Week # 112 - Dated 20-27 March 2010
WESTERN EUROPE
Spain has raised its terrorism alert level after Basque separatists were blamed for killing a policeman in France last week.
The long-flailing French left made a big-time comeback last week, crushing Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections colored by voters' economic worries — and informally kicking off the 2012 presidential race. Meanwhile Sarkozy dismissed his labor minister
and reshuffled several other Cabinet posts after leftists walloped his conservatives in the regional elections.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown put economic recovery at the heart of his battle for re-election this week, as he unveiled his Labour party's key pledges for the vote expected shortly.
Germany's economy minister said his government remains opposed to paying financial aid to Greece. Following this European leaders clinched a deal to rescue Greece from its debt crisis, with a standby package of loans backed by the International Monetary Fund halting the euro's slide. The euro rebounded from a 10-month low on but European stocks dropped, as markets gave a cautious welcome to the eurozone's bailout program for Greece.
Thousands of British civil servants across the country staged a strike last week over plans to cut redundancy pay. Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged railway and union bosses to keep negotiating to avoid a threatened four-day strike that could cause travel chaos over the Easter holidays.
Italy's postal service intercepted a threatening letter containing a bullet addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; meanwhile a letter bomb sent to a minister caught fire last week.
According to Israeli media reports the diplomat who is to be expelled from Britain over the alleged forgery of British passports connected to the killing of a top Hamas militant, is a Mossad officer who will be replaced by the Jewish state.
The European Commission said last week that it wanted to develop its own system to track terrorist finances and that such a system would require the United States to contribute information on American citizens’ transactions. The announcement is part of intensifying efforts by Brussels to resolve an acrimonious battle within the European Union over how to identify, track and pursue suspected terrorists and their financiers.
In separate appearances at the Brussels Forum — an annual security conference three senior EU officials said it was imperative for Washington and the EU to craft a "more dynamic partnership" European Commission, claiming that Europe is a more significant ally than China and other emerging economies.
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
PM Donald Tusk is to represent Poland at the high-level summit on nuclear security in Washington D.C. on April 12-13, a summit that will further verify the influential role of Poland on the international arena. Meanwhile Czech Republic will host the Summit scheduled to be held on April 8 in Prague for the signing of a new Russian-US nuclear arms reduction treaty. Russia and the United States are hopeful to finalize the deal before a “Washington Nuclear Security Summit”.
Former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has stepped down as his party’s top candidate for a May general election after making contemptuous remarks about gays, Jews and the church.
The International Monetary Fund has released a $700 million trenches for Belarus amid a growing rift over the Gas tariff between Belarus and Russia. Belarus has already filed a lawsuit against Russia over oil export fees in an official Commonwealth of Independent States Court.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich warned last week that he would call a snap parliamentary election if a court ruled that a coalition supporting him in parliament had been formed illegally. His comment to European parliamentarians appeared aimed at assuring Ukraine's Western partners of his democratic credentials.
The Estonian press protested against the possible passing of a bill that stipulates the mandatory exposure of news sources upon request from the authorities. Many Estonian newspapers were published with at least one blank page on March 18.
In Latvia 4 ministers included Foreign Minister had tendered their resignations. Last week their political party withdrew from the ruling coalition. Meanwhile after the biggest coalition party pulled out, the Latvian First Party began talks to support the government. The next elections in the Baltic state are due in October.
On the economic front Poland's economy is expected to grow by 2.5 to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of the year; meanwhile Poland’s unemployment rose to 13 percent in February.
The Czech central bank voted last week to hold interest rates at record lows as previously forecast, as the export-driven economy continues to recovering modestly.
According to the finance ministry's Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL), Slovakia has sold 239.5 million euros ($323.6 million) worth of two-year, zero- coupon state bonds in an auction. The bonds mature on January 27, 2012.
Meanwhile Hungary's central bank sold 2,083.8 billion forint ($10.65 billion)
worth of two-week bills at a weekly tender last week, boosting the total stock of bills to 4,155.1 billion forint ($21.24 billion). The stocks in Hungary have done better than its other neighbors this year, but some investors are becoming more cautious ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections amid the over sizing of the budget deficit and slower pace of economic growth.
