vips

LETTER N° 20

From 13 to 19 May

13
Italy

General election. Results :

Senate : Seats - House of Liberties (Casa della Libertà) coalition 177 ; Olive Tree (Ulivo) coalition o 128 ; Rifondazioni 3 ; Democrazia Europea 2 ; Lista Di Pietro 1 and Altri 4.

Chamber : Seats - House of Liberties (Casa della Libertà) coalition 368 ; Olive Tree (Ulivo) coalition 250 ; Rifondazioni 11 and Altri 1.

Turnout is 81.2%.

Provincial elections in Imperia, Lucca, Mantova, Pavia and Ravenna. Results :

13
Spain

(Basque region)

Basque region elections. Results :

PNV-EA 42,7% (33+6) ; PP-UA 23,0% (19+1) ; PSE-EE 17,8% (13-1) ; EH 10,1% (7-7) and EB-IU 5,5% (3+1).

The moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) retained power and continued its 21-year-hold on the regional government.

13
Macedonia

The Parliament elected the new Government of political unity by 104 votes "for", one "against" and four "restraint".

SEE NEW GOVERNMENT - NEXT WEEK

13
Senegal

Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye formed a new cabinet Comprising 22 senior and two junior ministers.

SEE NEW GOVERNMENT - NEXT WEEK

14/20
ONU

Parlement Européen - Bruxelles -Ministers seek action plan for LDCs.

Conference on underdeveloped countries.

The first United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries was held in Paris in 1981. The second was held 10 years ago. Their legacy, which carries over to the third UNCLDC, is the idea that increasing trade opportunities and debt relief for the poorest countries is the way forward. The obstacle remains the lack of consensus and cooperation on ways and means. Many developed and donor countries balk at concessions to LDCs that undermine economic interests. Two high-profile plans are the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country initiative and Everything But Arms, proposed by the European Union. HIPC shows signs of surviving international aid fatigue. Fierce opposition to the EBA from industry lobbyists in EU member countries could see it delayed indefinitely or watered down to nothing by conference time. It proposes granting duty-free access to the EU market to almost all products from the LDCs. The lobbyists, especially from the agriculture sector, say it will trigger a flood of cheap imports and swamp agricultural markets. Other opponents say the EBA will harm the Cotonou agreement, which gives some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) developing countries preferential access to EU markets. A point of agreement for participants is that there are more needy countries. The number of LDCs has grown in 20 years from 25 to 48, now representing some 10.5 per cent of the world's population.

Further information

14
Philippines

National, local, regional, and party-list polls. Results : not available

14
Bahrein

Gulf Arab leaders meet

The 18-year-old Gulf Cooperation Council, moving forward on the plan to integrate the economies of member countries, now meets twice a year. As envisioned, an integration pact would establish a common GCC currency, facilitate the movement of nationals between member states, and give GCC members more clout on the international scene because they would be negotiating political and trade issues as a bloc.

The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) groups Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

14
Slovakia

President Rudolf Schuster accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner. President has passed the powers of interior minister to Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky.

15/18
OSCE

Delegations from 55 States assembling in Prague for Ninth OSCE Economic Forum.

The theme : "Transparency and Good Governance in Economic Matters"; Top decision-makers from the 55 OSCE participating States will discuss the impact of transparency and good governance on security and stability in the OSCE area. The Forum will bring together more than 300 participants from throughout the OSCE area.

15
Egypt

Ahmed Maher is named foreign minister to succeed Amr Moussa, who becomes secretary-general of the Arab League.

Ahmed Maher El-Sayed began his diplomatic career in 1957 and was appointed ambassador to Portugal in 1980. He also served as ambassador to Belgium and Russia before being sent to the U.S. who served from 1992 to 1999. In 1978, he was a member of Egypt's delegation at the Camp David peace talks.

16
Canada

(British Columbia)

Provincial elections. Results :

The Liberal victory - 76 of 79 seats - meant the NDP's hopes for the four seats needed for official party status hung on a recount.

16
Northern Ireland

Local government elections. Results : not available

16
Egypte

Elections sénatoriales. Results : not available

16
Arab League

Leadership of Arab League changes.

Amre Moussa replaces compatriot Esmat Abdel Meguid, who has held the post for 10 years.

Amre Mahmoud Moussa, born in 3 October 1936, Cairo. 1957 LL.B., Faculty of Law, Cairo University. 1958 Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1961-1974 Served in the Egyptian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland; and the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. 1974-1977 Assistant and Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt. 1977-1981 and 1986-1990 Director, Department of International Organizations. 1981-1983 Alternate Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. 1983-1986 Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to India. 1990-1991 Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. Since 1991 Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

16
Philippine

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo named Energy Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho as the new finance secretary, replacing Alberto Romulo who will become the President's executive secretary.

