Here is the Saturday, July 19th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.
Nepal Set to Elect Its First President
Having abolished the monarchy, Nepal is set to elect its first Chief of State this week. The role of President is largely ceremonial but Nepal will choose a higly symbolic one. He is to come from the ethnic minority Madheshi ethnic group of southern Nepal. The story from Reuters.
Thai-Cambodian Border Dispute Grows
Cambodia and Thailand continued to reinforce their troops along a disputed border area near an 11th century temple Saturday, even as they prepared for talks to avert a military confrontation. A report from the Associated Press.
French Nuclear Leaks
Long seen as the world’s most effeciently run nuclear power industry, the French nuclear power industry has had an embarrassing set of setbacks. Areva confirms second leak in two weeks, this time at a nuclear plant in south-eastern France. More from the UK Guardian.
Mbeki To Heed UN and OAU on Zimbabwe
Under pressure to expand his troubled mediation efforts, South African President Mbeki agreed on Friday to work more closely with the African Union and United Nations to bring an end to the Zimbabwe crisis. More from Johannesburg’s Mail & Guardian.
Russia’s Energy Clout
The Asia Times looks at Russia’s growing clout in the world’s energy markets and how Russia is unabashedly using its energy muscle to achieve its political goals.
Credit and Energy Tight in Vietnam Thahn Nien News reports that companies in Vietnam are airing their grievances at a conference as tightened monetary policy and a power shortage have left them without money or electricity.
Spain’s Real Estate Crisis
Since the 1960s, in effect, Spain has been the centre of housing and real estate boom that has seen its warm coasts transformed with condos galore serving as second homes for cold-weary northern Europeans. And with increasing prosperity, many Spaniards too bought homes and vacation homes to boot. That boom is at an end. Germany’s Der Spiegel reports:
Spain’s economy is in trouble. Rising property values earlier this decade lured many Spaniards into the market. Now that the bubble has burst, the crisis is quickly spreading through the country’s economy.
Texas Approves Mega Wind Farm
Kudos to Texas. Texas sate regulators have approved a $4.93 billion wind-power transmission project, providing a major lift to the development of wind energy in the state.
The planned web of transmission lines will carry electricity from remote western parts of the state to major population centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The lines can handle 18,500 megawatts of power, enough for 3.7 million homes on a hot day when air-conditioners are running.
More from the New York Times. Wind power is a potent and clear-energy solution that requires full development.
Here is the Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.
ICC Warrant for Omar al-Bashir
Egypt, China and Algeria voiced concerns over the warrant for the arrest for the Sudanese President on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. “China expresses grave concern and misgivings about the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s indictment of the Sudanese leader,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regularly scheduled news conference in Beijing. The Washington Post covers the Chinese response while Xinhua Net covers Algeria’s. Lastly, an op-ed from the Wall Street Journal.
Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim Arrested
Police arrested Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday, less than an hour before a deadline for him to appear at police headquarters to answer allegations that he sodomized a male aide. Details from Al Jazeera.
Chávez-Correa-Ortega Summit in Manta, Ecuador
The Presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua are meeting in Manta, Ecuador (home to a US military base slated to close in 2010) this week. Their gathering is to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Refinería del Pacífico, the largest oil refinery on the west coast of South America. Chávez has made clear that he wants to increase Venezuela oil sales to Asia and diminish sales to the United States. More (in Spanish) from Noticias 24.
Egypt After Mubarak
The Los Angeles Times has a feature on Omar Suleiman, the head of Egypt’s foreign intelligence service. The article ponders whether Suleiman may be the next in line for Egypt’s Presidency. Not that Mubarak is going anywhere. Elections, such as they are in Egypt, are not due until 2011 on the one hand and on the other, we may yet see a Mubarak dynasty rise in the land of the Pharoahs. Gamal Mubarak is also being groomed for the Presidency.
Japan-Korea Squabble over Islets
Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun temporarily returned to Seoul yesterday in protest over Tokyo’s claim that the Dokdo islets in the East Sea belong to Japan. The Korea Herald covers the story from Seoul while the Japan Times takes up the story from Tokyo. The story has great importance in Korea than in Japan. However, there are plans for demonstrations later this week in Seoul and South Koreas has cancelled a cultural exchanged slated for August.
