Pakistan's coalition government falls apart

• Nawaz Sharif's party pulls out of its partnership with Asif Zardari's party in Islamabad

May 15.- The spectre of instability haunting Pakistan will not go away. On May 13th the fledgling governing coalition of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by Asif Zardari, widower of a former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML-N, headed by another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, fell apart. Mr Sharif pulled out of the federal cabinet over “fundamental disagreements” on how to restore 60 senior judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf during martial law last year. Not surprisingly, this raised fears of a yet another round of confrontation and instability. But all may not yet be lost.

Mr Sharif's party says it does not want to destabilise the PPP government and will not vote with the opposition. To do so, it suggests, would play into the hands of the “anti-democratic conspirators”—meaning Mr Musharraf and the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), or PML-Q, better known as the king's party, which is waiting in the wings to offer its coalition services to Mr Zardari. The coalition between the PPP and the PML-N in the critical province of Punjab is still hobbling along. And on May 15th, the Electoral Commission unexpectedly allowed Mr Sharif to contest a by-election, raising the possibility of his re-entering Parliament ...

[ full text ]

Zimbabwe opposition seeks peacekeepers for run-off

HARARE, May 11 (Reuters).- Zimbabwe's main opposition group said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to secure regional peacekeepers for a run-off presidential election against Robert Mugabe after weeks of violence that intimidated voters.

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai held talks late on Saturday with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to encourage regional group SADC to send the peacekeepers ...
...

After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest the run-off even though he believes he won outright in the first round and accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of vote-rigging. Official results show Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe, but not enough to avoid a run-off.

Tsvangirai said he would only stand if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair ...

[ full text ]

BOLIVIA's RIFT
Venezuelan-style socialism is literally splitting the country

May 6.- Bolivian President Evo Morales claims to be ruling his country on behalf of an indigenous majority whose rights have been denied for centuries by an evil "oligarchy." In fact, as a referendum in the country's largest province has demonstrated, Mr. Morales is pursuing a narrow and divisive agenda that, if continued, will split Bolivia along geographic as well as ethnic lines, and possibly trigger a civil war.

Though demographers disagree, a common estimate is that 55 percent of Bolivia's 9 million people are Quechua or Aymara Indians. This population is concentrated in the country's three highland provinces; in the six lowland provinces, mestizos, descendants of Europeans and local Indian groups, make up the majority. Ignoring this disparity, Mr. Morales, an Aymara and former coca farmer, is trying to impose a new political system on the country that greatly increases his own power and that privileges his own ethnic group at the expense of the rest of the country. Worse, Mr. Morales is an acolyte of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and has adopted his potted and authoritarian version of socialism -- a sure recipe for economic catastrophe in what is already one of the hemisphere's poorest countries.

The referendum last Sunday in Santa Cruz province was nominally about whether the relatively prosperous region of 2.5 million people should acquire powers like those of U.S. states -- an elected legislature, the ability to tax, and management of its own land and police forces. While that would be a logical reform in a diverse country where power is overcentralized, Santa Cruz and as many as five other provinces in eastern Bolivia are mostly fighting to prevent Mr. Morales from imposing his own, far more radical agenda. This is embodied in a new constitution that the president rammed through a constituent assembly and Congress -- in both cases by forcibly excluding the opposition.

Though final results have not yet been reported, early returns showed that more than 60 percent of voters in Santa Cruz participated in the referendum and that 84 percent voted for the autonomy plan. Though the legality of the vote is questionable, the exercise demonstrated beyond doubt that opposition to Mr. Morales's program extends far beyond any "oligarchy." At least three more provincial referendums are expected in the coming weeks and are likely to produce similar results. If Bolivia is lucky, Mr. Morales will recognize that most of his country will never accept ethnocentric policies or Venezuelan-style autocracy, and he will begin to negotiate a compromise that allows more rights for provinces as well as for highland indigenous communities. If, goaded by Mr. Chávez, he presses ahead with his constitution, the result is likely to be bloodshed.

[ From The Washington Post ]

The winds of change in Malaysia

Could the opposition take power after 51 years?

The Economist, May 2.- As Malaysia's new parliament opened this week, a mood of change was in the air not felt since the country's independence from Britain in 1957. The governing coalition, led since then by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), is panicking after suffering its poorest-ever showing in the general election held in March. The knives are out for Abdullah Badawi, the prime minister. The opposition, newly assertive and, so far, united behind its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, claims that at least 30 MPs from the ruling coalition are preparing to defect, which would be enough for it to take power. A change of government in Malaysia—a fanciful notion until recently—now seems a real possibility ...

[ full text ]
 

Tonga moves away from the monarchy after democratic elections

The “commoners” elect some combative democratic leaders

The Economist, May 1.- The faltering transition in Tonga from monarchy to democracy took another step forward with an election on April 24th. This was the first poll in the islands, where 108,000 people live ...

[Re-elected Member of Parliament Akilisi] Pohiva says that the 2008 electoral results demonstrate support for a speedier transition to full democracy. He is right that ordinary Tongans are suspicious of the government's promises of reform and that expectations have been raised by the pro-democracy politicians, with hopes that reform could reverse economic decline ...  With reform now firmly on the agenda, ["commoners"] have chosen the most combative of leaders to press the traditionalist government into faster change ...

[ full text ]

Zimbabwe recount confirms opposition parliamentary sweep

Harare, Apr.26 (AP).- A recount of Zimbabwe's disputed legislative seats has confirmed the opposition party's control of parliament and should be completed Monday, allowing the release of results from last month's presidential election, state media reported.
...

The Sunday Mail said the recount of 18 of 23 contested seats confirmed the initial results. Even if the opposition lost the last five districts, it would still hold the majority in parliament for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980.

On Saturday, the electoral commission confirmed the results in 10 disputed parliamentary votes: six seats were taken by the opposition and four by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Tallies from the additional eight recounted seats have not been released but Chiweshe told reporters Saturday there were no significant differences between the two counts, effectively confirming the opposition's control of the main 210-seat House of Assembly ...

President Robert Mugabe

[ full text ]

NEPAL
Maoists won a resounding electoral victory

Apr.25.- There have been several reports of party officials using violence against political opponents since the elections.

Maoist party leader Prachanda was equivocal when asked about renouncing violence following a meeting with UN officials on 24 April, saying: “Right now I cannot renounce every kind of violence but we want to leave the peace process to a logical conclusion and we want to create a model of peace, and through this we want to renounce reactionary violence.” ...  [ full text ]

A complicated electoral system, in which around 40% of seats are directly elected and 60% through proportional representation, has held up final results. But the Maoists, proscribed by America as terrorists, were on course for a clear majority in the first tranche, with 119 seats out of 224. And they had 33% of the vote in the second. They will certainly be the biggest party, but without a majority, in a 601-seat assembly, which will have a 30-month term limit and will be charged with drafting a new constitution ...

[ more ]

Obama, Clinton woo coal vote in upcoming primaries

Washington (AP) Apr.19.— Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are walking a delicate line as they promise to aggressively tackle global warming while trying to assure voters that they continue to believe in the future of coal.

In states like Pennsylvania, where voters will cast ballots this Tuesday, and in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Montana — upcoming primary states — coal sways voters.

While increased mechanization has produced a dramatic decline in coal industry employment, the numbers remain substantial. There are 47,000 coal workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and 21,000 in Kentucky, according to the National Mining Association. The three states are the country's biggest coal producers after Wyoming.

Both Obama and Clinton have rallied environmentalists with their promises to develop windmills, solar power and other renewable energy sources and order mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases from power plants to counter global warming.