Camacho, an investment banker for the past 22 years, was a country manager for Deutsche Bank in the Philippines before he took up the energy post.

17
Iran

Iranian Transport Minister Rahman Dadman and 28 others including deputy ministers and MPs crashed killing all on board, state officials told.

Dr. Rahman Dadman, was born in the city of Ardebil in 1956. He has studied civil engineering and holds a bachelor's and postgraduate degree from the Tehran University (1987). Before his appointment to the present post, which he holds with a majority of the Majlis votes (223 out of 255 votes cast) he served as a deputy roads and transport minister and managing director of the IRI Railways since 1997.

17
Papua New Guinea

Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta sacks Foreign Minister Bart Philemon and replaces him with John Pundari.

18
Northern Ireland

The former chief-of-staff of the Provisional IRA, Sean MacStiofain, has died in hospital after a long illness. He was 73.

Born John Stevenson in England, MacStiofan was a key player in the early days of the IRA, especially during the split of December 1969 which resulted in the formation of PIRA. MacStiofain was at the coup's center. At the 1970 Ard Feis Convention, MacStiofain and O'Bradaigh worked intently, but unsuccessfully, against the rejection of absentionism. MacStiofain mastered the art of propaganda "techniques" and was responsible for the regular use of press conferences to get the message out. He lost some credibility within the Movement when he "caved" on his 53-day hunger strike in Curragh prison.

Photo : MacStiofain in 1972

18
Senegal

Senegalese Democratic Party's MP Youssou Diagne, was named at the head of the National Assembly for the Sopi Coalition .

THIS WEEK'S STORY

1796, 14 May

Edward Jenner

Jenner tests smallpox vaccine

Edward Jenner, an English country doctor from Gloucestershire, administers the world's first vaccination as a preventive treatment for smallpox, a disease that had killed millions of people over the centuries.

While still a medical student, Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had contracted a disease called cowpox, which caused blistering on cow's udders, did not catch smallpox. Unlike smallpox, which caused severed skin eruptions and dangerous fevers in humans, cowpox led to few ill symptoms in these women. On May 14, 1796, Jenner took fluid from a cowpox blister and scratched it into the skin of James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy. A single blister rose up on the spot, but James soon recovered. On July 1, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with smallpox matter, and no disease developed. The vaccine was a success. Doctors all over Europe soon adopted Jenner's innovative technique, leading to a drastic decline in new sufferers of the devastating disease.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, scientists following Jenner's model developed new vaccines to fight numerous deadly diseases, including polio, whooping cough, measles, tetanus, yellow fever, typhus, and hepatitis B, and many others. More sophisticated smallpox vaccines were also developed and by 1970 international vaccination programs, such as those undertaken by the World Health Organization, had eliminated smallpox worldwide.

La Francophonie

ALSO SEE

Chiefs of State and Heads of Government Foreign Affairs World Parliaments Federated States and Provinces World Governments International Organizations