Fishermen Strike in Tokyo
The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations and 16 other fishing industry bodies launched a strike involving some 200,000 fishing boats Tuesday to protest against the fuel price increases. Japanese fishermen’s one-day strike cut Wednesday’s fish supplies on the Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Tokyo’s Tsukiji by 20 percent from the previous day to 401 tons, prompting wholesalers to warn further strikes would induce a serious supply disruption, market officials said. “Prices of some fish underwent increases of some 10 percent” due to supply decreases, a market source said after morning auctions. Such fish included flatfish and sea bream from Japan’s home waters. They are often used by up-scale sushi shops.
Indian No Confidence Vote Scheduled for July 21
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s UPA government will introduce a measure of confidence on July 21, 2008 over the US-India Nuclear deal according to The Hindu. This article from The Hindu lays out the government’s case why the pact should be approved. Opposition to the deal is coming largely from leftist parties, including the Indian Communist Party, that feel that the deal impinges on India’s sovereignty.
Drug Gangs Blamed in Guatemalan Lawyer’s Killing
President Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador blamed drug gangs for the killing of a Guatemalan state prosecutor who was investigating the murder of three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament. Juan Carlos Martinez was shot Monday while driving near his home southeast of Guatemala City. The three Salvadoran deputies were killed in February 2007. Eduardo D’Aubuisson, William Pichinte and Jose Ramon Gonzalez were deputies in the Guatemala-based regional Central American parliament from El Salvador’s conservative ruling ARENA party. The remains of a fourth man were found with them. Villagers discovered their bodies in a blazing car up a dirt track an hour’s drive east of Guatemala City. The suspected murderers are members of Guatemala’s police force but they are being protected by Guatemala’s military establishment. None have been charged.
Russia’s Medvedev Criticizes the West
President Dmitri A. Medvedev chided the West for paternalism in a foreign policy speech in which he criticized the United States and Western Europe for creating a missile defense shield and for recognizing Kosovo’s independence. More from the New York Times.
Here is the Saturday, July 12th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
Thoughts on Today
I must admit that there is much that leaves me with a deep sense of unease. The Bush years were hardly a belle epoque and yet I fear we are descending into an even darker age. I am most dismayed by Russia and China’s veto in the United Nations today. To be honest, I am not surprised by the Chinese veto. I am by Russia’s veto. I would have at the very least expected an abstention. Coupled with Russia’s move to cut off Czech energy supplies and menacing fly overs over Georgia, I have this sinking feeling that we are seeing a Moscow-Beijing axis that will at the very least counter Western aims and at worst challenge the West increasingly. I expect little from the butchers in Beijing and I find corporate pursuits of profits there to run counter to Western security issues. As for Russia, it is certainly on the assertive rebound given its immense energy resources. Western energy security is something that geo-politically must be addressed. If today was a dark day, tomorrow we may actually be plunged into total darkness literally. To cuddle China is a grave mistake. Russia’s descent into an oligarchical regime that makes the Romanovs look egalitarian is perhaps outside our ability to influence at this point. However we can change our trade policies that so favour China. I hope Western leaders will see today’s crude awakening that Russia and China pose a threat to Western interests and to the cause of freedom worldwide.
Russia and China Veto Resolutions on Zimbabwe
Britain and the US have condemned Russia and China for vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe’s leaders. Stories from All Africa, the BBC and the New York Times.
Sudan Reacts to the ICC
The International Criminal Court’s pursuit of Sudan’s president set off fierce debate at the United Nations on Friday, with the Sudanese ambassador accusing the court of trying to destabilize his country. Again, China will pose an obstacle on reaching an accord in the Sudan. Reports from Qatar’s Al Jazeera and the Los Angeles Times.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Troubles Deepen
It’s one way to make a buck. It’s also one way to land in jail. Israel Police and the Justice Ministry released a joint statement Friday saying that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suspected of asking a number of different public organizations, and the state, to pay for the same trips abroad. The money was then allegedly used for family holidays. All the bloody details from Israel’s Haaretz.