It's an energy policy that would seem to target coal, which produces half the country's electricity but also nearly 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, each year.

Instead, "clean coal" has become the mantra of both candidates. Some environmentalists are not too happy with that ...

Pope urges global unity on crises

BERLUSCONI RETAKES ITALIAN PARLIAMENT
Plans Naples clean-up

Apr.15.- Centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi says tackling Naples' rubbish crisis and rescuing troubled airline Alitalia will be among his top priorities.

Mr Berlusconi's bloc won solid majorities in both the Senate and lower house in the early general election.
...

The polls were held three years ahead of schedule following the collapse of Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition. Mr Berlusconi will head Italy's 62nd government since World War II.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Mr Berlusconi said he planned to announce his government line-up within a week. He heads the new People of Freedom party (PDL).

He will govern with the anti-immigrant Northern League, which wants extensive autonomy for Italy's regions and nearly doubled its vote ...

[ full text ]

Historic China-Taiwan talks held

• China's President Hu Jintao meets Taiwan's Vice-President-elect, Vincent Siew

Apr.12.- It was the highest-level contact between the two governments since their post-civil war split in 1949.
...

Mr Siew is the running-mate of Ma Ying-jeou, who won a convincing victory in Taiwan's elections in March, and has vowed to improve the island's standing with its much bigger neighbour once he takes office on 20 May.
...

Mr Siew was already attending the Boao Forum for Asia in his capacity as chairman of the Cross-Strait Common Market Foundation, a non-profit group that works to improve economic co-operation between Taiwan and China.

After exchanging pleasantries with his Taiwanese visitor, Mr Hu said improving relations required efforts from both sides ...

[ full text ]

COLOMBIA
Rumors of Ingrid Betancourt's release

Apr.3.- For more than six years Ingrid Betancourt, a Colombian politician who also has French nationality, has been held hostage by the FARC guerrillas. According to accounts by other hostages who have been freed, for much of that time she has been held in chains or tied to a tree, and is now in very poor health. Might her calvary be about to end?

So go the rumours in the south-eastern department of Guaviare, an area of cattle ranches, coca plantations and jungle where all but the largest towns have been under FARC control for decades. If the rumours are true, Ms Betancourt is being held near places whose names must seem like a cruel taunt. She was sighted in late March near El Retorno (“The Return”) by a local resident who gave this information to Manuel Mancera, the parish priest of nearby La Libertad (“Freedom”). She is said to have been treated at a rudimentary health centre in El Capricho (“The Caprice”). Mr Mancera says that she was reportedly “very weak and in the last stage of depression”, weeping when trying to talk. Some local officials suggested that she might be on hunger strike ...  [ more ]

... A group including a former French consul and doctors arrived in Colombia early Thursday on a humanitarian mission to provide medical assistance to kidnap victim Ingrid Betancourt.

Former Colombian presidential candidate Betancourt, 46, who holds dual French-Colombian citizenship, was kidnapped by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2002. She is reportedly very ill, suffering from hepatitis B and leishmaniasis, among other health problems.

The French government announced late Wednesday that the mission, also backed by Spain and Switzerland, had begun. The French Air Force plane, a Falcon 50, arrived at the Catam military base in Bogota in the early hours of Thursday ...

[ full text ]

Cuban government lifts some oppressive rules and bans 

Apr.2.- Cuba's government lifted a rule that barred Cubans from staying at tourist hotels or hiring cars on the island. But they will have to pay in hard currency, and monthly wages average just $17. In recent weeks bans on owning mobile phones and other consumer-electronics [toasters, air conditioners, computers, etc.] have also been removed.

[ Excerpted from The Economist ] 

Olympic Committee warns China over WEB access 

Dalai Lama urges Tibet dialogue

Mar.19.- Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has called on world leaders to press China to resume a dialogue on Tibet following the wave of violence there.

Earlier UK PM Gordon Brown said China's Premier Wen Jiabao had told him he was open to talks under certain conditions. China continues to move large numbers of troops into Tibet.

Reports have emerged of protests in Chinese provinces bordering Tibet, including Tibetans tearing down a Chinese flag in Gansu province.

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama also asked Tibetan activists not to undertake a controversial march from India to Lhasa, fearing additional violence ...   [ read more ] 

But Chinese military announced to be ready to quash Tibetans

Mar.19.- On the Tibetan Plateau, an eerie quiet has settled on the bustling city of Litang. Only police vehicles and packs of dogs roam the streets.

The city is under police lockdown. As in many Chinese cities with heavy ethnic Tibetan populations, authorities in Litang are racing to prevent riots after a week of bloody clashes in Tibet and neighboring provinces. Since Monday, they've banned private vehicles from the streets and ordered store owners to close.

Paramilitary trucks jam the main highway leading from central Szechuan into the Tibetan areas in the western part of the province. Among the more than 100 military trucks Tuesday were ambulances, armored vehicles and troop carriers. Soldiers carried automatic weapons.
...

[Chinese] Authorities are blaming the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, for instigating the unrest ...

[ full text ]

Sarkozy suffers 'punishment vote' in French local polls: Socialists

Paris, Mar.16 (AFP).— Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing party suffered losses in French local elections Sunday, poll projections showed, in what the opposition Socialists called a "punishment vote" for the reforming president.

The vote, the first major test of Sarkozy's popularity since he defeated the Socialist Segelone Royal last May, was seen as a referendum on the achievements of a president whose opinion poll ratings have plummeted.

The Socialists won cities across the country including Strasbourg, Toulouse and the right-wing bastions of Amiens, Caen and Reims after the final round of the vote, projections by Ipsos-Dell and TNS Sofres said.

The left was already guaranteed Paris and the third biggest city Lyon after last weekend's first round.

But projections showed that the right would hang on to the symbolic prize of the second city of Marseille in the south ...

[ full text ]
 

"Conservatives" win Iran election

• Reformists saw a small increase in their representation, despite the disqualification of many of their proposed candidates.

Mar.16.- "Conservative" candidates in Iran's general election have kept control of parliament [and] did particularly well in the capital, Tehran, which is seen as the key to parliamentary power.

However, many of the conservative winners are critics of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They are claiming a relative success, given the circumstances of the poll.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says that if the new parliament causes problems for Mr Ahmadinejad, this will strengthen the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
...

Pro-Ahmadinejad politicians have won about 70 seats, reformists 31, and conservative critics of Mr Ahmadinejad about 43.

Independents whose political leanings were not immediately known claimed 42 ...

[ full text ]
 

KENYA:  Government and Oppossition agree to share power

Feb.29.–  The agreement signed on Wednesday between President Kibaki and Opposition leader Raila Odinga reinforces the adage that behind every cloud, there is a silver lining.

Just a few days ago, it was all gloom and foreboding with indications that the talks aimed at pulling Kenya back from anarchy were on the verge of collapse.

In a nutshell, the agreement allows for a coalition and creation of an office of Prime Minister who will exercise considerable powers co-ordinating the functions of a unitary government.

The PM will not be a mere presidential appointee but will come from the party holding a majority in Parliament, suggesting ODM. The holder of the office, together with two deputies, one from each side of the coalition, will have constitutional protection.

It is also specified in the agreement that the Cabinet will be made up with recognition of parity in Parliament between the two sides, and in addition, appointment and removals from the Cabinet can only be done in consultation with all parties to the coalition ...

[ more details ] 

Cuba preserves old guard

Calling Fidel `irreplaceable,' Raul Castro pledges to consult his brother on all major state decisions

[ Photo:  Cuban President Raul Castro, 76, left, stands next to vice-presidents Juan Almeida Bosque, 80, Jose Ramon Machado, 77, and Abelardo Colome Ibarra, 68, right, in Havana Feb. 24 ]

Feb.25.- Raul Castro, who has laboured in the shadow of his brother Fidel since the days of the Cuban revolution, became the new president of the Communist island yesterday, ending his brother's 49-year rule, as well as speculation that a younger generation would take power.