Estonia last passed its last major economic test for entering the euro zone in 2011 after its budget deficit met bloc rules, and analysts now expect political approval to join from the crisis-hit currency zone.
A statement issued by the bio-ethics experts unit of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate stresses that In vitro fertilization (IVF) violates human dignity and the rights of the child and is contrary to Christian faith and “natural law”. Currently, IVF has no clear legal standing in Poland despite the fact that there have been six bills submitted to Parliament so for.
According to media reports Civil rights leaders in Belarus are facing a campaign of persecution and harassment as ‘autocratic’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko looks to crack down on the opposition especially the Polish minority ahead of local and presidential elections over the next year.
The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic has turned down the complaint filed by Prosecutor General about the discriminatory and unconstitutional nature of the law governing the registration of churches and religious organizations in the Slovak Republic.
About 3,000 police officers staged a peaceful protest in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday (March 20th) against planned salary cuts. To curb spending, the government wants to force police and others to make their own contributions to social security, effectively reducing wages by just over 12%.
In Kosovo the public is growing increasingly dissatisfied with the government, according to an Early Warning Report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), published last week.
The head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Serbia, Vincent Degert, has voiced support for an initiative of a number of NGOs from the region to set up a fact-finding regional commission on war crimes committed during wars in the Balkans.
Meanwhile a summit of Western Balkan leaders near Ljubljana ended last week (March 20th) by adopting a joint statement on their countries' commitment to the European perspective. The Serbian president however was absent from the forum.
RUSSIA
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told reporters last week that Russia is prepared to invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine's gas transportation system, although Russia is implementing the NORD STREAM and SOUTH STREAM pipeline projects, which bypass the Ukrainian territory, it is ready to get engaged in the modernization of transit pipelines in Ukraine.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called for improved ties between Moscow and Vilnius as he met his Lithuanian counterpart last week in the first such talks in six years.
Activists of some political and public organizations attempted last week to organize mass rallies not sanctioned by Moscow authorities. They were however contained while 70 people have been detained in the process.
French Defense Ministry has confirmed that if France reaches an agreement with Russia on selling the Mistral class helicopter carriers to it, they will be sold without onboard weaponry.
Russia's central bank cut key rates by 25 basis points, knocking the rouble off multi-month highs last week, and analysts forecast more easing to come as the economy remains sluggish and the currency still strong. The widely expected cut, the 12th in a year, puts the benchmark refinancing rate at a fresh historic low of 8.25 per cent effective this week.
The Russian Far East opened a tsunami center in Vladivostok last week that will decrease the warning time from half an hour to one minute. Meanwhile the Russian space vehicle Proton-M launched from Baikonur last week has successfully put the EchoStar-14 American communication satelli
te into the planned orbit.
Russian lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow those accused of economic crimes to be released on bail instead of being sent to jail. President Dmitry Medvedev has said the bill would help end a practice common among corrupt police officers, who jail businessmen and then extort money to set them free.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has demanded that the U.S. administration lower hurdles to Russian investment and offered U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a list of trade complaints during a meeting last week.
US/CANADA
US President Barack Obama signed into law historic, sweeping reforms last week that lay out health care coverage for almost every American. Meanwhile Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin is accusing Republicans of engaging in a "political exercise" by slowing progress on a bill designed to complete congressional passage of the health system overhaul.
Sticking to a hardline position before the White House talkslast week, Israel’s Netanyahu said that peace efforts would be held up by what he called "unreasonable" demands for a freeze on new settlers’ homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The U.S. and Russia will drastically reduce their nuclear arsenals under a historic treaty to be signed this month in Prague.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina increased pressure on the British government over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands last week by threatening to ban companies operating in the colony. Firms could be forced to choose between the Falklands and Argentina under proposed new legislation.
Argentina's Senate failed last week to vote on the appointment of a close government ally as central bank chief, prolonging uncertainty over the president's bid to pay debt with foreign reserves.
Brazil's president in a recent trip to the region criticized Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, warning that Israel's separation barrier, its blockade of Gaza and its continued settlement building was extinguishing "the candle of hope". Further more he reaffirmed that his country can make a significant contribution to the peace process in the Middle East
Meanwhile the Brazilian government has announced plans to double the size of its railroad expansion plan as it seeks to cut transportation costs and make the country’s goods more competitive abroad.
