WESTERN EUROPE
France's former top anti-terrorism judge said last week that the Turkish Islamic charity behind a flotilla of aid ships that was raided by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza had ties to terrorism networks, including a 1999 al-Qaida plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.
Meanwhile France's official Muslim council has warned the government not to expect it to impose a planned ban on full face veils for women that legal experts argue will be unconstitutional and police predict will be unenforceable.
Europe and the United States last week agreed on a common strategy in the fight against terror, presented as a message to Islamabad on the eve of an EU-Pakistan summit. "This declaration is a message to the Muslim world," said Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Rubalcaba, whose country’s chairmanship of the European Union ended last month.
A senior Iranian envoy has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency last week of false reporting in saying that agency inspectors probing a laboratory for suspected undeclared nuclear experiments found some equipment removed.
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Poland last week marked 21st anniversary of parliamentary elections (1989) which brought a new political dawn to the country. The election success ended decades of communism in Poland.
Last week’s Czech election was distinctive owing to the high turnout of youth, owing to the lure of free beer, facebook campaigns, and greater electorate seats for women. All the wining parties in the election unanimously agreed on a centre-right coalition and resolved to reform the economy through austerity measure.
Hungary’s parliament despite opposition from neighboring nations passed an amendment to its controversial new dual citizenship Act on May 26 granting an easier route to citizenship for over two million ethnic Hungarians living in the region. Also June 4 has been designated the National Unity Day to commemorate the anniversary of a traumatic treaty that left much of the Hungarian nation outside the country’s borders.
At the economic front EU and IMF warnings which demand budgetary consolidation and tight deficit management are expected to impair the new Hungarian government from carrying on with its tax cut and economic stimulus package. Hungary is still on the bailout package of EU and IMF as a result of its last financial crisis
Poland and the Baltic states are geared at joining the Eurozone but with greater consideration after the Greece financial crisis. Yet Polish government is still determined to integrate its economy with the Eurozone as highlighted during the three days European Economic Congress held in Katowice, Silesia.
The Polish Central Statistical Office reveals that Poland's economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, expanding at a slower pace than in the previous quarter but still on track for a strong full-year performance, meanwhile unemployment rate fell to 12.3 % in April.
The massive flood in Poland as a result of torrid rain has affected many neighborhoods in the country; meanwhile the EU and Russia are extending humanitarian assistance to the affected region.
A Bahrain delegation is in Prague to showcase the Kingdom's logistics credentials at the annual European Supply Chain & Logistics Summit this week and will attend the event in the Czech Republic capital from 7-9 June.
The small Baltic state of Estonia is reported to have signed an accession treaty with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to become the first former Soviet republic to join the exclusive club. Israel was the last country integrated into the Paris based organization.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych marked his 100 days in office amidst blames from the opposition accusing him of limiting civil liberties and surrendering national sovereignty to Russia.
EU-Russia visa regime might soon become a reality as leaders from the EU along with the Russian president extensively discuss the scheme that will facilitate movement of people between Russia and EU countries without visa hurdles. Meanwhile, Bulgarian government has relaxed visa rules for Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusian and Moldavians to visit the country.
The European Parliament took an uncomfortable stance against Tirana last week; refusing to have a resolution vote on Albania's EU integration. This follows the political impasse in the country following last June’s disputed elections.
The unresolved vote is also implicative for Albania-EU visa liberalization scheme. Meanwhile, the parliament supported Bosnia-EU visa liberalization scheme but added that ethnic tensions and slow pace of political development in the country needed to be rectified.
UN war crimes tribunal has demanded more of Croatia’s support in its investigation of war crimes associated with Zagreb where its cooperation is essentially attached to its political criteria for EU accession. Meanwhile as a sign of reconciliation and readiness for peaceful co-existence, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic made the first ever visit by to a Croatian head of state to Republika Srpska (BiH), visiting three major sites of massive killing of ethnic Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks.
Croat Labour union leaders are geared at gathering signatures required to call a referendum on recently proposed amendments to the labour law.
Local elections were held at the Serb populated northern Kosovo, organized by Serbia in bid to create a parallel structure in Kosovo. The election has been rejected by EULEX, International Civilian Representative and EU Special Representative Pieter Feith and the Kosovo authority as unauthorized and unrecognizable.
Meanwhile Serbia is maintaining good military standing aboard. Belgrade currently has peacekeepers with UN missions in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Congo and Chad but plans to send missions to Lebanon and Cyprus, possibly this year.
The European commission has warned Kosovo authority from issuing biometric passports considered dangerous at this moment. Violation of the recommendation might hurt and delay Pristina-EU visa liberalization scheme.
Romanian labour unions are on the streets protesting against government’s austerity measures that will cut salaries and pension. The plan by the Romanian government is expected to help in managing deficit and meeting IMF requisite.
A 2 days NATO summit held in Bitola, Macedonia has reiterated the need to accelerate and integrate Western Balkans into the military bloc; where a failure to do so will make Balkans remain a bastion of potential tension.