Arab state tells Israel it would not oppose Iran strike
Israel’s Haaretz is also reporting that:
Official representatives of an Arab country have hinted in meetings with Israeli officials that they would not oppose an Israeli military operation against Iran, sources in Jerusalem said this week.
According to the sources, the representatives of the Arab country said they are worried by Iran’s growing influence in the region, primarily among Shi’ite communities in Arab states.
This follows in the wake of Iran’s missle tests. A video report from the Associated Press:
Russia Cuts Off Gasoline Sales to the Czech Republic
Three days after the Czech Republic signed an agreement with the United States to host a tracking radar for an antiballistic missile system that Russia vehemently opposes, the authorities in Prague said the flow of Russian oil to their country was beginning to dwindle. More from the New York Times.
Former US Press Secretary Tony Snow Dead at 53
President Bush’s third Press Secretary Tony Snow is dead of complications from cancer. He was 53.
Here is the Thursday, July 10th, 2008 edition of events and interesting reads from around the world. It was sadly a very violent day around the world with attacks in Georgia, Turkey and Darfur plus continuing violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. It appears the world is on the verge of a great upheaval. It is quite worrisome.
The Return of Al-Qaeda
It appears that the attack on the US Consulate in Istanbul may have been the work of Al-Qaeda. Stories from the International Herald Tribune and the BBC.
Attacks on UN Troops in Darfur
It is clear that either the government in Khartoum is complicit with the militias operating in Darfur or it does not care. My sense is the former. Reports from Al Jazeera and the Washington Post.
UK Troops Unhappy
Nearly half of British troops regularly consider quitting the army and navy because of plummeting morale, poor equipment and low pay, a Ministry of Defence survey of more than 24,000 military personnel has found in a report from the UK Guardian.
French Nuclear Leak and the US Prepares to Build More Nuclear Plants
Two stories from Germany’s Der Spiegel on the nuclear power industry. The first is on a French Nuclear Leak at the Tricastin nuclear plant.
Following Tuesday’s accidental leak of over 30,000 liters (7,925 gallons) of a solution containing uranium in southern France, nuclear safety agencies are minimizing the possible danger. But emergency bans put on water use in the area by local authorities have worried residents and environmental organizations at a time when much of Europe is re-embracing nuclear power as way to slow global warming.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has proposed building 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 with a longer term goal of 55 more. His Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is also in favor of more atomic energy. Is the US experiencing a nuclear power renaissance?
I don’t like nuclear but I don’t see an alternative. Even so nuclear is a stop-gap measure anyway. It is likely that we have either peaked uranium or will do so soon. Still a little goes a long way. It also lasts a long time and that’s the problem with nuclear. All that radioactive waste. No easy answers when it comes to nuclear but very hard questions.
An Indian Perspective on the Bombing in Kabul
India and Pakistan have vied for influence in Afghanistan for decades. In the 1990s, with the Pakistan-backed Taliban in power, Islamabad’s influence peaked. Then in a reversal of fortune, India, which backed the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance during the years the Taliban were in power, saw its fortunes improve in Kabul, even as Islamabad’s influence touched a nadir. I personally suspect Pakistan’s ISI assisted elements of the Taliban. Pakistan is a problem that has to be tackled and there no easy answers. The ISI is a government within a government. The perspective from Sudha Ramachandran in the Asia Times.
The Russian Rouble
There is no doubt that Russia is on the rise.
Introducing Dmitry Medvedev
The Russian President’s comments at the G-8 Summit.
Was Eduardo Frei Murdered?
Eduardo Frei was Chile’s President prior to Allende. A court forensics expert said Wednesday that former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Montalva was assassinated in January 1982 after a simple hernia operation during the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet. The statement by Carmen Cerda, the chief of the forensics team investigating the case, confirmed longtime suspicions that Frei Montalva, who was Chile’s elected president from 1964 to 1970, had died of foul play at age 71. Medical officials had said that infection related to the surgery was the cause of death. The full story from the Miami Herald.