The National Assembly vote came five days after Fidel Castro said he was retiring, capping a career in which he frustrated efforts by 10 U.S. presidents to oust him.

In his first words as president, Raul Castro, 76, made it clear that any changes would be limited, promising to consult with the ailing, 81-year-old Fidel on all major decisions of state.

He said his brother was still alive and alert, and the time had yet to come when the leaders of the revolution in the 1950s had to pass the baton to a new generation ...

[ full text ] 
[ microbiographies in Spanish of Members of the new State Council ]

Pervez Musharraf's party concedes defeat

The chairman of Pakistan's ruling party has conceded defeat after opposition parities routed allies of President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections.

Feb.19.- Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, said "we accept the results with an open heart" and "will sit on opposition benches" in the new parliament.

Final results were not expected before tonight, but the election's outcome appeared certain to hurt Mr Musharraf, whose popularity plummeted following his decisions late last year to impose emergency rule, purge the judiciary and curtail press freedoms.

Opposition parties led by the son of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif are poised to form a majority in parliament.
...

With 241 of 272 constituencies counted, the PPP had claimed 80, Mr Sharif had won 64, and the PML-Q took 37.

Mr Musharraf, who remains president, has promised to work with whoever emerges victorious at the polls ...

[ full text ] 
[ final results ]

Castro steps down as Cuban leader

Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro has announced he will not accept another term as president, ending the communist revolutionary's 49 years in power

Feb.19.- The 81-year-old handed over power temporarily to his brother Raul in July 2006 when he underwent surgery and has not been seen in public since then.

Cuba's new parliament will meet on Sunday to elect a new president.
...

The European Union said it hoped to relaunch ties with Cuba that were almost completely frozen under Mr Castro, while China described Mr Castro as an old friend and said it would maintain co-operation with Cuba.
...

Mr Castro made his announcement in a letter published on the website of the Cuban Communist Party's newspaper Granma in the middle of the night, Cuban time.
...

The National Assembly is widely expected to "elect" Raul Castro, 76, as Fidel's successor.  He has mooted major economic reforms and "structural changes" ...

[ full text ]

EU treaty adoption puts France 'back in Europe': Sarkozy

Paris (AFP)Feb.10.— President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday hailed the French parliament's adoption of the European Union's new reform treaty, saying it had restored the country to its rightful place in Europe.

"This simplified treaty was France's initiative, to pull Europe out of the institutional crisis it was facing," Sarkozy said in a televised address to the nation, three years after rebellious French voters shot down the EU's ill-fated constitution in a referendum.

The president, who pledged before his election to restore France's driving role in Europe, played a leading role in drawing up the text, a tailored-down version of the treaty consigned to oblivion by the French and Dutch in 2005.

"Thanks to this success, for it is a success, France is back in Europe," said the French leader, who is battling a severe slump in the polls as Paris prepares to take over the EU's six-month presidency in July ...

[ full text ]
 

Namibian Decentralization:
The Slow but Steady March to Participatory Democracy

The World reveres Gandhi's memory 

Mumbai, India (AP), Jan.30.- It's been 60 years since the assassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi and he's still revered as the moral conscience of India.

[ excerpted from 13wham.com ]
[ Lecture on Gandhi's Legacy ]

EU aims to adopt energy, climate laws by spring 2009: presidency

BRUSSELS (AFP), Jan.24.— The European Union aims to enact sweeping new legislation on energy and climate change by the spring of 2009, the EU's Slovenian presidency said Thursday.

"We are counting on a constructive approach and support of the member states and the parliament for a final adoption of the package by spring 2009," said Slovenian Environment Minister Janez Podobnik.

The measures, presented by the European Commission on Wednesday, are designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

The use of renewable energies like biomass, wind and solar power will rise to 20 percent of all energy forms by then under the plans. Biofuels will also have to make up 10 percent of fuels used for transport ...

[ full text ]
[ additional information ]
 

Georgians Back NATO Membership

Tbilisi, Georgia (AP). Ene.14.- More than 70 % of Georgians who took part in a nationwide referendum said they wanted the country to join NATO, according to results released Friday.

The plebiscite was held simultaneously with the Jan. 5 presidential vote in which Mikheil Saakashvili won his second presidential term.

The Central Election Commission said 72.5 % of those who cast ballots in the referendum said they supported Georgia's accession into NATO. The turnout was 58.9 percent.

"We expected such results," Georgy Baramidze, minister for European integration, said in televised comments. "They show that we have support of majority of the population."

NATO member states have supported Georgia's hopes of joining the Western alliance.

Also on Jan. 5, Georgians approved a referendum to move up parliamentary elections from late 2008. A total of 69.8 % of those who cast ballots voted for holding early parliamentary elections in the Spring.

[ Taken from The Moscow Times ]

Kenya crisis talks end in failure

Talks conducted by Ghanaian President John Kufuor to end Kenya's political crisis have broken down, opposition and government sources have said.

Jan.10.- (...) The opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) said that the talks failed after President Kibaki refused to sign a document agreed by both sides and approved by World Bank Country Director Colin Bruce.  

Both sides agreed there should be an end to the violence and they also agreed there should be dialogue 

The key points of the document are that they want:

·         a credible, independent and impartial investigation into the issues arising     from the elections

·         to determine whether a re-run of the elections is necessary

·         if so, to provide a time-frame for recommendations on the structure of government up until the re-run

But the President's office was quick to disown the document …  [ full text ]

Final presidential election results

Mikhail Saakashvili poised for re-election in Georgia

Tbilisi, Georgia, Jan5.- President Mikhail Saakashvili appeared poised for re-election Saturday, according to early exit poll results in this former Soviet republic where the former hero of democracy now faces accusations of authoritarian leanings.

The U.S.-educated Saakashvili led mass street protests that ousted a Communist-era veteran from power following fraudulent elections in late 2003. He won a January 2004 election with more than 96 per cent of the vote and set out to transform the bankrupt country into a modern European state.
...

According to an exit poll based on results four hours before polls closed, Saakashvili was on track to win 54.6 per cent of the vote. If confirmed in the final tally, this would give him the absolute majority needed to avoid a runoff in two weeks.

The head of an international election monitoring mission said about two hours before the polls were to close that the election to that point appeared to be fair ...

[ full text ]
[ additional information ]

Kenya
After long delays the President is returned to power

Dec.30 (The Economist).- The electoral commission of Kenya declared a winner in the country's bitterly fought presidential election on Sunday December 30th: the sitting President, Mwai Kibaki, was returned to power. The voting three days earlier had been impressively orderly and peaceful, raising hopes of a brighter future for Kenyan democracy. But the tallying process was a much darker story, with heavy suspicion of vote rigging and subsequent fears that serious violence could strike the country.
...

The final tally, according to the electoral commission, handed Mr Kibaki 4.58m voters to 4.35m for the firebrand opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. Mr Odinga's supporters had earlier stated that he had won, suggesting a lead of some 500,000 votes. He claimed that the electoral commission was “being forced to declare wrong results” and called on its leaders to resign rather than plunge the country into chaos. The consequence of failing to recognise a “fair result”, he threatened, could be civil war.
...