The United States, as part of its $1.4-billion multiyear Merida Initiative, is sending Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to accompany Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mexico this week for talks on the country's drug war.
Venezuela and Belarus strengthened energy and trade co-operation last week, with President Hugo Chavez saying that the two allies are seeking to increase their inde
pendence from the US and other "imperialist" states.
According to local media in Venezuela lawmakers have begun debating ways to police the Internet at the urging of President Hugo Chavez, as opposition groups increasingly use the Web to organize against him. Chavez denied these allegations saying on the contrary that Web use had shot up more than nine fold during his decade in power. He also called upon his supporters to wage an Internet battle against false news and calls to overthrow his government.
Meanwhile the chief of the U.S. military's Southern Command said last week that Venezuela's socialist government is a "destabilizing force" in Latin America and continues to back leftist guerrillas in Colombia.
Hernán Martínez, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, has said that Venezuela has not yet responded to the offer made by Colombia to resume power supply to its neighboring country. The offer still stands, reiterated Martínez. Meanwhile Venezuela's President announced in his Sunday TV program a special $ 1 bn fund to strengthen the country’s power grid and prevent another energy crisis like the one the country is now suffering.
Polls show Chavez's traditionally high popularity, especially among the poor, is suffering from the power crisis. The latest survey, by Alfredo Keller and Associates, which is perceived by many to favor the opposition, gave Chavez a 43 percent approval rating, saying it was his lowest since 2003.
Meanwhile former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana has denied allegations that his government (1998-2002) authorized a meeting between the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
According to media reports the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice has approved a request of the government to extradite former President Carlos Andres Perez from the United States. Perez is accused of being responsible for the death and disappearance of hundreds of people during street protests in 1989, which was known as the "Caracazo."
AUSTRALASIA
As Australia gears up for an election expected later this year, the centre-left Labor leader Rudd and conservative Liberal Party leader Abbott squared off in an unprecedented debate on health at the National Press Club. Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won the bruising nationally televised debate against opposition leader Tony Abbott.
About 100 Australian police are being investigated for circulating racist and pornographic e-mails via an internal system, following a scandal blamed for one officer's suicide. §
Spain has raised its terrorism alert level after Basque separatists were blamed for killing a policeman in France last week.
The long-flailing French left made a big-time comeback last week, crushing Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections colored by voters' economic worries — and informally kicking off the 2012 presidential race. Meanwhile Sarkozy dismissed his labor minister
and reshuffled several other Cabinet posts after leftists walloped his conservatives in the regional elections.UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown put economic recovery at the heart of his battle for re-election this week, as he unveiled his Labour party's key pledges for the vote expected shortly.
Germany's economy minister said his government remains opposed to paying financial aid to Greece. Following this European leaders clinched a deal to rescue Greece from its debt crisis, with a standby package of loans backed by the International Monetary Fund halting the euro's slide. The euro rebounded from a 10-month low on but European stocks dropped, as markets gave a cautious welcome to the eurozone's bailout program for Greece.
Thousands of British civil servants across the country staged a strike last week over plans to cut redundancy pay. Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged railway and union bosses to keep negotiating to avoid a threatened four-day strike that could cause travel chaos over the Easter holidays.
Italy's postal service intercepted a threatening letter containing a bullet addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; meanwhile a letter bomb sent to a minister caught fire last week.
According to Israeli media reports the diplomat who is to be expelled from Britain over the alleged forgery of British passports connected to the killing of a top Hamas militant, is a Mossad officer who will be replaced by the Jewish state.
The European Commission said last week that it wanted to develop its own system to track terrorist finances and that such a system would require the United States to contribute information on American citizens’ transactions. The announcement is part of intensifying efforts by Brussels to resolve an acrimonious battle within the European Union over how to identify, track and pursue suspected terrorists and their financiers.
In separate appearances at the Brussels Forum — an annual security conference three senior EU officials said it was imperative for Washington and the EU to craft a "more dynamic partnership" European Commission, claiming that Europe is a more significant ally than China and other emerging economies.
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
PM Donald Tusk is to represent Poland at the high-level summit on nuclear security in Washington D.C. on April 12-13, a summit that will further verify the influential role of Poland on the international arena. Meanwhile Czech Republic will host the Summit scheduled to be held on April 8 in Prague for the signing of a new Russian-US nuclear arms reduction treaty. Russia and the United States are hopeful to finalize the deal before a “Washington Nuclear Security Summit”.