Here is the Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.
Iraq Calls For US Pullout Timetable
Iraq’s prime minister has for the first time publicly called for a US troop withdrawal timetable. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday that a military agreement the two countries are negotiating should include provisions for the withdrawal of American troops. More from Al Jazeera. It should be interesting to see how this plays in the US Presidential election.
G-8 Agrees Climate Change Deal to Halve Emissions
Leaders of G-8 agree to adopt goal of at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 2050? And they are calling this a breakthrough. I shudder to think what their definition of failure is. The UK Guardian has all the bloody details.
Meanwhile, African leaders have pressed the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations to control oil and food prices. This story from Al Jazeera. And a video report on the summit from the Associated Press:
India Won’t Accept Carbon Emissions Targets
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said emphatically that India would not accept any targets that may be set by international bodies reducing its carbon emissions. Full details in The Hindu. Prime Minister Singh is to meet with US President Bush and other G-8 leaders tomorrow. On the table for US-India talks is the US-India Nuclear Agreement. More this story also from The Hindu.
India Suspends Maize Exports Until October 15, 2008
The Indian Government has already banned exports of wheat, non-basmati rice, edible oil and pulses. This just further puts pressure on global food markets but India is thinking of its own food security. To me, this reads as a repeat of the 1930s when countries acted to protect their own interests and thereby exacerbated the Stock Market Crash of October 1929 and turned it into a world-wide depression that lasted over a decade. India is the sixth largest supplier of corn in the world so its retreat from the global markets is not insignificant. Couple this with the mess in Argentina and we have a real crisis on our hands. This follows a very worrisome report out of China earlier this week that China faces a grain shortage. All About Feed has the details on this story.
China faces serious challenges in ensuring it will have enough grain to feed its population in the decades to come, according to Premier Wen Jiabao.
Industrialisation, urbanisation and a growing population are boosting grain demand while “shrinking arable land, water shortage and climate change is an increasing constraint on output,” Wen told a cabinet meeting.
“The long-term demand and supply will be balanced but tight and ensuring grain security faces serious challenges,” he said.
The meeting approved a mid- and long-term grain security plan that aims to keep the nation’s annual grain output above 500 million tonnes by 2010 and increase production to more than 540 million tonnes a year by 2020.
Litvinenko Murder Intrigue Resurfaces
The murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was carried out with the backing of the Russian state, Whitehall sources have told the BBC.
Sondhi Limthongkul’s Corporatist Vision for Thailand
With Thailand now of its second month of intense political protests, opposition leader Sondhi Limthongkul is proposing reforms that to me sound rather corporatist. Sondhi Limthongkul, the core leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, has called for a “New Politics.”
The New Politics turns out to be a startlingly reactionary proposal to move Thailand’s parliamentary system towards a form of appointed corporatism, or what might be called a selectoral democracy. Thirty percent of MPs would come from elections, perhaps one per province, and the rest of MPS would derive from various occupations and associations. Sondhi says the proportion is not fixed, it’s up for debate.
The rationale for wanting to dismantle Thailand’s electoral system is evident: pro-Thaksin forces keep winning elections. And as Thaksin is said to represent everything bad about Thai politics, he can not be allowed to wield power directly or indirectly. Thus, for Sondhi, and it would seem the PAD leadership as whole, there is now a need to bring about a revolution in political representation.
Taiwan Exports Rise to Record Levels
Taiwan’s exports in June rose 21.3% from a year earlier to a record high of US$24.35 billion on rising demand from parts of Asia and Europe, the government said July 7. The June figure compared with a 20.5% rise to $23.60 billion recorded in May. More from Industry Week.
11 Bodies Found in Tijuana Over 3 Days
As a Colombian, I have seen this all before and it is worrisome that it is happening now in Mexico. What we have endured in Colombia is not something that I would wish on anyone. It is thus that I say with alarm that Mexico’s drug wars require serious attention. We will see bombings. Drug mafias will stop at nothing and only a strong response from the state and civil society can stop them. They will infiltrate politics. They can buy anything and anyone. Act now.