The head of a European Union team of observers, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, promptly spoke about deep misgivings concerning the counting process. Diplomats in Nairobi, the capital, pointed the finger at the Kikuyu old guard, men who had feared that they would lose their fortunes if Mr Odinga had made it into State House. Even if Mr Kibaki's cronies are innocent of charges of vote rigging, he will have no national mandate: outside of the Kikuyu lands, Mr Kibaki was soundly beaten across the country, including in Nairobi...

[ full text ]

Benazir Bhutto's killing blamed on al-Qaeda

Dec.28.- Pakistan says it has intelligence that al-Qaeda assassinated opposition politician Benazir Bhutto at an election rally on Thursday.

Citing what it said was an intercepted phone call, the interior ministry said the killing had been ordered by "al-Qaeda leader" Baitullah Mehsud.
...

There have now been so many conflicting versions coming out of Pakistan of how Benazir Bhutto died and who sent the assassin that it is hard for anyone to build up an accurate picture, our security correspondent says.

Both al-Qaeda and the Taleban are perfectly plausible culprits since they hated everything the secular Ms Bhutto stood for, he adds.

But critics of President Pervez Musharraf are unlikely to be convinced by his government's insistence that it has proof al-Qaeda ordered the murder ...

[ full text ]

Nepalese Parliament votes to abolish monarchy

Decision reached as part of a peace deal with former Maoist rebels.

Dec.28.- The Maoists left the government in September, vowing not to return unless the monarchy was scrapped. They ended a decade-long insurgency last year.

Nepal will be declared a republic after elections in April next year.

King Gyanendra, whose dynasty dates back to 1769, lost popular support when he sacked the government in 2005 and assumed absolute power.

Today's vote has made sure the king will be removed immediately after elections.

The decision to make Nepal a "federal democratic republican state" was taken by an overwhelming majority - 270 MPs out of 371 voted to abolish the monarchy, with only three against ...

[ full text ]

UKRAINE's parliamentary elections
Yulia Tymoshenko wins a second chance

Dec.19 (The Economist).- It was a telling contrast. Just one day after President Vladimir Putin more or less appointed himself Russia's next prime minister, the Rada (parliament) in Kiev chose in a free vote to make Yulia Tymoshenko Ukraine's prime minister. It also exposed the fallacy that post-Soviet Slav countries cannot be democratic.
...

... on September 30th. Ms Tymoshenko's party did well, taking votes from the Party of the Regions led by Viktor Yanukovich, the outgoing prime minister. With the pro-Yushchenko Our Ukraine block, Ms Tymoshenko had enough seats to push out the Party of the Regions. But it took two months for her to form a coalition. Nerves were further frayed on December 11th, when the electronic voting system failed to register two votes for Ms Tymoshenko. But on December 18th the parliament at last backed Ms Tymoshenko, by a one-vote margin.

The good news is that Ukraine has proved itself to be a genuine democracy, with a fierce competition for power and now a functioning opposition ...

[ full text ]
 

Bolivia’s Controversial Constitution and 2008 Referendum

Dec.17.- Bolivia's ruling Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) and its allies anticipated the looming deadline for the rewriting of the country's constitution – 14 December 2007 – by approving the new 411-article constitutional draft on 8-9 December. The constituent assembly in the city of Oruro approved the new text – sixteen months since its inauguration on 6 August 2006, and in the absence of the main opposition party – in only sixteen hours. The new document, which involves major institutional changes with respect to the rights of Bolivia's indigenous peoples, will be put to a referendum in 2008. But Bolivia's opposition, encouraged by Hugo Chávez's defeat in the Venezuelan referendum on 2 December 2007, is promising a relentless fight to prevent it being ratified; the battle lines for a new contest between left and right are being drawn. (28 September 2007)
...

In late November 2007, with the revised December deadline only days away, the Morales government finally decided to seize the initiative. It removed the plenary of the assembly to the more secure environment of a military academy just outside Sucre. Here it was surrounded by troops and MAS loyalists, provoking protests from the main opposition parties, who boycotted the proceedings and instead took to the streets. In the melee that ensued, four people (three protestors and one police officer) were killed and hundreds hurt. But with the opposition absent, the MAS and its left-of-centre allies speedily approved an outline constitution by an overwhelming majority.

The assembly members then found themselves unable to return in safety to Sucre, and reconvened finally in the city of Oruro on 8 December to approve the new text ...

[ full text ]

EU Leaders sign Reform Treaty 

JURIST, Dec.13.- Leaders from the 27 countries that make up the European Union on Thursday signed [press release] the Treaty of Lisbon [official website; PDF text], a reform treaty designed to speed up the decision-making process within EU institutions and allow EU members to take a more active role in global issues. Under the terms of the treaty, the current EU presidency which is rotated among member states will be replaced in 2009 with a long-term president of the Council of the European Union, and the position of an EU foreign policy high representative will be created. A charter of fundamental European rights [EU materials] is also included. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso praised the treaty Thursday and called on all member states to quickly ratify the document [speech text, in French; press release].

The signing marks the end of a long and arduous negotiation process. EU leaders reached agreement on the text [JURIST report] of the proposed treaty at a summit [EU materials] in Lisbon in October, working through last minute objections by Poland and Italy. The treaty text was preliminarily approved [JURIST report] by EU legal experts earlier that month. EU leaders reached basic agreement [JURIST report] on the treaty itself in June; it is, in effect, a cut-down version of the failed European constitution [JURIST news archive] ...

[ full text ]
[ history and facts ]

Kasparov quits presidential race

The Russian opposition figure and former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, will no longer contest the presidential election next March

Dec.12.- ... Mr Kasparov announced on Wednesday that he was abandoning his campaign for the presidency.

"My electoral campaign finishes tomorrow," Mr Kasparov said, citing problems in finding a place to hold a meeting of his supporters in Moscow.

Under Russian election law, presidential contenders who are not affiliated to one of four major parties that won seats in parliament must provide the details of two million supporters across the country.

Such contenders must also organise an "initiative group" meeting of at least 500 supporters before a December deadline.

"In all Moscow we have not been able to find a hall where our supporters could meet," Mr Kasparov said.

"We pay and the people agree. There are no problems. And then they call us to say they are refusing, can't give us the hall any more," he said.

"They refuse to give us the hall for "technical" reasons."

Mr Kasparov has accused Mr Putin of stifling the opposition through its dominance of the media and through new electoral laws that allegedly favour pro-Kremlin parties ...

[ full text ]

Catalan women seized after Cuban democracy demo

thinkSPAIN, Dec.10.- Cuban authorities are holding ten women from Cataluña for supporting a demonstration in favour of human rights yesterday morning, and it is expected that they will be deported within the next few hours.

Among the women taking part in a demonstration organised by the Damas de Blanco, a dissident movement that campaigns for the rights of Cuban political prisoners, was Francina Vila, who represents the CiU on Barcelona town council.

Around two dozen other women from Sweden, Peru and Bosnia also took part in the demonstration that was organised to coincide with International Human Rights Day.

When the women returned to their hotel after the protest, their passports and travel documents were confiscated ...

[ full text ]

Critics blast fairness of Russian election

The Economist, Dec.10.- In some countries the suspense of a presidential election is based on the question of who is going to win a popular poll. In Russia it centres on who the outgoing president (in this case Vladimir Putin) picks as his successor [read full text in The Economist]

Moscow, Dec.4.— Voting abuses lead to Putin's landslide victory

A day after President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party crushed opponents in parliamentary elections, the guessing has begun over the future of the 55-year-old, two-term President.

So too have the complaints from Western leaders, who warned that Mr. Putin's landslide win on Sunday was tainted by voting irregularities.

In Washington and across Europe, the reaction to Mr. Putin's victory ranged from subdued to critical.

The European Union and the United States demanded Russia investigate claims of voting abuses, while opposition parties said the vote was marred by cheating in favour of Mr. Putin's party.

