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Vol. 26 No. 443  May 2007

Some change seen in misguided “terrorism” terminology

 It is both human and politic to call our enemies, those whom we hate and with whom we disagree, “dirty” names. The Chinese called outsiders barbarians, Europeans had equally insulting names for each other and especially for non-whites, and during the past World, Korean, and Indochinese Wars right up to Iraq full use is made of the vocabulary of bile. In the interlude of the Cold War years, partisanship determined the spin: Our freedom fighter is your terrorist and the other way round.  more

Gordon Brown to step up to become British Prime Minister

A constitutional crisis in Turkey over the election of the next president has been resolved or has it? The opposition with the help of the military stopped the formal process of election by the Grand National Assembly on 27 April. The governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) which has a parliamentary majority then approved ... more

Impeaching the US president?

Burundi capital to move to center

France chooses conservative president

Smaller cabinet includes Socialist minister, 7 women

Nicolas Sarkozy became the 8th President of the 5th Republic in a quick and dignified installation on 16 May after winning two rounds of elections. The ambitious, brash, energetic, and youthful son (born 28 January 1955) of a Hungarian immigrant and candidate of the conservative Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) quickly established a government after telling the French people that he will work hard to fulfill his mandate and that he is ready to work with everybody who wants to serve France .

During the last two weeks, the new head of state not only made quick contact ... more

Major German parties draft programs before elections

Nigeria elects civilian president in flawed polls

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (born 1950) of  the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was sworn in as the country’s third Executive  President on 29 May. He succeeded General Olusegun Obasanjo who had served two four-year terms since 1999 and whose supporters tried to have him serve a third time by skirting ... more

Ukraine’s power play shifted to September elections?

A day after the president’s deadline, on 1 June, the Verkhovna Rada legislature, approved  early parliamentary elections on 30 September. The delayed vote came after President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and Speaker Oleksandr Moroz met in the capital on 27 May and agreed on the date. Initially, in April, the president had set 24 June for new elections, starting a series of acts of parliamentary defiance and turning to the Constitutional Court for relief. .. more

government and leader changes

national and political developments

bio briefs

forecast: july-august 2007

info/literature

Cabinet Directory: France

Documentation: Installation Address of French President

Election Statistics: France, Nigeria

(Issue contains 27 pages.)