WESTERN EUROPE
The UK economy has come out of recession, after figures showed the economy had grown by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009. 
The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters. The UK recession began in the April-to-June quarter of 2008. Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also exited recession last year.
On the political front Britain's far-right British National Party has been issued a final warning to scrap its whites-only membership policy or face a possible court injunction.
On the 28th January 2010, a one day conference in London was convened titled the ‘UK Afghanistan summit’; The conference was called amid rising U.S. and NATO casualties and falling public support.
Defending the most controversial decision of his career former British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared last week before an investigative panel that he had no regrets over going to war in Iraq, calling it the right decision in a post-Sept. 11 world. The proceedings were televised nationwide.
France's prime minister asked a government body last week to study the legal possibilities that would allow banning face-covering veils in France. Meanwhile Denmark's center-right government has said the burqa — an all-covering dress — and the niqab face veil are "diametrically opposed" to Danish values; it called for the use of existing rules to counter the practice without imposing a ban. Schools, as well as both public and private employers by law have the right to demand that students, teachers and workers show their faces.
Pope Benedict XVI decried last week what he called "growing aversion" to the Christian faith in the world. His worry about the plight of the Christian minority in the Middle East is expected to shape discussions of the Mideast bishops later this year.
In Greece Leftist demonstrators and ultra-right activists clashed in Athens last week (January 23rd) during a rally against racism and discrimination of immigrants. On the geopolitical front Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is urging his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-launch efforts to improve bilateral ties. Meanwhile the nation’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou rejected last week any notion of his country leaving the Euro zone
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church has urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics in the region.
Meanwhile in a record voter turn-out, the Democratic Party (DS) led coalition won local elections in Serbian regions Odzaci, Vojvodina, traditionally a stronghold of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).
A new strategy formulated by the International Civilian Office (ICO) and the Kosovo government hopes to extend the authority of local state institutions to the northern part of the country. The EU reportedly plans to remain neutral toward the Belgrade-backed "parallel structures" in the north.
The European Parliament's (EP) Foreign Policy Committee approved last week amendments to Macedonia's EU progress report. Under the document, the country is to receive a date for starting EU accession talks in March at the EU's foreign ministers summit.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged the Albanian government and the opposition to end their stalemate and begin necessary reforms.
RUSSIA
According to reports the US and Russia are to resume negotiations on nuke reductions. In the meanwhile Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili's visit to Russia which was to start this week has been postponed, reportedly to effect better coordination.
In the Thomson Reuters report an analysis of research papers published by Russian scientists shows an almost across-the-board decrease, which reflects Russia's shrinking influence not only in science but also in science-based industries such as nuclear power.
Turkmenistan, Central Asia's largest supplier of natural gas, has resumed supplies to Russia. Meanwhile the Interior Ministry's Investigative Committee revealed an almost eightfold rise in economic crime (428,000 crimes) for the year 2009.
2009 has been deemed a good year for the state's arms exporter, as sales of $7.4 billion smashed its previous record, though weapons deliveries to Iran have been stalled under political pressure.
US/CANADA
President Barack Obama's push to create jobs includes a new tax credit for small businesses that add employees, an idea that has appeal as the nation struggles with an unemployment rate topping 10 percent. Meanwhile embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke won confirmation for a second term last week, by the closest vote ever for the crucial post and after withering criticism from lawmakers for bailing out Wall Street while other Americans suffered in recession.
Obama’s state of union speech has been received as not just a critique of politics in Washington but also as an affront to the judiciary. The president jabbed the judiciary for its latest ruling allowing corporations to throw in money into US elections, an allegation some might argue is an infringement of judicial independence.
China suspended military exchange visits with the United States last week in protest over $6.4 billion in planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and warned the U.S. ambassador that the sales would harm already strained ties. Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned China that it risks diplomatic isolation and disruption to its energy supplies unless it helps keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
According to polls the Canadian opposition Liberal party is now ahead of minority conservative ruling party, indicating that an election, favored by the opposition but unwanted by the government, might produce a deadlock.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina's president suffered a setback last week when a court upheld a freeze on her use of central bank funds to repay debt and said Congress must decide whether she was right to dismiss the bank's head.
Meanwhile Argentina's industrial production rose 10.4 percent in December from the same month a year earlier. The nation also registered a 2009 trade surplus of $16.98 billion.
Brazil is looking to send hundreds more soldiers to its UN peacekeeping deployment in Haiti, potentially doubling the unit to 2,600 men.
Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in June as president of Honduras and holed up for four months in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, is reportedly set to leave for the Dominican Republic.
Brazil’s public debt could grow by as much as 16 per cent this year, according to the government’s 2010 Annual Borrowing Plan, which analysts described as consistent with the administration’s emphasis on slow but steady progress. Also according to the Agriculture Ministry coffee output in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer, may unexpectedly drop this year as downpours hinder the development of the beans.