A spokesman for the German government took the harshest view: "Measured by our standards, it was neither a free, fair nor democratic election," Thomas Steg told reporters.
...

The Central Election Commission said that with almost all votes counted, Mr. Putin's party won 64.1 per cent of votes, nearly six times as many as the nearest challenger, the Communist Party. The election commission said United Russia would win about 393 of the 450 seats in the next State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

Two opposition parties, Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces failed to gain more than 3 per cent of the national vote between them, well below the 7-per-cent threshold required ...

[ full text ]

Venezuela said NO to Chavez's Constitutional Reform

Caracas (AP), Dec.3.-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Sunday lost his first two elections ever since he was elected in December 1998. His intended changes to the Constitution were put to vote in two blocks. Block A -including his proposal of indefinite presidential reelection- was rebutted by 50.7 percent of voters.

Block B -which encompassed proposals such as reducing the legal age to vote from 18 years to 16 years and the suppression of both due process and the right to information under states of emergency- was rejected by 51.05 percent of Venezuelans.

This was one of the few times in Venezuelan electoral history that abstention played such a major role in results. Block A of the proposed reform was rejected with a lead of only 124,962 votes. Block B was rebutted with a lead of 187,196 votes.
...

Turnout in Sunday referendum was 9,002,439 voters, which represents a 44.1 percent abstention. Four out of every 10 Venezuelans refrained from voicing their view about the reform.  Abs

V CUMBRE ALC-UE
Declaración de Lima resalta importancia de acuerdos entre AL y la UE

Así lo señala el documento preliminar, que podrán modificar los dignatarios en las reuniones que sostienen desde esta mañana en el Museo de la Nación

Lima, Mayo 16.- La Declaración de Lima, que deben aprobar hoy los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno que asisten a la V Cumbre del ALC-UE, enfatizaría la prioridad política para que concluyan las negociaciones de los acuerdos de asociación entre la Unión Europea y los diversos bloques de América Latina y el Caribe.

El documento preliminar expresa la disposición de concluir los acuerdos que negocia la UE con la Comunidad Andina de Naciones y Centroamérica, y de que se reanude el que se encuentra detenido con el Mercosur.

La Declaración también fija "una visión que busca promover el bienestar de las poblaciones con sociedades más inclusivas e integradas, profundizar la integración regional, y construir un sistema multilateral más efectivo y democrático".

Asimismo, se ratifica el compromiso de ambos continentes de mejorar la calidad de vida de las poblaciones a través de políticas sociales efectivas, crecimiento económico con impacto distributivo y participación social para reforzar la institucionalidad ...

[ texto completo ]

INTERPOL
Confirman autenticidad de la evidencia contenida en computadoras de las FARC

• Informe Forense de la INTERPOL (formato PDF)

Bogotá, Mayo 16.- La Organización Internacional de Policía Criminal (Interpol) afirmó que las computadoras examinadas por sus expertos pertenecían a las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) y que no encontró evidencia de que el gobierno de ese país manipulara, modificara, borrara o agregara información a esos equipos.

"Estamos completamente seguros de que las computadoras vinieron de un campamento terrorista de las FARC. El señor Reyes esta ahora muerto, pero eran definitivamente sus computadoras, sus discos'', dijo el [Secretario General] de Interpol, Ronald Noble.

El jefe de la Policía Internacional agregó que el informe es público, pero la decisión de divulgar los documentos encontrados en los computadores de Reyes es de Bogotá.

"Yo aclaré durante mi presentación y es muy claro en el reporte, que yo he hecho todo en mi poder para aclararle a Ecuador y Venezuela, que son miembros de Interpol, que estoy dispuesto ir allá para explicarles qué hicimos y cómo lo hicimos" ...

El análisis se limitó a verificar si Colombia alteró o no los archivos, si manejó correctamente la evidencia, y no el contenido mismo de cada uno de los documentos.

El informe, de 39 páginas, colocaría mayor presión sobre Venezuela [y Ecuador] para explicar sobre los archivos que indican que su gobierno mantiene una estrecha relación con las FARC ...

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[ más detalles ]

El XVI Foro de San Pablo se reúne en Montevideo 

El XVI Foro de San Pablo (FSP), integrado por partidos y movimientos de la izquierda latinoamericana, incluyendo grupos de otros continentes y movimientos revolucionarios, como las FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), sesionará en Montevideo desde el 22 de mayo.

Destacan entre los participantes del FSP el Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC), el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) de Bolivia, el Frente Sandinista (Nicaragua), el Movimiento V República (Venezuela), el Frente Farabundo Martí (El Salvador), el Partido de los Trabajadores (Brasil) y el Frente Amplio de Uruguay, que lidera Tabaré Vázquez, actual Presidente uruguayo. Están también representados prácticamente todos los partidos comunistas del resto de América.

El FSP se fundó en julio de 1990, a raíz del derrumbe del imperio soviético, a instancias del Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC), dirigido por el gobernante vitalicio Fidel Castro, y realizó su primera reunión en Sao Paulo (Brasil), que le da su nombre, bajo los auspicios del Partido de los Trabajadores (PT), dirigido por Lula da Silva, actual Presidente de Brasil. El PT accedió a lo planificado por el PCC para oficiar de base de esta nueva transnacional de izquierda, integrada inicialmente por 48 organizaciones que asumieron compromisos internacionales de acción conjunta. Se ha reunido casi todos los años desde entonces y se calcula que asistirán unas 100 organizaciones este año ...

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MYANMAR
Oposición birmana denuncia masivo fraude en referéndum

Birmania celebra la consulta pese a catastrófico ciclón

Bangkok (EFE) Mayo 10.- El principal partido de la oposición democrática birmana, la Liga Nacional por la Democracia (LND), que dirige la premio Nobel de la Paz Aung San Suu Kyi, denunció un fraude masivo en el referéndum celebrado hoy en el país para aprobar el proyecto constitucional de la Junta Militar.

El portavoz de la LND, Nyan Win, indicó a la revista disidente 'The Irrawaddy', con sede en Tailandia, que agentes gubernamentales acudieron a las casas de los que no se personaron a votar y les obligaron a firmar un formulario como que depositaron el voto.

Nyan Win dijo que la mayoría de los centros de votación cerró a las 11.00, hora local (04.30 GMT), cuando el horario oficial de la jornada discurría de 06.00 a 16.00.

Por su parte, residentes en loas distritos Rangún, Mandalay, Pegu, Sagaing y Magwe dijeron al mismo medio haber visto a funcionarios entregar papeletas rellenadas a los que hacían cola para votar ...

[ lea más ]

BOLIVIA
Gana el SÍ con más del 85% en  Santa Cruz

• La abstención fue del 25,5%
  
• Evo Morales rechaza la decisión popular
  

Mayo 5.- Dos redes de televisión informaron de una victoria contundente a favor del "sí" al estatuto de autonomía en el departamento de Santa Cruz con base en encuestas en boca de urna en una jornada marcada por la violencia en algunos lugares de esta región.

La red de televisión Unitel dijo que el "sí" ganó con 85% de los votos, mientras que por el "no" votó el 15%. La red de televisión y diarios PAT informó que el "sí" se impuso con el 85.1%, mientras que el "no" obtuvo el 13.9%.

Tras conocerse los resultados extraoficiales, simpatizantes autonomistas se volcaron a las calles con banderas de la región para celebrar.

La Corte Electoral de Santa Cruz no entregó resultados de inmediato, mientras que la Corte Nacional Electoral dijo con anterioridad que no validará los resultados debido a que la convocatoria a la consulta no se ajustó a la ley.