RUSSIA
The Russian economic ministry sees growth accelerating to 3.5 % in 2012 and 4.2 % in 2013, perhaps augmented by the president’s proposal to establish a global financial centre in Moscow. This could be another indication that Russia is on the verge of showcasing its economic stamina. Meanwhile Russia and New Zealand are set to start Free-trade talks.
A latest report of experts of the international monitoring of economic conditions in Russia (RLMS) supports Russian claims of economic strength. The report holds that the number of households with the income level below the poverty line in Russia has dropped from 38 to 3 percent in 1998-2009.
Russia and Japan are soon to ink agreement upon which both countries will work together in car production. Chelyabinsk is a Russian area having high concentration of metallurgy and thus hopes to be viable car producing plants.
Russia is spearheading an anti-terrorism summit that will host top security and law enforcement officials from 63 countries and the UN counter-terrorism bodies.
Meanwhile the old trust deficit between Russia and Poland is resurfacing after the twin brother of the late Polish president Lech Kaczynski, Jaroslaw, said that he does not completely trust the Russian authorities to be included in the investigation into his brother's death.
Ruling Armenian Republican Party and the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies (RISS) are set to have a roundtable meeting in order to foster Russian and Armenian political and economic cooperation, interaction in the sphere of security, the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue and perspectives for normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.
US/CANADA
The chief U.S. negotiator of the new U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty Rose Gottemoeller has said that she hopes the "New START" signed by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama in April will spur the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament to begin talks this summer on banning the production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium needed for atomic bombs.
Following mounting criticism regarding the oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico Obama has sent a legal threat to BP the oil company involved threatening litigation for the spill. The spill crisis has forced the president to cancel his foreign trips.
Obama’s White House is trying to diffuse the allegation that his government has been involved in political maneuvering and deal making geared at favoring particular candidate for Senate primaries and State governorship. The allegation is a dent on Obama’s pledge of playing a clear politics devoid of interest. Meanwhile the Republicans have tagged the alleged deal making as Chicago-style politics.
At the international front U.S-Israel relation has been strained recently and both parties are finding ways to patch their differences. Unlike the rest of the world condemning Israel for attacking the flotilla, U.S vice president Joe Biden has voiced his opinion that Israel has the right to protect itself.
The slipping support for the conservative minority government in Canada does not suggest the support has shifted to the opposition. According to the weekly Ekos survey, support for the Conservatives is at 31.7 %, down from 33.9 % last week. Support for the Liberals, the biggest opposition party, dropped to 26.2 % from 27.1 %.
The Canadian authority is preparing a high security arrangement for the forthcoming G 8 and G20 summits scheduled for Toronto. The arrangement is estimated around one billion-dollar, a bill challenged by the opposition parties as wasteful expenditure.
The Canadian government and the Central Bank are not expected to change present policy until the economy regains its stamina. The government hopes to see the currency stable, more employments and entire health economy. The economy saw an improvement last week with an increase of 24,700 jobs.
LATIN AMERICA
The Brazilian economy is expected to grow by 6-7% this year and the country is witnessing a fall in unemployment.
In Venezuela Political tussle between President Hugo Chavez and opposition politicians continues as accusation and counter accusation are made. Chavez is accused of undermining freedom of speech and privatization, an accusation taken by the president as baseless and contravening his style of socialism.
Saifur Rehman Khan, the Pakistani arrested for the presence of traces of explosives on himself at the US embassy in Santiago, Chile has been released but remains under investigation and has been asked not to leave the country.
The MoU signed between Argentina and Bolivia has opened the way for gas sharing ties till 2026. According to the agreement Bolivia will supply natural gas to Argentina’s Northeastern side at a fairer price.
Mexican health authority is launching a campaign against obesity, especially targeting over weight school children. The campaign will require school canteens and vendors to adhere to the permitted products and laid down rules of the health ministry. The Mexican government is also eyeing the possibility of reducing consumption of fossil oil because of its environmental implications. Such reduction will then pave the way for increasing Mexico’s dependence and capacity on cheap nuclear energy.
Meanwhile the increasing threat caused by the oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico is now creating concern for the Mexican government that shares part of the sea with the United States.
Brazil and Argentina are both seeking greater linkages and cooperation with Angola. Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Brazil marked the first visit of Turkish premier to the largest Latin American country, where both seek greater cooperation. Erdogan also extended his reach to neighboring Chile with the aim of increasing trade relations; however the visit to Chile was shortened due to the attack by Israeli commandos on the Turkish flotilla. Brazil and Venezuela too have joined the world in condemning the Israeli assault on the vessel carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
The Mexican government is seeking cordial relations with neighbors and trade partners; this was on the agenda last week when President Calderon was in Washington and Ottawa to streamline ties with other members of NAFTA. Increasing border troops to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking were highlighted in Washington and relaxation of visa rule for Mexicans was another important discussion Calderon had with PM Stephen Harper.
Mexico is expected to open its embassy in Nigeria which will be serving the rest of ECOWAS countries. The diplomatic presence in the region will facilitate multilateral relations in field of agro-industry and telecommunication.
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