WESTERN EUROPE
Relatives of a British man executed in China against charges of drug smuggling, have accused Britain of being diplomatically
powerless due to its economic dependence on the Asian giant.
Meanwhile Yemen has welcomed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement of an international meeting in London (January 28) on combating extremism in the Arabian Peninsula country. Britain is also considering introducing new technology such as full body scanners to improve airport security after the attempted Christmas Day airline attack.
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has denied fresh accusations by the Venezuelan government that the Netherlands is supporting U.S. spy flights over its territory.
In the meanwhile Pope Benedict XVI in his speech at the start of the New Year issued an appeal to all armed groups to "stop, reflect and abandon the way of violence". Jan. 1 is also the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace.
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
Bulgaria says it will send 30 more troops to the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan to join a unit guarding the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Bulgaria currently has 497 troops in Afghanistan, with 270 of them guarding the Kandahar airport, which has been plagued by insurgent attacks.
Rasim Ljajic the Serbian official in charge of capturing war criminals resigned last week because his team has failed to arrest Ratko Mladic, who allegedly orchestrated the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims in Bosnia. Meanwhile President Boris Tadic has insisted that authorities are capable of arresting former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic. He added that the resignation of Ljajic is an act of political responsibility.
The opposition Democratic Party of Serbia-New Serbia (DSS-NS) coalition filed a motion with the Constitutional Court last week challenging the constitutionality of the Vojvodina statute. Critics say the statute is a move in the direction of eventual independence for Vojvodina an autonomous Serbian province.
In Macedonia effective on January 1st, smoking in all restaurants and bars in the country has been banned. Meanwhile in Albania five ministries have joined an emergency task force to monitor the situation in the north where following heavy rains the Fierza hydro plant and the Drin River threaten to flood surrounding areas.
In Croatia voters went to the polls on December 27th to elect their next president amid a deepening economic crisis and fears of growing corruption. In the meanwhile about 4,000 people gathered in Zagreb on December 26th to protest the arrest of five former members of a special police unit suspected of committing war crimes against civilians during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia.
Kosovo Parliament adopted its 2010 budget last week without absolute majority. Opposition members walked out, saying they did not have enough time to review some amendments that were presented only a day before the vote.
US/CANADA
The Christmas Day attack on a jetliner over Detroit, combined with technological improvements to protect people's sense of modesty, could lead to dramatically wider use of full-body scanners that can see through travelers' clothing. Dutch officials announced immediate use of the machines at Amsterdam's airport, where the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane began his flight. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) already operates 40 of them in U.S. airports, has bought an additional 150 and plans to buy 300 more.
Many Americans predict 2010 will be a better year than the last one, even if they fear that the U.S. economy and their own financial circumstances won't improve. A whopping 82 percent are optimistic about what the New Year will bring for their families, according to the latest AP-GfK poll.
LATIN AMERICA
Hondurans burned life-sized dolls of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti in a traditional New Year ritual a small town south of the capital Tegucigalpa. Villagers also set fire to an effigy of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who supported fellow leftist Zelaya and threatened military action.
On the other hand about 200 people gathered outside the Brazilian Embassy to show support for ousted President Zelaya inside while they celebrated New Year's Eve with food and music.
Haitian President Rene Preval pledged a fair legislative process during his Independence Day speech. He however failed to address the issue of disqualification of 15 political groups that has prompted international criticism and opposition threats to try to disrupt the Feb. 28 vote. According to the Economy Minister Amado Boudou Argentina's economy could grow up to 7 percent in 2010 as the worst of the global financial crisis eases
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim announced last week their agreement to launch a new mechanism for strategic dialogue between the two countries. Meanwhile Brazil’s tax collection is expected to rise 11 percent this year with faster economic growth accounting for the increase.
The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists is urging Mexico's government to swiftly investigate the recent murder of a local newspaper owner. Meanwhile on the drug war front in Mexico, increasingly powerful and lethal cartels have raised the level of violence while the government of President Felipe Calderón has escalated the battle against them.
On the economic front according to the Energy Ministry Mexico's projected electricity consumption is to increase by an average of 3.6% per year through 2024, requiring additional capacity of about 27,300 megawatt. Also Mexico City received 10.4 million tourists in 2009 and expects that figure to increase to 14 million this year, helped by events such as free public viewing of World Cup games, according to city officials.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez scoffed on Wednesday at U.S. magazine Newsweek's predictions that he would be toppled by a military coup and his Cuban mentor Fidel Castro would die in 2010.
Meanwhile Paraguay is the only remaining Mercosur’s full member which still has to vote for Venezuela to join the South American trade block, following last week's Brazilian senate divided approval.
Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe has disavowed any aggressive statement against Venezuela, at a time when the relations between the two countries are going through the worst diplomatic crisis in recent history. Uribe's statements came a day after his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez presided over a military parade in a frontier zone in which he repeated his complaint that an attack on his country is being planned from Colombia, with the support of the United States. Venezuela has further criticized the "attempts of destabilization” allegedly promoted by the United States in Iran, accusations that the US vehemently denies.