Bandos rivales se enfrascaron en enfrentamientos con palos y piedras en algunos lugares del departamento de Santa Cruz, pero las autoridades electorales aseguraron que el 91% de las mesas funcionaron con normalidad ...

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[ más información ]

Política ecuatoriana vinculada a las FARC

Abr.27.- Nuevos documentos extraídos de la computadora portátil del difunto líder guerrilllero colombiano Raúl Reyes muestran que las FARC pudieran tener vínculos mucho más amplios en América Latina de lo que se había reportado anteriormente.
...

María Augusta Calle -- que es también la jefa de TV Telesur de Venezuela en Ecuador y una partidaria del presidente Hugo Chávez -- presuntamente dejó que los rebeldes utilizaran su cuenta bancaria para hacer, por lo menos, una transacción y que ayudó a promover sus ideas a través de otra agencia de noticias que ella dirige.

En dos e-mails de junio y julio del 2006, una mujer que firma como ''Alicia'' intercambia mensajes como alguien al que llama ''amigo'' en uno de sus e-mails y ''`Darío'' en el otro. Habla de asuntos personales, problemas políticos y estrategias mediáticas.

Según un funcionario del gobierno colombiano -que solicitó anonimidad para discutir lo que se ha encontrado en los documentos - ''Alicia'' es un seudónimo de Calle y las cartas estaban dirigidas a Reyes, el portavoz de las FARC que fue muerto el 1 de marzo ...

Documentos revelados previamente, capturados en la computadora de Reyes, también han vinculado a las FARC con miembros del gabinete del presidente ecuatoriano Rafael Correa.

Según los documentos, el ministro del Interior Gustavo Larrea se reunió con Reyes y le dijo que el gobierno de Correa estaba dispuesto a desplegar fuerzas de seguridad más amigables a lo largo de la frontera con Colombia ...

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PARAGUAY
OEA destaca alta participación electoral y jornada pacífica

Ex Obispo Lugo obtiene la victoria electoral con poco más del 40% de los votos; la candidata oficialista recibe poco más del 30%

Abr.21.-

Podrán ciudadanos de Coahuila [México] iniciar leyes

Otorgan a los ciudadanos derecho a iniciar leyes y ejercer la democracia directa mediante la figura: “Iniciativa Popular”

Abr.15.- Con sólo estampar su firma en la propuesta, los ciudadanos nacidos o avecindados en esta entidad tendrán ahora el derecho a iniciar leyes, decretos, reglamentos o normas administrativas de carácter general, reservado antaño al Poder Ejecutivo, Legisladores, Ayuntamientos y a Titulares de Justicia.

La garantía se enmarca en el concepto de “Iniciativa Popular”.

Así, Coahuila se colocará entre los primeros estados del país en otorgar este derecho, que representa el ejercicio de la democracia directa.

Todos los coahuilenses de nacimiento, o por adopción, con un mínimo de tres años de radicar en la entidad, podrán presentar sus iniciativas de reformas o de nuevas leyes a la Máxima Representación Popular y no necesitarán firmas de nadie que los respalden.

Lo harán en cuanto entren en vigor las modificaciones a los artículos 27 y 60 de la Constitución local aprobadas por mayoría de votos la tarde de este martes por el pleno del Congreso del Estado ...

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TIBET: Nueva protesta de Monjes frente a Periodistas

• Llegan a 1000 los tibetanos detenidos por las autoridades chinas

UE pide a las FARC atender misión humanitaria

Abr.3.- El presidente de Eslovenia, Danilo Türk, quien a su vez preside la Unión Europea, hizo un llamado a las Farc para que faciliten y reciban la misión médica humanitaria que atenderá a los secuestrados en delicado estado de salud, especialmente a Íngrid Betancourt.

El Presidente Türk, al término de su visita diplomática al presidente colombiano Álvaro Uribe Vélez, señaló que es indispensable que la guerrilla entienda que el éxito de la misión humanitaria depende, más que de la buena voluntad de gobiernos y estados, directamente de la decisión de los jefes de la organización armada ilegal. "Deben entender la importancia de la misma gestión, asumiendo que la vida de Íngrid Betancourt está en riesgo".

"Obviamente el éxito de esta misión depende de la disponibilidad de aquellos que han capturado a Íngrid Betancourt. Me gustaría usar esta oportunidad para dirigirme a ellos y decirles que consideren el carácter humanitario de esta misión y ayuden a salvar vidas", indicó el mandatario Türk.

En una informal conferencia de prensa, Türk fue interrogado sobre la posibilidad de retirar a las Farc de las listas de grupos terroristas, a lo que respondió que la Unión Europea sólo incluye en esas listas a los grupos u organizaciones que llevan a cabo su accionar, a través de "prácticas terroristas".

"Algunos de ellos mismos se hacen acreedores del calificativo de terroristas por sus prácticas. Esto es evidente en el secuestro, aunque eso no implica que las cosas no puedan cambiar", dijo el Presidente eslovenio ...

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El campesino que desafía a los Kirchner

Abr.1.– En el gobierno argentino no lo pueden creer. La huelga agropecuaria que va a ingresar en su jornada 20, tiene un figura excluyente: Alfredo de Angelis, un pequeño productor de la provincia de Entre Ríos que se convirtió en figura de la televisión.

El hombre y sus seguidores, parados en el medio de una ruta que cruza varias provincias argentinas y que no dejan pasar los camiones con productos agrícolas. En Buenos Aires, capital del país con los mejores bifes del mundo, ya no se consigue carne y hay que caminar demasiado para encontrar frutas y verduras frescas.

Aunque la medida de fuerza de los productores rurales es en todo el país, en la Casa Rosada comienzan a insultar cuando los canales de televisión transmiten el discurso de Alfredo de Angelis, a quien le falta un diente. Se le cayó semanas atrás mientras trabajaba en el campo. De Angelis tiene un hermano mellizo, Atilio, y eso también lo volvió un personaje más pintoresco aún. Cuando están los dos juntos y los periodistas preguntan '¿Cuál es Alfredo?', el campesino sonríe y se señala el hueco donde antes tenía un diente.

¿Por qué los Kirchner están tan molestos con De Angelis? Muy simple. La estrategia del Gobierno ha sido desde un primer momento dividir a los productores rurales que protestan, entre 'ricos y pobres'. Pero Alfredo de Angelis cuando toma el micrófono borra esas diferencias ...

[ tomado de ElMundo.es ]

Oposición gana en Taiwan

• Ampliará sus lazos económicos con China

Mar.23.- El candidato opositor Ma Ying-jeou se proclamó ayer ganador de las elecciones presidenciales y prometió ampliar los lazos económicos con China al mismo tiempo que protegerá a la isla para impedir que sea tragada políticamente por su vecino comunista.

Los fuegos artificiales iluminaron el cielo sobre la sede general de Ma entre los vítores de los seguidores del que fuera alcalde de Taipei.

Ma, del Partido Nacionalista, ganó con el 58 por ciento de los votos y con 17 puntos de diferencia ante el candidato del partido gobernante y ex primer ministro Frank Hsieh, quien reconoció su derrota.

Hsieh, del Partido Progresista Democrático, obtuvo el 41.5 por ciento de los votos, según el recuento preliminar de la Comisión Nacional Electoral ...

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Choques con manifestantes tibetanos dejan 30 muertos

Mar.16.– China ordenó el sábado la salida de los turistas de la capital del Tíbet, mientras soldados a pie y en vehículos blindados patrullaban las calles y aplicaban un estricto toque de queda, un día después de disturbios que, de acuerdo a un grupo de exiliados tibetanos, han dejado por lo menos 30 manifestantes muertos.

