statistical office, Romania and Bulgaria are among the EU members whose citizens face the highest risk of poverty in the bloc.
Meanwhile the Romanian Supreme Defence Council has announced plans to send 600 additional troops to Afghanistan this year, increasing their presence to more than 1,600.
Outgoing Croatian President Stipe Mesic has warned that he would intervene militarily if Republika Srpska (RS) tried to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Pristina-based daily Koha Ditore reported that the government and the International Civilian Office (ICO) are intensifying efforts to create a new municipality in northern Kosovo. Meanwhile the Montenegrins in Kosovo have demand to be recognized as a national minority and have also sought better diplomatic ties between Montenegro and Kosovo.
The Council of Europe (CoE) issued a report last week urgeing an end to the political crisis in Albania. The CoE said the contested June 2009 general elections should be investigated, as the opposition, including the Socialist Party (SP), has demanded.
UN war crimes tribunal prosecutors insisted last week that the sentence of former Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Army General Rasim Delic be more than doubled, from three to seven years in prison.
US/CANADA
In the USA, Overruling two important precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations, a bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled last week that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections. The ruling reversed a century-long trend to limit the political muscle of corporations, organized labor and their massive war chests. It also recast the political landscape just as crucial midterm election campaigns are getting under way.
President Barack Obama's administration scrambled to save the nomination of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke as more opposition emerged from members of the president's own party. This underscores a shift in the political landscape after the loss of a seat in Massachusetts that ended the Senate supermajority for the party.
China has rejected a call by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the lifting of restrictions on the Internet in the communist country, denouncing her criticism as false and damaging to bilateral ties.
Meanwhile World markets slipped lower last week, led by bank stocks after President Barack Obama proposed a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street to avert future financial crises. President Barack Obama's plan to limit financial risk-taking is expected to force banks, such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N) or JPMorgan (JPM.N), to shed parts of their private equity operations.
According to the Bank of Canada, the nation’s economy is on track to recover this year and the outlook has improved since October. Meanwhile according to a recent poll Canada's ruling Conservatives are slightly ahead of the main opposition party and an election now would most likely result in deadlock.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina's Central Bank remains at the center of a worsening row between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the bank governor and now threatens to engulf the Congress and the courts. Last week President Fernandez, the controversial leader accused her own Vice President Julio Cobos of plotting to destabilize Argentina and cause the fall of the government to further his own ambition.
Brazil says food prices held inflation at 4.3 percent in 2009, the lowest in three years and below the government's target of 4.5 percent. The chairwoman of the International Olympic Committee's oversight panel has said that Rio de Janeiro is on track to overcome infrastructure and security challenges and deliver a "very good" 2016 Olympics.
Mexico is sending 2,000 police officers to boost security in violence-ridden Ciudad Juarez after human right groups criticized an army-led clampdown against drug gangs in the border city.
Meanwhile the country hosted a preliminary meeting for the Group of 20 (G20) summit attended by senior officials of G20 foreign ministries.
President Hugo Chavez suspended rolling blackouts in Venezuela's capital a day after they began and sacked his electricity minister, saying government officials imposed a rationing plan riddled with mistakes. Venezuela's government has imposed blackouts of four hours every other day throughout the country to combat an energy crisis, which experts say will further jeopardize the country's worsening economy.
President Hugo Chavez has also announced a 25% increase in Venezuela's minimum wage to try to blunt the effects of soaring inflation. Last week the government also nationalized a chain of supermarkets controlled by France's Casino on charges of price gauging after the government devalued the bolivar currency. It has also seized three banks and ordered two other financial institutions closed, as the country reeled from a currency devaluation implemented to improve state finances.
Last week the Honduran Congress voted to withdraw from the Venezuela-led trade bloc called the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes has also announced this week that his government will not adhere to the ALBA bloc, despite a recent declaration of intention to join. Meanwhile according to Venezuelan Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez the ALBA bloc’s common currency, an electronic compensation system called the Sucre will be put into use starting this month.
While the Chavez voiced the government’s intention to mend ties with the United States, the overture was followed last week by accusations that the US was using the earthquake in Haiti as a pretext to occupy the devastated Caribbean country.
The Venezuelan government has sent a second humanitarian aid taskforce to Haiti. Meanwhile Brazilian efforts in Haiti include the provision of food and water to the devastated region. Also the country's Defense Ministry is studying the possibility of sending additional troops. Mexican President Felipe Calderon too has pledged 15 to 20 tons of aid a day in the wake of the crisis. §
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Please Preview your comments before posting.
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