Former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has stepped down as his party’s top candidate for a May general election after making contemptuous remarks about gays, Jews and the church.
The International Monetary Fund has released a $700 million trenches for Belarus amid a growing rift over the Gas tariff between Belarus and Russia. Belarus has already filed a lawsuit against Russia over oil export fees in an official Commonwealth of Independent States Court.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich warned last week that he would call a snap parliamentary election if a court ruled that a coalition supporting him in parliament had been formed illegally. His comment to European parliamentarians appeared aimed at assuring Ukraine's Western partners of his democratic credentials.
The Estonian press protested against the possible passing of a bill that stipulates the mandatory exposure of news sources upon request from the authorities. Many Estonian newspapers were published with at least one blank page on March 18.
In Latvia 4 ministers included Foreign Minister had tendered their resignations. Last week their political party withdrew from the ruling coalition. Meanwhile after the biggest coalition party pulled out, the Latvian First Party began talks to support the government. The next elections in the Baltic state are due in October.
On the economic front Poland's economy is expected to grow by 2.5 to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of the year; meanwhile Poland’s unemployment rose to 13 percent in February.
The Czech central bank voted last week to hold interest rates at record lows as previously forecast, as the export-driven economy continues to recovering modestly.
According to the finance ministry's Debt and Liquidity Management Agency (ARDAL), Slovakia has sold 239.5 million euros ($323.6 million) worth of two-year, zero- coupon state bonds in an auction. The bonds mature on January 27, 2012.
Meanwhile Hungary's central bank sold 2,083.8 billion forint ($10.65 billion)
worth of two-week bills at a weekly tender last week, boosting the total stock of bills to 4,155.1 billion forint ($21.24 billion). The stocks in Hungary have done better than its other neighbors this year, but some investors are becoming more cautious ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections amid the over sizing of the budget deficit and slower pace of economic growth.Estonia last passed its last major economic test for entering the euro zone in 2011 after its budget deficit met bloc rules, and analysts now expect political approval to join from the crisis-hit currency zone.
A statement issued by the bio-ethics experts unit of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate stresses that In vitro fertilization (IVF) violates human dignity and the rights of the child and is contrary to Christian faith and “natural law”. Currently, IVF has no clear legal standing in Poland despite the fact that there have been six bills submitted to Parliament so for.
According to media reports Civil rights leaders in Belarus are facing a campaign of persecution and harassment as ‘autocratic’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko looks to crack down on the opposition especially the Polish minority ahead of local and presidential elections over the next year.
The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic has turned down the complaint filed by Prosecutor General about the discriminatory and unconstitutional nature of the law governing the registration of churches and religious organizations in the Slovak Republic.
About 3,000 police officers staged a peaceful protest in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday (March 20th) against planned salary cuts. To curb spending, the government wants to force police and others to make their own contributions to social security, effectively reducing wages by just over 12%.
In Kosovo the public is growing increasingly dissatisfied with the government, according to an Early Warning Report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), published last week.
The head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Serbia, Vincent Degert, has voiced support for an initiative of a number of NGOs from the region to set up a fact-finding regional commission on war crimes committed during wars in the Balkans.
Meanwhile a summit of Western Balkan leaders near Ljubljana ended last week (March 20th) by adopting a joint statement on their countries' commitment to the European perspective. The Serbian president however was absent from the forum.
RUSSIA
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told reporters last week that Russia is prepared to invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine's gas transportation system, although Russia is implementing the NORD STREAM and SOUTH STREAM pipeline projects, which bypass the Ukrainian territory, it is ready to get engaged in the modernization of transit pipelines in Ukraine.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called for improved ties between Moscow and Vilnius as he met his Lithuanian counterpart last week in the first such talks in six years.
Activists of some political and public organizations attempted last week to organize mass rallies not sanctioned by Moscow authorities. They were however contained while 70 people have been detained in the process.
French Defense Ministry has confirmed that if France reaches an agreement with Russia on selling the Mistral class helicopter carriers to it, they will be sold without onboard weaponry.