Police discovered the tortured and burned bodies of six men in an empty lot Monday morning, ending a period of relative calm in this border city beset by drug war violence.
Eleven bodies have been discovered since Saturday in violence believed to be drug-related, including the corpse of a woman found in a barrel, state and federal authorities said.
The weekend tally pushed the city’s death toll this year to more than 260, compared with about 152 homicides at this time last year, and underscored authorities’ difficulties curbing organized crime.
The full story from the Los Angeles Times. A 71% rise in drug-related homocides in Tijuana is not something to be taken lightly.
Syria To Restore Diplomatic Ties with France
Syria’s top diplomat in London says Damascus will soon send a new ambassador to Paris and end a freeze on diplomatic ties. Sami Khiyami says a new representative will likely be sent to France in the very near future. Syria has not had an ambassador in Paris since 2006. The report is from Haaretz.
Here is the Friday, June 27th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
UN 2008 Report on the Narcotics Trade
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published its annual report on the world’s narcotic trade. Most alarmingly, Afghan opium poppy cultivation grew 17% last year, continuing a six-year expansion of the country’s drug trade and increasing its share of global opium production to more than 92%, according to the report. Afghanistan also increased its marijuana production. Still, it is the opium poppy that is most worrisome as the Taliban use the profits from that trade to finance its insurgency. In Colombia, coca cultivation rose by 27% in 2007, though coca leaf and cocaine production were concentrated in just 10 of the country’s 195 municipalities again in areas tied to the FARC insurgency. More from Reuters.
“Flabbergasted” NASA Scientists
“Flabbergasted” NASA scientists said on Thursday that Martian soil appeared to contain the requirements to support life, although more work would be needed to prove it. The full report in Reuters.
Gazprom Pushing Natural Gas for Cars in Europe Deutsche Welle reports that the Russian energy giant Gazprom wants to set up a network of service stations across Europe for cars fuelled by natural gas. Gazprom controls a quarter of the world’s gas reserves.
North Korea Destroys Its Cooling Tower at Its Main Atomic Reactor
North Korea destroyed the most visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program Friday, blasting apart the cooling tower at its main atomic reactor in a sign of its commitment to stop making plutonium for atomic bombs. More on this story from the Associated Press:
Thai PM Sunaravej Survives No Confidence Vote
Thailand’s prime minister and seven of his Cabinet ministers held off a parliamentary challenge Friday as street protesters demanded the coalition government’s resignation. The BBC has the full report.
Yup, this is a story out of Romania and it is truly horrifying:
“The government has ruled that a pregnant 11-year-old who was raped by a relative can have an abortion in Romania. Twenty Christian Orthodox church groups have threatened to press charges if the government allows the girl, who is 21 weeks pregnant, to have an abortion in the country, where abortions are illegal beyond 14 weeks of pregnancy unless the woman’s life is endangered. But Theodora Bertzi, a Labor Ministry official and a member of the committee that ruled on the case, said the government had to respect the rights of the child, who told doctors that she had been raped by her 19-year-old uncle. He has disappeared. The position of the church groups was in contrast to the official stand of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which said the decision should be left to the family.”
Considering, this abortion (if it does take place) is the least bad possible outcome for the girl. This case illustrates how abortion can actually be a social good. This girl should not have been raped, victim of incest and ended up pregnant. There was only one way to partially correct this: let her have an abortion. Forcing her to go through the pregnancy and to become a mother against her will would only be one more form of victimization.
As for these religious groups? Why don’t they go after the man who raped her? Why don’t they campaign against child rape and incest? Because it seems to me they’ve got too much time on their hands. It is nice to see that the Church decided to butt out of that one, although it should be noted that it stated that decision should be up to the family, not the girl. Return to Main
Here is the Thursday, June 5th, 2008, edition of interesting reads from around the world.
Energy Consumers Gather in Japan
Eleven nations that guzzle nearly two thirds of the world’s energy will hold talks in northern Japan this weekend, seeking ways to secure enough supply and reduce consumption as oil prices hit record highs. The June 7-8 ministerial meeting in Aomori, some 600km north of Tokyo, brings together China, India, South Korea, and the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations.
