After a meeting today (16 May) between Greek political leaders and President Carolos Papoulias, it was confirmed that new polls would be scheduled for 17 June in the deadlocked country. Greece was unable to form a government following a first round of elections earlier this month. The announcement came in the wake of the first encounter yesterday between newly elected French President, Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Discussions between the pair focused on identifying solutions to the ongoing Eurozone economic and financial crises.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) released its annual study today (15 May) estimating that software piracy cost the industry $63.4 billion in 2011. Illegal copying represented a $21 billion loss in the Asia-Pacific region alone, centred in tech-savvy emerging countries India and China.
The EU Council, chaired by High Representative Catherine Ashton, agreed today (14 May) to adopt new sanctions against the regime of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. The decision was spurred by ongoing violence in the Middle Eastern country despite the acceptance of a ceasefire accord earlier this month.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today (14 May) urged Iran to choose a path of greater cooperation ahead of multilateral talks scheduled next week in Baghdad aimed at addressing international concerns over the country's nuclear program. With tensions between Tehran and the P5+1 — the US, China, Russia, France, UK and Germany — at a peak, today’s IAEA visit was the first since a failed February trip.
The Committee on World Food Security of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today (11 May) adopted global guidelines on “land grabbing” — a move supported by a number of civil society groups.
Kofi Annan, Chair of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), launched the organization’s annual report in Addis Ababa today (11 May) at the World Economic Forum on Africa. The publication — Africa Progress Report 2012: Jobs, Justice and Equity — highlighted Africa’s potential but warned that disparities could affect future growth.
In an interview with ABC News yesterday (9 May), US President, Barack Obama, made known his views in favor of same-sex marriage. It is the first time an American president has adopted such a position.
Heads are rolling - and the City of London coined the name of this revolution: “the shareholder spring.” It is threatening CEOs of major European companies. After the much discussed resignation of Aviva's CEO, Andrew Moss, yesterday (8 May), it is interesting to look into the phenomenon.
North Korea has embarked upon a new strategy to disrupt its Southern rival, sending GPS jamming signals that have threatened the safety of civilian flights and commercial shipping. Seoul announced today (9 May) that it would address formal complaints to North Korea, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Electronics giant Philips announced today (8 May) that it was partnering with New York’s iconic Empire State Building to install a new energy-efficient LED lighting system that would also offer a far greater range of tower light shades. Many of New York’s older skyscrapers are likely to follow the environmentally friendly lead taken by the historical landmark.
Sudanese Minister of Finance, Ali Mahmud al-Rasul, revealed to Parliament yesterday (7 May) that the oil quarrel with neighboring South Sudan had cost the government an estimated $2.4 billion USD in revenues. The unresolved conflict is linked to the failure of South Sudan and Sudan to reach consensus on oil fees in the period of negotiations preceding the South’s independence.
Speaking during a visit today (7 May) to the Indian city of Kolkata, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, placed pressure on New Delhi to reduce its trade with Iran, especially in the oil sector. She framed such a move as being in keeping with “India’s role in the international community”.
Socialist François Hollande was elected yesterday (6 May) as France’s next president, overcoming conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande won with a 51.7 percent majority of the vote. At the culmination of a tense campaign, Sarkozy acknowledged his defeat and wished his opponent “luck”.
A British business delegation from the Department of Energy and Climate Change will visit the US from 6-10 May to strengthen the bilateral trade relationship and build the economic case for a move to a low-carbon economy.
After a four month period, a controversial scientific paper detailing the mutation process of the H5N1 strain of avian flu was published in Nature, a noteworthy scientific journal, on Wednesday May 2nd.
Striking workers on a dam project in the Brazilian Amazon have chosen to continue their industrial action despite a court decision expected to bring an end to the standoff. The 7,000 strong labour force had been pushing for improved wages and additional holidays.
Yulia Tymoshenko’s braided hair photos were the headlines of many magazines at the time of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Now, they are about to be surpassed by disturbing pictures of her sick in a prison cell, weakened by a hunger strike and covered by bruises. Her treatment is drawing protests from several foreign governments, with a vocal denunciation from the US State Department and Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Chinese censors strike again. Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter, is not displaying any search results related to Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights activist, escaping from an illegal house arrest one week ago.
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission announced yesterday (29th of April) that it would consider and weighs offers from a Russian company and a Franco-Japanese consortium to bring nuclear energy to the kingdom.
An open letter sent yesterday (26 April) by European Union (EU) trade commissioner Karel De Gucht was an “unacceptable” reaction to the nationalization of Repsol’s subsidiary YPF by Argentina, said its Minister of Foreign affairs Hector Timerman. The tensions between Argentina and Spain, then relayed through the EU have not stopped since Argentina announced its takeover of the Spanish company.
The White House announced yesterday (26 April) it is seeking to discuss the modernization of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) with its co-members, as well as its Afghanistan withdrawal, and partnerships. The US wants an efficient and “more adaptable” global organization.
Charles Taylor, Liberia’s ex-leader, was convicted today (26 April) for war crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone seated at The Hague, Netherlands. The first former head of state to have been judged by an international jurisdiction since World War II, he was found guilty of all charges pressed against him.
In a message meant to satisfy the concerns of skeptics towards contemporary Russian politics, outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev explained the political “tandem” between President-elect Vladimir Putin and himself is “nothing unusual” and would ensure continuity at a live broadcast today (26 April).
After India test-fired a long-range missile last Thursday, Pakistan replied with the launch of an intermediate-range missile yesterday (25 April). The Pakistani military declared the test was part of a deterrence program analysts consider to be “India-centric”.
Twelve days into the agreed truce between the Syrian government and its opponents, renewed tensions have led UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy, Kofi Annan, to press the UN to send ceasefire monitors to Syria. In the meantime, opposition forces called for a Chapter VII resolution, allowing for military options to be set in place against the regime.
The EU’s decision of 23 April to suspend sanctions against Myanmar was backed today (25 April) by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Jakarta. The EU move came after a series of reforms focused on ending direct army rule were undertaken by the regime in Naypyidaw.
President Obama today (24 April) observed Armenia’s Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the beginning of the 1915 “great calamity” during which up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman authorities. The event and figure are highly disputed by Turkey, which refuses to acknowledge genocide allegations and continues to refer instead to a civil conflict that claimed lives equally on both sides.
The annual international summit of Nobel Peace Prize laureates took place yesterday (23 April) in Chicago. The assembled group of former awardees — which included Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walsea, Frederik de Klerk and Jimmy Carter — called for a more just and humane new global order.
The United States and France have promptly reacted today (23 April) against Sudan, blaming them for an air raid on a South Sudanese market killing children over the weekend. Khartoum denies its involvement in the attacks and has decided to cut talks with Juba. Since the beginning of the year, Sudan and South Sudan have had continuous spats near their border, with air raids and the occupation of cities by both sides.
In a statement released yesterday (18 April), the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a Geneva-based NGO chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, argued that inequality across the continent was the main impediment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). APP Executive Director, Caroline Kende-Robb, called upon world leaders to not only focus on economic growth as the driver of development gains, but also social development, the rule of law, and human rights.
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