According to officials Israel's foreign minister sidestepped questions at EU headquarters last week about his country's alleged role in the recent assassination of a top Palestinian Hamas operative in Dubai.
Meanwhile the Swiss Foreign Ministry revealed last week that a Swiss businessman detained in Libya for more than 19 months has left the country, easing a diplomatic row that began with the 2008 arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son in Geneva.
Denmark's prime minister announced a major government shake-up last week, changing more than a dozen Cabinet posts including the ministers of defense, justice and foreign affairs to build his own team 10 months after taking office. The reshuffle — which put women in charge of the defense and foreign ministries for the first time — had been widely expected since Lars Loekke Rasmussen took over as leader of the center-right government in April 2009. Meanwhile The Dutch government has set June 9 as the date for general elections, nearly one year ahead of schedule, following the collapse of the center-right government in a dispute over the army's engagement in Afghanistan.
Last week Bank Mellat of Iran won a preliminary court ruling against sanctions imposed by the British government. The government has accused the privately owned bank of providing financial services to companies involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. The Treasury acted in October to forbid any U.K. financial companies from doing business with the bank.
Spain's prime minister as the current EU presidency holder has announced that the European Union wants a halt to all executions by 2015 as a step toward abolishing the death penalty. Meanwhile the United Nations has said that formal negotiations on an international treaty to control global warming will resume in Bonn in April, four months after the failed climate change summit in Copenhagen.
With economic recovery barely there and talk of austerity spreading, many European workers are pushing back. French air traffic controllers walked off the job last week just as Lufthansa pilots ended a strike and British Airways cabin crews voted to launch one of their own. Greek unions prepared to shut down much of their country with wide-ranging strikes. The walkouts are the latest signs of a broader unease about jobs and benefits, and what the future holds for a continent struggling to stay competitive on a global scale. Meanwhile a court in Athens last week ruled that a strike by the country's customs officials is illegal. The strike has caused fuel supply problems across the country.
German Finance ministry spokesman Martin Kreienbaum has denied media reports that Berlin is co-ordinating the actions of Eurozone members in providing financial aid to Greece. Meanwhile Greece has asked for support from the EU bloc but says it is not looking for a loan.
Also Germany on last week rejected accusations by Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos, who said Berlin has failed to compensate Athens properly for the Nazi occupation during World War II. The German Foreign Ministry says Berlin has provided Athens with aid amounting to billions of euros.
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) arrived in Tirana last week to help end Albania's political stalemate. Following talks the opposition Socialist Party (SP) announced on Wednesday (February 24th) that its members are returning to parliament after nearly six months of boycott.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Justice Minister Barisa Colak approved last week (February 24th) the extradition of Serb Bojan Guduric to Croatia, where he is wanted in connection with the murder of prominent Croatian publisher and journalist Ivo Pukanic.
Meanwhile BiH’s Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC)'s Steering Board have said that they are concerned by the worsening financial situation in the Federation of BiH (FBiH). The (FBiH) parliament's House of Representatives passed amendments last week to the law on war veterans, a key condition for the release of the next tranche of a 1.2 billion-euro stand-by arrangement with the IMF and additional funding by the World Bank and the European Commission.
The Bulgarian foreign ministry said in a statement last week that the country has held no official talks with Washington on hosting elements of the planned US missile defence shield. The statement came in response to Russia’s request for an explanation on the revamped plans. Meanwhile according to the Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Bulgaria and Russia have agreed to start building a nuclear power plant in the Bulgarian town of Belene this autumn.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci last week appointed Ylber Hysa as oversee implementation of the strategy for northern Kosovo. The strategy seeks to put the Serb-dominated north under the control of Kosovo institutions, rather than Belgrade-backed parallel structures.
Romanian Economy Minister Adrian Videanu announced last week that Russian gas giant Gazprom has officially invited Romania to join the South Stream gas pipeline project. Meanwhile the IMF has announced it would give Romania $3.32 billion as part of a big loan to help the country recover from its deep recession.
In Serbia Masked policemen searched the house of genocide suspect Ratko Mladic last week in an effort to capture the war crimes fugitive as Serbia seeks EU membership. Also Serbia -- Justice Minister Snezana Malovic invited his Montenegrin counterpart Miras Radovic to meet last week (February 25th) in Belgrade to discuss problems that are hindering co-operation between their respective judicial institutions. Relations between the two nations have grown strained recently over the case of suspected cocaine trafficker Darko Saric, who is allegedly hiding in Montenegro.