Russia's central bank cut key rates by 25 basis points, knocking the rouble off multi-month highs last week, and analysts forecast more easing to come as the economy remains sluggish and the currency still strong. The widely expected cut, the 12th in a year, puts the benchmark refinancing rate at a fresh historic low of 8.25 per cent effective this week.
The Russian Far East opened a tsunami center in Vladivostok last week that will decrease the warning time from half an hour to one minute. Meanwhile the Russian space vehicle Proton-M launched from Baikonur last week has successfully put the EchoStar-14 American communication satelli
te into the planned orbit.Russian lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow those accused of economic crimes to be released on bail instead of being sent to jail. President Dmitry Medvedev has said the bill would help end a practice common among corrupt police officers, who jail businessmen and then extort money to set them free.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has demanded that the U.S. administration lower hurdles to Russian investment and offered U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a list of trade complaints during a meeting last week.
US/CANADA
US President Barack Obama signed into law historic, sweeping reforms last week that lay out health care coverage for almost every American. Meanwhile Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin is accusing Republicans of engaging in a "political exercise" by slowing progress on a bill designed to complete congressional passage of the health system overhaul.
Sticking to a hardline position before the White House talkslast week, Israel’s Netanyahu said that peace efforts would be held up by what he called "unreasonable" demands for a freeze on new settlers’ homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The U.S. and Russia will drastically reduce their nuclear arsenals under a historic treaty to be signed this month in Prague.
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina increased pressure on the British government over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands last week by threatening to ban companies operating in the colony. Firms could be forced to choose between the Falklands and Argentina under proposed new legislation.
Argentina's Senate failed last week to vote on the appointment of a close government ally as central bank chief, prolonging uncertainty over the president's bid to pay debt with foreign reserves.
Brazil's president in a recent trip to the region criticized Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, warning that Israel's separation barrier, its blockade of Gaza and its continued settlement building was extinguishing "the candle of hope". Further more he reaffirmed that his country can make a significant contribution to the peace process in the Middle East
Meanwhile the Brazilian government has announced plans to double the size of its railroad expansion plan as it seeks to cut transportation costs and make the country’s goods more competitive abroad.
The United States, as part of its $1.4-billion multiyear Merida Initiative, is sending Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to accompany Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mexico this week for talks on the country's drug war.
Venezuela and Belarus strengthened energy and trade co-operation last week, with President Hugo Chavez saying that the two allies are seeking to increase their inde
pendence from the US and other "imperialist" states.According to local media in Venezuela lawmakers have begun debating ways to police the Internet at the urging of President Hugo Chavez, as opposition groups increasingly use the Web to organize against him. Chavez denied these allegations saying on the contrary that Web use had shot up more than nine fold during his decade in power. He also called upon his supporters to wage an Internet battle against false news and calls to overthrow his government.
Meanwhile the chief of the U.S. military's Southern Command said last week that Venezuela's socialist government is a "destabilizing force" in Latin America and continues to back leftist guerrillas in Colombia.
Hernán Martínez, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, has said that Venezuela has not yet responded to the offer made by Colombia to resume power supply to its neighboring country. The offer still stands, reiterated Martínez. Meanwhile Venezuela's President announced in his Sunday TV program a special $ 1 bn fund to strengthen the country’s power grid and prevent another energy crisis like the one the country is now suffering.
Polls show Chavez's traditionally high popularity, especially among the poor, is suffering from the power crisis. The latest survey, by Alfredo Keller and Associates, which is perceived by many to favor the opposition, gave Chavez a 43 percent approval rating, saying it was his lowest since 2003.
Meanwhile former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana has denied allegations that his government (1998-2002) authorized a meeting between the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
According to media reports the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice has approved a request of the government to extradite former President Carlos Andres Perez from the United States. Perez is accused of being responsible for the death and disappearance of hundreds of people during street protests in 1989, which was known as the "Caracazo."
AUSTRALASIA
As Australia gears up for an election expected later this year, the centre-left Labor leader Rudd and conservative Liberal Party leader Abbott squared off in an unprecedented debate on health at the National Press Club. Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won the bruising nationally televised debate against opposition leader Tony Abbott.
About 100 Australian police are being investigated for circulating racist and pornographic e-mails via an internal system, following a scandal blamed for one officer's suicide. §
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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.
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