California Drought
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide drought Wednesday, warning that California’s water supply is falling dangerously low because of below-average rainfall and court-ordered water restrictions aimed at protecting fish. Administration officials call the governor’s move a first step, intended to put Californians on notice that rationing could be coming if the situation does not improve. More from the Los Angeles Times. We have been through this before, it is not much fun.
Mugagbe Tightens His Grip
Poll harassment continues as opposition leader held and government orders halt to independent food relief. More from the UK Guardian. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was held for nine hours by police Wednesday and formally warned for allegedly breaching a security law after a campaign visit to a small provincial town. More on this aspect of the story from the BBC.
Fighting in Sri Lanka
A wave of new fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across the Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged northern region killed 35 guerrillas and one soldier, the military said Thursday. Details in the International Herald Tribune.
Hungarians Miss Their Welfare State Fistfulofeuros reports that “a recent poll showing that most Hungarians preferred life under communism caused a mild shock in the foreign community, but provoked little more than a characteristic shrug from Hungarians. After all, under János Kádár Hungary was one of the least repressive regimes in the Soviet bloc, the “Goulash Communism” of the 1980s allowed a certain amount of private business, inflation was unheard of, while the state was able to borrow on Western markets to fund a generous health and welfare system. As the number of Hungarians feeling nostalgic for those simpler times has risen from 53% in the last such survey in 2001 to 61% today, it’s clear that Hungarians are having trouble adjusting to modern-day reality.”
Dutch Must Improve Conditions for Europe’s Sole Female Islamic Terrorist
The Netherlands must end the ‘irresponsible’ conditions which Holland’s only convicted female terrorist is living under at the high security prison in Vught, according to prison inspectors working for the Council of Europe. The story from Dutch News.
Singaporean Dissidents Jailed
Singapore Democratic Party leaders opt for jail time for contempt of court because they’re too broke to pay the fine. As expected, Singaporean Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan and his sister, Chee Siok Chin, said Wednesday that they would go to jail for contempt of court because they could not afford an appeal of the sentence, which probably would have been futile anyway. The story from the Asia Sentinel.
Brazil and the United States Clash Over Bio-Fuels
Participants at a U.N. summit on the world’s food crisis differed this week over a key issue: how much the rush for environmentally friendly biofuels is contributing to the rocketing prices that are causing hunger and unrest in much of the globe. Fuels made from sugar cane, corn and other crops have been seen as a way to combat climate change and rising oil prices. The United States has been heavily subsidizing corn-based ethanol production. Last year, the 27-nation European Union endorsed a plan calling for biofuels to make up 10 percent of the fuel for road vehicles by 2020. However:
”It is frightening to see attempts to draw a cause-and-effect relationship between biofuels and the rise of food prices,” the president of Brazil, whose country’s sugar cane has long been used to produce ethanol that fuels cars and trucks, said Tuesday.
The story in the Miami Herald. I will provide a wrap up to the Rome Summit on the Global Food Crisis tomorrow. The summit ends today.
Russian Military Shake-Up
On June 3, 2008, a serious reshuffle took place in Russia’s military establishment: General Yury Baluyevsky stepped down as chief of the General Staff to become deputy secretary of the national Security Council. He was replaced by General Nikolai Makarov, who had until now held the post of chief of procurement, to which he was appointed in April 2007, soon after Anatoly Serdyukov was made defense minister. The story from IntelliBriefs. I have been remiss on covering East European events but I am working on getting two friends to contribute more on Russia and Central Asia. One is an American living and working in Moscow on gay health issues and the other a former Russian peer from business school who lives in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.
Swiss voters have rejected a proposal by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) to reinstate the use of the ballot box to decide on naturalization applications in a referendum today. More than 63% of voters and all but one of the country’s 26 cantons on Sunday came out against the initiative, which also wanted to deny the right of appeal to rejected citizenship candidates. The Swiss naturalization law, however, remains one of the strictest in Europe.
