Archive for the ‘people + places’ Category
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Voters in a referendum on Sunday voted in favour of imposing a blanket ban on the building of minarets in Switzerland, public television reported, citing exit polls.
With ballot-counting still underway, the exit polls suggested that the proposal — put forth by far-right politicians — enjoyed around 59 percent support.
Prior to the referendum, opinion polls indicated that more Swiss would oppose rather than support the ban.
Earliest results after polls closed at mid-day (1100 GMT) showed that at least four cantons — all in German-speaking Switzerland — want a ban on minarets. Read More…
At VoteGlobal.com, voters were undecided, with 1/3 of votes for the ban, 1/3 against and 1/3 undecided.
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - E.U., people + places | 4 Comments »
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Pakistan’s president relinquished command of its nuclear arsenal to the prime minister, a political ally, and signaled he was ready to shed more power as he faces growing pressure to resign.
The move came as an amnesty protecting President Asif Ali Zardari and thousands of others from graft charges expired Saturday, risking political turmoil that could distract the U.S.-allied nation from its fight against the Taliban and other militants near the Afghan border.
Read More…
Posted in Politics - South Asia, environment, people + places | 1 Comment »
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
The United States risks souring relations with much of Latin America if it recognizes upcoming elections in Honduras, the foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview on Wednesday.
Honduras will on November 29 hold elections which de facto leader Roberto Micheletti hopes will end a political crisis that began when soldiers exiled leftist President Manuel Zelaya in June.
Washington — which condemned the coup — has not announced an official position on the election but has suggested it will support the outcome by saying recognition of the presidential election was not contingent on Zelaya’s reinstatement.
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - Latin America, people + places | 3 Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
After engineering an unprecedented spending surge for nearly a year, President Barack Obama now wants to signal that he takes deficits seriously. So this week the White House announced that it is considering creating a commission to figure how to fix the budget mess…
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Posted in Elections - General, Politics - U.S., lifestyle/health, people + places | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Muslims around the world are celebrating the festival of Eid al-Adha, including more than two million pilgrims taking part in annual Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia.
Pilgrims in the Saudi holy city of Mecca threw stones at three pillars representing Satan, a ritual that began Friday and continues until Sunday. No major incidents were reported Friday, the third day of the pilgrimage.
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Posted in Politics - Middle East, Politics - South Asia, lifestyle/health, people + places | 2 Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
As if a projected $20.7 billion state budget deficit wasn’t bad enough, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has another financial headache to deal with: clearing up paperwork related to his 2004 and 2005 federal taxes.
The tangle involves a lien of $79,064 placed on Schwarzenegger’s property by the Internal Revenue Service. The lien was filed in May in Los Angeles County, where the governor and his family live, and surfaced Friday morning on a celebrity Web site, tmz.com.
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Posted in Elections - General, Politics - U.S., people + places | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
An amnesty protecting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari from corruption charges expired on Saturday and threatened to cast the nation into political crisis.
The National Reconciliation Ordinance, an amnesty passed in October 2007 under then-President Pervez Musharraf, protected more than 8,000 bureaucrats and politicians, including Zardari and his wife, late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Read More…
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - Asia-Pacific, Politics - South Asia, people + places | No Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Amid Iran’s refusal to succumb to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors resolution, which calls on the Tehran government to suspend the construction of its second enrichment facility in Fordo, the United States says the international community’s patience is ‘running out.’ Read More…
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - E.U., Politics - Global, Politics - Middle East, Politics - U.S., people + places | No Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Commonwealth leaders will lobby for an international climate deal that includes $10 billion for next year to help poor and vulnerable states fight the effects of global warming, the Maldives president said on Saturday… Read more…
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - E.U., Politics - Global, climate change, environment, lifestyle/health, people + places | No Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Opinion polls in Honduras show conservative candidate Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo has a clear lead ahead of Sunday’s controversial presidential election. Read more…
Posted in Elections - General, Politics - Latin America, people + places | No Comments »