Las protestas iniciadas el lunes contra el régimen chino en el Tíbet son las más numerosas y violentas en la región en casi dos décadas. Se han propagado a otras zonas de China, como también a las vecinas Nepal e India, entre otros países.
...

El gobernador chino en el Tíbet prometió castigar a los manifestantes, mientras las autoridades policiales chinas los instaban a entregarse para el martes o enfrentar castigos no especificados.

Las protestas comenzaron en el aniversario de un levantamiento en 1959 contra el régimen chino en el Tíbet.

Durante los siglos, Tíbet formó parte en algunas épocas de los imperios dinásticos chinos. Las fuerzas comunistas invadieron y se apoderaron de la región en 1950.

Igualmente el sábado, la policía disolvió una manifestación de apoyo a los nacionalistas tibetanos en la provincia occidental china de Gansu. Hubo otras con el mismo fin en Australia, la India y Nepal ...

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Nota de la Redacción:  Los informes más recientes indican que ya pasan de 80 los muertos entre la población civil en el anochecer del domingo 16.
 

Cuba renueva compromiso con el Consejo de Derechos Humanos

Ataca política de EEUU contra la isla

Ginebra, Mar.3.-  El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba, Felipe Pérez Roque, renovó hoy su compromiso con el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU y atacó la política de Estados Unidos contra la isla.

Con motivo del 60 aniversario de la Declaración de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, “Cuba renueva su compromiso en la lucha por un mundo de justicia, libertad e igualdad para todos”, dijo el canciller cubano en la primera semana de reuniones de la Séptima Sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas ...

Opositores denuncian represión por repartir Declaración de los Derechos Humanos

La Habana, Mar.3 (EFE).-   La Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil, organización opositora cubana ilegal, denunció hoy que diez disidentes fueron “golpeados” y nueve detenidos el sábado cuando repartían ejemplares de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos en el centro de La Habana.

Marta Beatriz Roque, líder de la Asamblea, relató a Efe que cuatro mujeres y seis hombres repartían los ejemplares bajo “un fuerte operativo policial” cuando un agente de civil “se tiró” contra uno de ellos, Guillermo Fariñas, “le aplicó una llave para inmovilizarlo y le tiró las declaraciones al suelo”. Según Roque, el grupo estaba integrado, además de ella, por Lourdes Esquivel, Idania Llanes, Iris Pérez, Jorge Luis García (“Antúnez”), Félix Bonné, Lucas Gálvez, José Díaz Silva, Carlos Cordero y Fariñas.

Agregó que ella y Bonné fueron llevados directamente a sus casas y otros siete conducidos a una oficina de policía, donde les decomisaron los textos, y después los trasladaron a sus viviendas, cuatro de ellos en la provincia central de Villa Clara, a unos 300 kilómetros al este de La Habana.

Roque detalló a EFE que al décimo opositor, una mujer, la golpearon pero no la detuvieron.

Según la disidente, los policías les amenazaron y dijeron que “el pueblo” los va a matar ...
...

Roque tiene un brazo en cabestrillo por una torcedura que le hizo un agente y que le causó “un esguince en los ligamentos y músculos del hombro”, como fue certificado por un médico del hospital ortopédico “Fructuoso Rodríguez”.

“Ésta es la «ratificación» del pacto de derecho civiles y políticos”, agregó ...

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Medvedev arrasa en las presidenciales rusas

El candidato presidencial del Kremlin, delfín de Vladimir Putin, gana con un 70% de los votos y la oposición denuncia irregularidades

Moscú, Mar.3 (EFE).- El candidato del Kremlin, Dmitri Medvedev, superó en las urnas los resultados absolutos conseguidos hace cuatro años por su mentor, el presidente Vladimir Putin, y ganó las elecciones presidenciales, informó hoy la Comisión Electoral Central (CEC) de Rusia.

El viceprimer ministro Medvedev, un jurista de 42 años, obtenía 52.068.327 votos o el 70,23% de los sufragios emitidos, escrutados el 99,58% de las papeletas, según las cifras ofrecidas hoy por la CEC.
...

De acuerdo con esos datos, el candidato comunista, Guennadi Ziuganov, se colocaba en segundo lugar con 13.155.695 de votos o el 17,76%, seguido del ultranacionalista Vladimir Yirinovski, con 6.939.977 sufragios, con el 9,37%. La lista de los candidatos la cierra el líder del Partido Demócrata y gran maestre de la masonería rusa, Andréi Bogdánov, con 958.868 votos, el 1,29% ...

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Partidarios de Evo Morales aprueban dos referendos con escándalo en el Congreso 

• Los parlamentarios del MAS que pudieron acceder a la sesión votaron en pocos minutos, a mano alzada y sin debate

 
La Paz, Feb.29 (EFE).– El partido del presidente Evo Morales aprobó hoy en el Congreso la convocatoria de dos referendos para validar su proyecto constitucional el 4 de mayo, entre las airadas protestas de la oposición y con la ausencia de varios de sus diputados que no pudieron acceder a la sesión.

Los parlamentarios del gubernamental Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) votaron en pocos minutos, a mano alzada y sin debate, las normas que convocan a las dos consultas, una referida a la extensión de latifundios expropiables y otra para validar la propuesta de Carta Magna en su conjunto.

Dirigentes opositores de Bolivia tacharon hoy de "dictadura" y "golpe a la democracia" la sesión del Congreso en la que el partido del presidente Evo Morales aprobó celebrar los dos referendos sobre su proyecto constitucional el próximo 4 de mayo.

El presidente del Senado, Óscar Ortiz, de la alianza opositora Poder Democrático y Social (Podemos, derecha), calificó de "inaudita" la sesión en la que se aprobaron las consultas constitucionales y en la que, según denunció, el oficialismo habilitó a "varios suplentes" para que pudieran votar.

Mientras, el prefecto (gobernador) de la rica región opositora de Santa Cruz, Rubén Costas, acusó a Morales de tener un "gobierno totalitario" y agregó que su departamento es ahora el "búnker de la democracia" en el país ...

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•    En menos de una hora, las tres leyes propuestas por el diputado del MAS Gustavo Torrico fueron aprobadas sin participación de la oposición, la mayoría de cuyos legisladores no pudieron ingresar en el Parlamento por el cerco campesino e indígena ..

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Fidel Castro renuncia a la presidencia de Cuba

º Mantendrá su influencia política desde el puesto de primer secretario del Partido

La Habana, Feb.19.- El líder cubano, Fidel Castro, ha anunciado, a sus 81 años, en un escrito al diario oficial 'Granma' que no aspirará ni aceptará el cargo de presidente del Consejo de Estado y de comandante en jefe, cargo que ostenta desde sus días de guerrillero en Sierra Maestra.

Ni EEUU, su mayor obsesión, ni sus enemigos internos, ni siquiera la caída de la URSS hace casi tres décadas, pudieron apartarle del poder durante más de 49 años. Hoy, una larga enfermedad y su "conciencia" le han obligado a decir adiós.
...

Su sucesor en la presidencia será anunciado el 24 de febrero, cuando el Parlamento cubano se reúna para renovar al Consejo de Estado, que el mismo Castro preside hasta ahora.

 Raúl Castro, un general de 76 años que fue durante los 49 años su mano derecha y lo reemplaza interinamente desde que enfermó hace un año y medio, es el candidato mas firme para sucederlo.

Aún así, Castro no se irá del todo. Su renuncia a la presidencia no impide, sin embargo, que sea elegido miembro del Consejo de Estado o desempeñe en el futuro el papel de un veterano estadista ...