Mexican drug war continues with the arrest last week of reputed drug lord Teodoro (El Teo) Garcia Simental. Mexican soldiers have also detained Juan Carlos Tarabay Castillo alias "El 20," one of the top leaders of Golfo drug cartel. The “war on drugs” launched by President Felipe Calderón has added to the list of impediments deterring Mexican immigrants in the US from returning home. Also Canada's decision last summer to require visas for visitors from Mexico and the Czech Republic has curbed skyrocketing refugee claims from the two countries. In the meanwhile President Felipe Calderón's administration wants to dissolve Mexico's 2,022 city police forces, saying many of them are so badly educated and vulnerable to corruption that they are undermining the country's crackdown on drug cartels.
Mexico is to hold talks with India for a free trade agreement (FTA) in May this year.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has criticized remarks made by Chilean president-elect Sebastián Piñera terming "the hemispheric rightwing" as overexcited; he accused the later of being undemocratic.
In his annual address to the National Assembly, Chavez announced a 25% increase in the minimum wage this year. He spoke of the influence of both Christianity and Marxism on his government's policies. The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) too has suggested a program to fight widespread violence and insecurity and has urged both the government and communities to join the move.
The Venezuelan government's payroll increased by 10.4 percent in 2009 and stood at 2,411,603 workers, according to data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Last year, the government nationalized cement companies, rice-processing plants, ports, small banks, while the transfer of the steelmaker Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor) to the State concluded.
Thousands of protesters have turned out in Venezuela, both in support of Hugo Chavez, and against him, signaling a heated political climate ahead of the 2010 elections. Last week one student was killed and nine police officers injured in violence linked to protests over the suspension of a TV station opposed to the President. Also thousands of Venezuelans opposed to Chavez took to the streets, blaming him for rolling blackouts, water rationing and widespread crime.
Foreign ministers of nine member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) met last week to discuss how to help rebuild Haiti. Meanwhile Venezuela's cut-rate regional energy alliance has announced to forgive quake-stricken Haiti's debt.
AUSTRALASIA
Australians have been urged to consider changing their national holiday that commemorates the arrival of British settlers, a day of "pain and bewilderment" for Aboriginal people.
Australia has also set up a group to look into recent violence against Indian students that has threatened its ties with the South Asian giant.
Meanwhile according to Greenpeace climate change could more than triple the risk of catastrophic wildfires in parts of Australia, almost a year since savage firestorms that killed 173 people.§
________________________________________________________
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.
The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters. The UK recession began in the April-to-June quarter of 2008. Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also exited recession last year.On the political front Britain's far-right British National Party has been issued a final warning to scrap its whites-only membership policy or face a possible court injunction.
On the 28th January 2010, a one day conference in London was convened titled the ‘UK Afghanistan summit’; The conference was called amid rising U.S. and NATO casualties and falling public support.
Defending the most controversial decision of his career former British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared last week before an investigative panel that he had no regrets over going to war in Iraq, calling it the right decision in a post-Sept. 11 world. The proceedings were televised nationwide.
France's prime minister asked a government body last week to study the legal possibilities that would allow banning face-covering veils in France. Meanwhile Denmark's center-right government has said the burqa — an all-covering dress — and the niqab face veil are "diametrically opposed" to Danish values; it called for the use of existing rules to counter the practice without imposing a ban. Schools, as well as both public and private employers by law have the right to demand that students, teachers and workers show their faces.
Pope Benedict XVI decried last week what he called "growing aversion" to the Christian faith in the world. His worry about the plight of the Christian minority in the Middle East is expected to shape discussions of the Mideast bishops later this year.
In Greece Leftist demonstrators and ultra-right activists clashed in Athens last week (January 23rd) during a rally against racism and discrimination of immigrants. On the geopolitical front Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is urging his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-launch efforts to improve bilateral ties. Meanwhile the nation’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou rejected last week any notion of his country leaving the Euro zone
SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church has urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics in the region.
Meanwhile in a record voter turn-out, the Democratic Party (DS) led coalition won local elections in Serbian regions Odzaci, Vojvodina, traditionally a stronghold of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).
A new strategy formulated by the International Civilian Office (ICO) and the Kosovo government hopes to extend the authority of local state institutions to the northern part of the country. The EU reportedly plans to remain neutral toward the Belgrade-backed "parallel structures" in the north.
The European Parliament's (EP) Foreign Policy Committee approved last week amendments to Macedonia's EU progress report. Under the document, the country is to receive a date for starting EU accession talks in March at the EU's foreign ministers summit.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged the Albanian government and the opposition to end their stalemate and begin necessary reforms.
RUSSIA
According to reports the US and Russia are to resume negotiations on nuke reductions. In the meanwhile Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili's visit to Russia which was to start this week has been postponed, reportedly to effect better coordination.
