The Japanese Cabinet has approved a $25-billion special budget to finance relief and recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The ministers agreed Tuesday not to issue new bonds to finance the second supplementary budget for this fiscal year but to use leftover funds from last year. The Cabinet will submit its plan to […]
Japan’s Cabinet Agrees on Second Disaster Recovery Budget
Posted July 5th, 2011 at 6:55 pm (UTC-5)
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Bangladeshi Opposition Parties to Launch 2-Day Strike on Wednesday
Posted July 5th, 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
Bangladeshi opposition parties are preparing to launch a 48-hour strike against a government they accuse of clinging to power and undermining democracy. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies including the Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami say the strike will begin Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. local time. The parties have been protesting last month’s […]
S. Africa Deputy President Denies Challenge to Zuma
Posted July 5th, 2011 at 7:50 am (UTC-5)
South Africa’s deputy president has denied that he is campaigning to replace Jacob Zuma as head of the ruling party when it elects new leaders next year. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also deputy leader of the ruling African National Congress, said that he is “not involved in any campaigning or lobbying for the […]
Mexico’s PRI Wins Key State Election
Posted July 4th, 2011 at 5:05 pm (UTC-5)
Mexico’s opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, has swept to victory in a key state gubernatorial election, giving it momentum heading into the 2012 national elections. With more than 91 percent of the votes counted following Sunday’s balloting, the party’s candidate, Eruviel Avila, had won 62 percent in Mexico state. Alejandro Encinas of the leftist […]
South Korea’s Ruling Party to Select New Leaders
Posted July 3rd, 2011 at 9:55 pm (UTC-5)
South Korea’s ruling Grand National Party is holding its national convention Monday to elect a chairperson and members of its supreme council. The Yonhap news agency says seven candidates are competing for four council member positions. It says all seven are in their late 40s and early 50s. The report says there have been calls […]
Nigeria Swears in 14 Ministers
Posted July 2nd, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has sworn in 14 members of his Cabinet, asking them to get straight to work. Twelve of the appointees who took the oath of office Saturday served in Mr. Jonathan’s previous Cabinet in the same ministries. Two are new appointees; Mr. Jonathan says they will receive their assignments on Monday. The […]
Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi to Travel Outside Rangoon
Posted June 30th, 2011 at 11:35 pm (UTC-5)
Supporters of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday that she will travel outside Rangoon next week for the first time since her release from house arrest in November. The sources said the Nobel peace laureate will travel to the ancient city of Baban with her son Kim Aris Monday for a private […]
Bangladesh Abolishes Caretaker Government for Elections
Posted June 30th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
Bangladesh’s parliament has repealed a constitutional provision for a caretaker government to take over power for three months while the country holds elections. The system had been in place since the mid-1990s to try to prevent election fraud, but lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to abolish it. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the vote. Politicians […]
Bangladesh Abolishes Caretaker Government for Elections
Posted June 30th, 2011 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
Bangladesh’s parliament has repealed a constitutional provision for a caretaker government to take over power for three months while the country holds elections. The system had been in place since the mid-1990s to try to prevent election fraud, but lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to abolish it. The main opposition boycotted the vote. Earlier this month, […]
Burmese Pro-Democracy Party Asks Government to Discuss Warning
Posted June 29th, 2011 at 4:15 pm (UTC-5)
The Burmese political movement headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is asking for a meeting with authorities to discuss a government order directing the organization to halt all political activities. The request came Wednesday, just hours after the Home Affairs Ministry warned the Nobel laureate in a letter that her National League for […]