[ texto completo ]
[ la vida de Fidel en tiras gráficas ]

Kosovo declara su independencia

Pristina, Feb.18(AP).– Kosovo declaró ayer su independencia, en un audaz intento por convertirse en un ''estado independiente y democrático'' respaldado por Estados Unidos e importantes aliados europeos, pero rechazado por Serbia y Rusia.

Rusia pidió una reunión de emergencia del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU, al tiempo que Estados Unidos, la Unión Europea y la OTAN emitieron llamados a mantener la calma y la paz. Mientras, una explosión causó daños leves en un tribunal de la ONU en la zona norte de Kosovo controlada por los serbios.

''Kosovo es una república, un Estado independiente, democrático y soberano'', dijo el presidente del Parlamento, Jakup Krasniqi, en medio de los aplausos de los legisladores que aprobaron la declaración por unanimidad.

Krasniqi, el primer ministro Hashim Thaci y el presidente Fatmir Sejdiu firmaron la declaración, redactada en un pergamino. Además, develaron el nuevo escudo y bandera nacionales: un estandarte azul con un mapa dorado de Kosovo y seis estrellas en representación de los principales grupos étnicos.

''Nosotros, las autoridades democráticamente elegidas por nuestro pueblo, declaramos por la presente que Kosovo es un estado independiente y soberano'', dice la proclama.

En toda la capital hubo bailes en las calles ...

[ Texto completo ]
[ Algunas Potencias europeas reconocen a Kosovo ]

USA
BARAK OBAMA Y JOHN MCCAIN ARRASAN EN LAS PRIMARIAS

• El senador por Illinois ya aventaja a Clinton y se impone también entre sectores que inicialmente la favorecían a ella  |  En el bando republicano, McCain vence a Huckabee en las tres últimas primarias y aumenta su ventaja

Feb.13.- El senador Barack Obama, imbatible en las ultimas ocho citas electorales, confirma su estrella ascendente con sus victorias en Maryland, Virginia y Washington DC, estados en los que también se impuso el republicano John McCain.
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Estas derrotas, en algunos casos con 30 puntos de diferencia, han supuesto un duro golpe para la ex primera dama, que se ha visto obligada a realizar cambios en la cúpula de su campaña de cara a las citas electorales en otros grandes estados, como Ohio y Texas.
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En el lado republicano, las primarias de hoy confirman la recuperación de la candidatura del ex gobernador Mike Huckabee tras el abandono de Mitt Romney, aunque ello no fue suficiente para vencer a McCain, que ganó por una estrecha diferencia en Virginia y se impuso también en Maryland y en el distrito de Columbia ...

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Santa Sede pide dar voz a los pobres en decisiones económicas

Es este el mensaje expresado el pasado 7 de febrero en Nueva York por el arzobispo Celestino Migliore, nuncio apostólico y observador permanente ante Naciones Unidas, al intervenir en la 46 sesión de la Comisión para el Desarrollo Social.

La Santa Sede, dijo el arzobispo, subraya que las necesidades de los que tienen menos recursos deben ser prioritarias en las decisiones de los líderes del sector financiero y que «corresponde al forum internacional ofrecer una tribuna a los pobres porque muy a menudo no tienen voz en la búsqueda de soluciones a problemas que les afectan incluso muy de cerca».

La propuesta del observador permanente es la de crear «un ambiente y estructuras que permitan a la gente ser parte activa en el proceso de toma de decisiones» ...

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RUSIA
Prohíben a crítico de Putin hacer campaña presidencial

V.Isachenkov (AP)Ene.28.- Las autoridades electorales prohibieron ayer la participación del principal crítico del Kremlin en las elecciones presidenciales, alegando que eran falsas decenas de miles de firmas incluidas en las peticiones de su nominación.  La decisión de impedir que fuera registrada la candidatura al ex primer ministro Mijail Kasyanov probablemente despertará críticas de que las elecciones del 2 de marzo no son democráticas y están manipuladas por el Kremlin.
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Kasyanov manifestó que la decisión de la Comisión Central Electoral estaba políticamente motivada y llamó a los votantes a boicotear las elecciones, a las que calificó de "farsa''.

''Yo no tengo dudas de que Putin personalmente tomó la decisión de no registrar mi candidatura'', declaró.
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La comisión electoral dictaminó que Kasyanov, un político liberal que se había presentado como candidato independiente, no podía registrarse porque más de 13 por ciento de las firmas en dos grandes muestras revisadas eran falsas ...

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Duro ataque del Papa a los medios por “distorsionar la realidad”

El papa Benedicto XVI atacó duramente a los medios de comunicación. (Foto EFE)

Las críticas del Papa a los medios de comunicación fueron hechas en su tradicional mensaje con ocasión de la Jornada Mundial de las comunicaciones Sociales.
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“Es necesario preguntarse si es sensato dejar que los medios de comunicación se subordinen a un protagonismo indiscriminado o que acaben en manos de quien se vale de ellos para manipular las conciencias. ¿No se debería más bien hacer esfuerzos para que permanezcan al servicio de la persona y del bien común, y favorezcan ‘la formación ética del hombre, el crecimiento del hombre interior’?”, escribió ... 

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Primer Ministro italiano, Romano Prodi, renuncia

ROMA (AP), Ene.24.- El premier Romano Prodi renunció el jueves por la noche después de que una derrota en un voto de confianza en el Senado significó el fin de su gobierno de 20 meses.

El presidente Giorgio Napolitano, como jefe del estado, puede convocar a elecciones anticipadas o pedir a un político que trate de formar un nuevo gobierno, entre otras opciones. El palacio presidencial dijo que Napolitano iniciará consultas con dirigentes políticos antes de tomar una decisión.

Al gobierno de centroizquierda le faltaron cuatro votos para alcanzar el mínimo de 160. La votación fue de 161 por el no, 156 por el sí y una abstención.

El gobierno de Prodi ha estado en dificultades casi desde que fue elegido en abril de 2006, pero el derrumbe se registró cuando un pequeño partido demócrata cristiano le quitó su respaldo ...

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AGENDA DEMOCRÁTICA PARA LAS AMÉRICAS
ODCA reúnirá a 33 partidos miembros en Miami, EE.UU.

Miami (DP.net), Ene.16.- La Organización Demócrata Cristiana de América (ODCA) ha convocado a un Taller que celebrará sesiones durante todo el viernes 25 de enero en la ciudad floridana de Miami.  Se espera la participación de representantes de la mayoría de los partidos demócrata cristianos de América y las sesiones de trabajo se especializarán por temas siguiendo el mecanismo de ponencias.  Cada tema será presentado por un miembro del Comité Directivo de ODCA o un presidente de Delegación de ODCA y contará con "facilitadores", como sigue:

1. Agenda Económica. Facilitador: Carlos Saladrigas. Cubano/Miami. Relator: Xavier Barron
2. Agenda Política. Facilitadores: “Tuto” Quirogas. Boliviano/La paz. Jose Ignacio Rasco. Cubano/Miami.  Relator: Marcos Villasmil
3. Agenda Mediática. Facilitadora:  Helen Aguirre. Nicaragüense/Miami. Relator: Jose Hernandez. Venezuela/Miami
4. Agenda Social . Facilitadora: Lourdes Flores. Peruana/Lima: Relator: Andres Hernandez. Cubano/Miami
5. Derechos Humanos. Facilitadores: Jose Miguel Vivanco. Chileno/NY o el ex canciller Dervez. Relator: Siro del Castillo. Cubano/Miami
6. Ciencia y Tecnología en la Agenda Democrática para el siglo XXI. Facilitador: Oscar Visiedo Cubano/Miami.  Relato