On the financial front Venezuelan and Chinese government officials and business leaders met in Caracas last week to discuss bilateral relations. §
Relatives of a British man executed in China against charges of drug smuggling, have accused Britain of being diplomatically
powerless due to its economic dependence on the Asian giant.Meanwhile Yemen has welcomed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement of an international meeting in London (January 28) on combating extremism in the Arabian Peninsula country. Britain is also considering introducing new technology such as full body scanners to improve airport security after the attempted Christmas Day airline attack.
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has denied fresh accusations by the Venezuelan government that the Netherlands is supporting U.S. spy flights over its territory.
In the meanwhile Pope Benedict XVI in his speech at the start of the New Year issued an appeal to all armed groups to "stop, reflect and abandon the way of violence". Jan. 1 is also the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace.
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
Bulgaria says it will send 30 more troops to the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan to join a unit guarding the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Bulgaria currently has 497 troops in Afghanistan, with 270 of them guarding the Kandahar airport, which has been plagued by insurgent attacks.
Rasim Ljajic the Serbian official in charge of capturing war criminals resigned last week because his team has failed to arrest Ratko Mladic, who allegedly orchestrated the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims in Bosnia. Meanwhile President Boris Tadic has insisted that authorities are capable of arresting former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic. He added that the resignation of Ljajic is an act of political responsibility.
The opposition Democratic Party of Serbia-New Serbia (DSS-NS) coalition filed a motion with the Constitutional Court last week challenging the constitutionality of the Vojvodina statute. Critics say the statute is a move in the direction of eventual independence for Vojvodina an autonomous Serbian province.
In Macedonia effective on January 1st, smoking in all restaurants and bars in the country has been banned. Meanwhile in Albania five ministries have joined an emergency task force to monitor the situation in the north where following heavy rains the Fierza hydro plant and the Drin River threaten to flood surrounding areas.
In Croatia voters went to the polls on December 27th to elect their next president amid a deepening economic crisis and fears of growing corruption. In the meanwhile about 4,000 people gathered in Zagreb on December 26th to protest the arrest of five former members of a special police unit suspected of committing war crimes against civilians during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia.
Kosovo Parliament adopted its 2010 budget last week without absolute majority. Opposition members walked out, saying they did not have enough time to review some amendments that were presented only a day before the vote.
US/CANADA
The Christmas Day attack on a jetliner over Detroit, combined with technological improvements to protect people's sense of modesty, could lead to dramatically wider use of full-body scanners that can see through travelers' clothing. Dutch officials announced immediate use of the machines at Amsterdam's airport, where the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane began his flight. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) already operates 40 of them in U.S. airports, has bought an additional 150 and plans to buy 300 more.
Many Americans predict 2010 will be a better year than the last one, even if they fear that the U.S. economy and their own financial circumstances won't improve. A whopping 82 percent are optimistic about what the New Year will bring for their families, according to the latest AP-GfK poll.
LATIN AMERICA
Hondurans burned life-sized dolls of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti in a traditional New Year ritual a small town south of the capital Tegucigalpa. Villagers also set fire to an effigy of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who supported fellow leftist Zelaya and threatened military action.
On the other hand about 200 people gathered outside the Brazilian Embassy to show support for ousted President Zelaya inside while they celebrated New Year's Eve with food and music.
Haitian President Rene Preval pledged a fair legislative process during his Independence Day speech. He however failed to address the issue of disqualification of 15 political groups that has prompted international criticism and opposition threats to try to disrupt the Feb. 28 vote. According to the Economy Minister Amado Boudou Argentina's economy could grow up to 7 percent in 2010 as the worst of the global financial crisis eases
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim announced last week their agreement to launch a new mechanism for strategic dialogue between the two countries. Meanwhile Brazil’s tax collection is expected to rise 11 percent this year with faster economic growth accounting for the increase.
The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists is urging Mexico's government to swiftly investigate the recent murder of a local newspaper owner. Meanwhile on the drug war front in Mexico, increasingly powerful and lethal cartels have raised the level of violence while the government of President Felipe Calderón has escalated the battle against them.
On the economic front according to the Energy Ministry Mexico's projected electricity consumption is to increase by an average of 3.6% per year through 2024, requiring additional capacity of about 27,300 megawatt. Also Mexico City received 10.4 million tourists in 2009 and expects that figure to increase to 14 million this year, helped by events such as free public viewing of World Cup games, according to city officials.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez scoffed on Wednesday at U.S. magazine Newsweek's predictions that he would be toppled by a military coup and his Cuban mentor Fidel Castro would die in 2010.
Meanwhile Paraguay is the only remaining Mercosur’s full member which still has to vote for Venezuela to join the South American trade block, following last week's Brazilian senate divided approval.
Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe has disavowed any aggressive statement against Venezuela, at a time when the relations between the two countries are going through the worst diplomatic crisis in recent history. Uribe's statements came a day after his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez presided over a military parade in a frontier zone in which he repeated his complaint that an attack on his country is being planned from Colombia, with the support of the United States. Venezuela has further criticized the "attempts of destabilization” allegedly promoted by the United States in Iran, accusations that the US vehemently denies.
On the financial front Venezuelan and Chinese government officials and business leaders met in Caracas last week to discuss bilateral relations. §
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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.
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.