In the Thomson Reuters report an analysis of research papers published by Russian scientists shows an almost across-the-board decrease, which reflects Russia's shrinking influence not only in science but also in science-based industries such as nuclear power.
Turkmenistan, Central Asia's largest supplier of natural gas, has resumed supplies to Russia. Meanwhile the Interior Ministry's Investigative Committee revealed an almost eightfold rise in economic crime (428,000 crimes) for the year 2009.
2009 has been deemed a good year for the state's arms exporter, as sales of $7.4 billion smashed its previous record, though weapons deliveries to Iran have been stalled under political pressure.
US/CANADA
President Barack Obama's push to create jobs includes a new tax credit for small businesses that add employees, an idea that has appeal as the nation struggles with an unemployment rate topping 10 percent. Meanwhile embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke won confirmation for a second term last week, by the closest vote ever for the crucial post and after withering criticism from lawmakers for bailing out Wall Street while other Americans suffered in recession.
Obama’s state of union speech has been received as not just a critique of politics in Washington but also as an affront to the judiciary. The president jabbed the judiciary for its latest ruling allowing corporations to throw in money into US elections, an allegation some might argue is an infringement of judicial independence.
China suspended military exchange visits with the United States last week in protest over $6.4 billion in planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and warned the U.S. ambassador that the sales would harm already strained ties. Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned China that it risks diplomatic isolation and disruption to its energy supplies unless it helps keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
According to polls the Canadian opposition Liberal party is now ahead of minority conservative ruling party, indicating that an election, favored by the opposition but unwanted by the government, might produce a deadlock.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina's president suffered a setback last week when a court upheld a freeze on her use of central bank funds to repay debt and said Congress must decide whether she was right to dismiss the bank's head.
Meanwhile Argentina's industrial production rose 10.4 percent in December from the same month a year earlier. The nation also registered a 2009 trade surplus of $16.98 billion.
Brazil is looking to send hundreds more soldiers to its UN peacekeeping deployment in Haiti, potentially doubling the unit to 2,600 men.
Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in June as president of Honduras and holed up for four months in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, is reportedly set to leave for the Dominican Republic.
Brazil’s public debt could grow by as much as 16 per cent this year, according to the government’s 2010 Annual Borrowing Plan, which analysts described as consistent with the administration’s emphasis on slow but steady progress. Also according to the Agriculture Ministry coffee output in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer, may unexpectedly drop this year as downpours hinder the development of the beans.
Mexican drug war continues with the arrest last week of reputed drug lord Teodoro (El Teo) Garcia Simental. Mexican soldiers have also detained Juan Carlos Tarabay Castillo alias "El 20," one of the top leaders of Golfo drug cartel. The “war on drugs” launched by President Felipe Calderón has added to the list of impediments deterring Mexican immigrants in the US from returning home. Also Canada's decision last summer to require visas for visitors from Mexico and the Czech Republic has curbed skyrocketing refugee claims from the two countries. In the meanwhile President Felipe Calderón's administration wants to dissolve Mexico's 2,022 city police forces, saying many of them are so badly educated and vulnerable to corruption that they are undermining the country's crackdown on drug cartels.
Mexico is to hold talks with India for a free trade agreement (FTA) in May this year.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has criticized remarks made by Chilean president-elect Sebastián Piñera terming "the hemispheric rightwing" as overexcited; he accused the later of being undemocratic.
In his annual address to the National Assembly, Chavez announced a 25% increase in the minimum wage this year. He spoke of the influence of both Christianity and Marxism on his government's policies. The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) too has suggested a program to fight widespread violence and insecurity and has urged both the government and communities to join the move.
The Venezuelan government's payroll increased by 10.4 percent in 2009 and stood at 2,411,603 workers, according to data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Last year, the government nationalized cement companies, rice-processing plants, ports, small banks, while the transfer of the steelmaker Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor) to the State concluded.
Thousands of protesters have turned out in Venezuela, both in support of Hugo Chavez, and against him, signaling a heated political climate ahead of the 2010 elections. Last week one student was killed and nine police officers injured in violence linked to protests over the suspension of a TV station opposed to the President. Also thousands of Venezuelans opposed to Chavez took to the streets, blaming him for rolling blackouts, water rationing and widespread crime.
Foreign ministers of nine member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) met last week to discuss how to help rebuild Haiti. Meanwhile Venezuela's cut-rate regional energy alliance has announced to forgive quake-stricken Haiti's debt.
AUSTRALASIA
Australians have been urged to consider changing their national holiday that commemorates the arrival of British settlers, a day of "pain and bewilderment" for Aboriginal people.
Australia has also set up a group to look into recent violence against Indian students that has threatened its ties with the South Asian giant.
Meanwhile according to Greenpeace climate change could more than triple the risk of catastrophic wildfires in parts of Australia, almost a year since savage firestorms that killed 173 people.§
________________________________________________________
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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