Meanwhile President Boris Tadic's office stated that Serbia does not mind Kosovo's participation in regional meetings, as long as it is done in accordance with UN Resolution 1244 and if it is presented as UNMIK-Kosovo.
US/CANADA
President Barack Obama and Republican leaders fought forcefully for their competing visions of historic health care reform last week in a live-TV debate. Far from any accord, Obama signalled the Democrats were prepared to push ahead for an all-or-nothing congressional vote. Meanwhile American companies that hire the unemployed may claim new tax breaks under a jobs-promoting bill that's expected to pass the Senate this week.
Last week in a speech Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for closer cooperation between Russia and NATO, the trans-Atlantic alliance that Moscow views with suspicion as a relic of the Cold War and a potential threat to its security.
Meanwhile according to media reports Iran has formally set out its terms for giving up most of its cache of enriched uranium in a confidential document — however the conditions fall short of what has been demanded by the United States and other world powers. .
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina pushed hard Saturday for a new diplomatic offensive aimed at pressing Britain to negotiate the status of the disputed and potentially oil-rich Falkland Islands. Meanwhile the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved last week a US$229 million loan for the Republic of Argentina to support an emergency project for the prevention and management of influenza type illness and strengthening of the epidemiological system.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said last week that the global community, in its quest for peace, should avoid isolating Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Also Brazil on Friday stressed the importance of Honduras's return to the Organization of American States (OAS) and said the government of Porfirio Lobo should adopt measures to ensure national reconciliation. Meanwhile according to Lula's spokesman the Brazilian President is to meet with Cuban leader Fidel Castro this week for a meeting of "friends" during which they will discuss aspects of international politics.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon said at a summit last week that Latin American and Caribbean nations have agreed to create a new alliance that would exclude regional neighbors United States and Canada. Meanwhile Carlos Navarrete, president of the Mexican Senate, called last week for the U.S. president to immediately lift the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.
Critics of Felipe Calderon, Mexico's president and his so-called ‘war on drugs’ have alleged that the Mexican government may be favoring the Sinaloa cartel, one of the country's most powerful drug-trafficking organizations.
Mexico’s National Infrastructure Fund, designed to spur private investment in highways, waterworks and ports, will almost double the number of projects it helps finance this year as the government seeks to bolster economic growth and create jobs.
Monsignor Ovidio Pérez Morales, a top member of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference, said last week that the system the national government wants to impose by destroying private property and merging all social classes into only one class "is leading to collective oppression, and to nationalization rather than socialization (sic)."
Meanwhile Venezuela's energy minister termed as suspicious Colombia's offer to supply Venezuela with electricity as it struggles with a severe energy crisis. He however added that his nation would consider a serious proposal. Later in the week President Hugo Chavez announced that Venezuela is evaluating a proposal to purchase electricity from Colombia and is buying power turbines from General Electric Co. amid nationwide rolling blackouts and a severe drought. Venezuela, which froze relations with Colombia last year, is seeking to avoid politicization of the issue. Also the Ecuadorian government has made a proposal similar to the Colombian offer to export electricity to Venezuela. Meanwhile President Hugo Chavez accused his adversaries on Sunday of sabotaging Venezuela's electricity grid as part of a broader plan aimed at bringing about the system's collapse - and his downfall.
The Colombian government estimates Colombian exports will total USD 37.5 billion in 2010 replacing Venezuela as top export market. Among other factors, it has managed to replace sales to Venezuela with exports to markets such as China, Brazil, Chile and Canada. Meanwhile Luis Eduardo Ataya, the governor of the Colombian department of Arauca has said that he has reports showing that Germán Briceño Suárez, also known as "Grannobles," a FARC guerrilla leader, is hiding in Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last week that Britain's "desperation" for oil was leading it to flout international law in the Falkland Islands, and called on the British to return the islands to Argentina. Meanwhile a group of technicians and assistants to the US Congress held a meeting with deputies of Venezuela's National Assembly last week seeking to improve bilateral relations.
In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week, Venezuela condemned the military coup against Niger's government, presided over by Mamadou Tandja, and urged the international community to support the "reinstatement of constitutional order" in the African country. Also Chavez insisted last week that the presidency of new Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was illegitimate.
Óscar Álvarez, Honduras' Minister of Security has said that authorities from the Central American country have detected between 250 and 300 drug trafficking routes, with most of the aircrafts departing from Venezuela and run by the Mexican cartels.
AUSTRALASIA
Australia has summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain why three new suspects over the Dubai killing of a Hamas leader used Australian passports. §
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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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