13 Italy		General election. Results : Senate : Seats - House of Liberties (Casa della Libertà) coalition 177 ; Olive Tree (Ulivo) coalition o 128 ; Rifondazioni 3 ; Democrazia Europea 2 ; Lista Di Pietro 1 and Altri 4. Chamber : Seats - House of Liberties (Casa della Libertà) coalition 368 ; Olive Tree (Ulivo) coalition 250 ; Rifondazioni 11 and Altri 1. Turnout is 81.2%. Provincial elections in Imperia, Lucca, Mantova, Pavia and Ravenna. Results :
13 Spain (Basque region)		Basque region elections. Results : PNV-EA 42,7% (33+6) ; PP-UA 23,0% (19+1) ; PSE-EE 17,8% (13-1) ; EH 10,1% (7-7) and EB-IU 5,5% (3+1). The moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) retained power and continued its 21-year-hold on the regional government.
13 Macedonia		The Parliament elected the new Government of political unity by 104 votes "for", one "against" and four "restraint". SEE NEW GOVERNMENT - NEXT WEEK
13 Senegal		Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye formed a new cabinet Comprising 22 senior and two junior ministers. SEE NEW GOVERNMENT - NEXT WEEK
14/20 ONU		Parlement Européen - Bruxelles -Ministers seek action plan for LDCs. Conference on underdeveloped countries. The first United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries was held in Paris in 1981. The second was held 10 years ago. Their legacy, which carries over to the third UNCLDC, is the idea that increasing trade opportunities and debt relief for the poorest countries is the way forward. The obstacle remains the lack of consensus and cooperation on ways and means. Many developed and donor countries balk at concessions to LDCs that undermine economic interests. Two high-profile plans are the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country initiative and Everything But Arms, proposed by the European Union. HIPC shows signs of surviving international aid fatigue. Fierce opposition to the EBA from industry lobbyists in EU member countries could see it delayed indefinitely or watered down to nothing by conference time. It proposes granting duty-free access to the EU market to almost all products from the LDCs. The lobbyists, especially from the agriculture sector, say it will trigger a flood of cheap imports and swamp agricultural markets. Other opponents say the EBA will harm the Cotonou agreement, which gives some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) developing countries preferential access to EU markets. A point of agreement for participants is that there are more needy countries. The number of LDCs has grown in 20 years from 25 to 48, now representing some 10.5 per cent of the world's population. Further information
14 Philippines		National, local, regional, and party-list polls. Results : not available
14 Bahrein		Gulf Arab leaders meet The 18-year-old Gulf Cooperation Council, moving forward on the plan to integrate the economies of member countries, now meets twice a year. As envisioned, an integration pact would establish a common GCC currency, facilitate the movement of nationals between member states, and give GCC members more clout on the international scene because they would be negotiating political and trade issues as a bloc. The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) groups Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
14 Slovakia		President Rudolf Schuster accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner. President has passed the powers of interior minister to Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky.
15/18 OSCE		Delegations from 55 States assembling in Prague for Ninth OSCE Economic Forum. The theme : "Transparency and Good Governance in Economic Matters"; Top decision-makers from the 55 OSCE participating States will discuss the impact of transparency and good governance on security and stability in the OSCE area. The Forum will bring together more than 300 participants from throughout the OSCE area.
15 Egypt		Ahmed Maher is named foreign minister to succeed Amr Moussa, who becomes secretary-general of the Arab League. Ahmed Maher El-Sayed began his diplomatic career in 1957 and was appointed ambassador to Portugal in 1980. He also served as ambassador to Belgium and Russia before being sent to the U.S. who served from 1992 to 1999. In 1978, he was a member of Egypt's delegation at the Camp David peace talks.
16 Canada (British Columbia)		Provincial elections. Results : The Liberal victory - 76 of 79 seats - meant the NDP's hopes for the four seats needed for official party status hung on a recount.
16 Northern Ireland		Local government elections. Results : not available
16 Egypte		Elections sénatoriales. Results : not available
16 Arab League		Leadership of Arab League changes. Amre Moussa replaces compatriot Esmat Abdel Meguid, who has held the post for 10 years. Amre Mahmoud Moussa, born in 3 October 1936, Cairo. 1957 LL.B., Faculty of Law, Cairo University. 1958 Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1961-1974 Served in the Egyptian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland; and the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. 1974-1977 Assistant and Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt. 1977-1981 and 1986-1990 Director, Department of International Organizations. 1981-1983 Alternate Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. 1983-1986 Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to India. 1990-1991 Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations, New York. Since 1991 Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
16 Philippine		President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo named Energy Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho as the new finance secretary, replacing Alberto Romulo who will become the President's executive secretary. Camacho, an investment banker for the past 22 years, was a country manager for Deutsche Bank in the Philippines before he took up the energy post.
17 Iran		Iranian Transport Minister Rahman Dadman and 28 others including deputy ministers and MPs crashed killing all on board, state officials told. Dr. Rahman Dadman, was born in the city of Ardebil in 1956. He has studied civil engineering and holds a bachelor's and postgraduate degree from the Tehran University (1987). Before his appointment to the present post, which he holds with a majority of the Majlis votes (223 out of 255 votes cast) he served as a deputy roads and transport minister and managing director of the IRI Railways since 1997.
17 Papua New Guinea		Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta sacks Foreign Minister Bart Philemon and replaces him with John Pundari.
18 Northern Ireland		The former chief-of-staff of the Provisional IRA, Sean MacStiofain, has died in hospital after a long illness. He was 73. Born John Stevenson in England, MacStiofan was a key player in the early days of the IRA, especially during the split of December 1969 which resulted in the formation of PIRA. MacStiofain was at the coup's center. At the 1970 Ard Feis Convention, MacStiofain and O'Bradaigh worked intently, but unsuccessfully, against the rejection of absentionism. MacStiofain mastered the art of propaganda "techniques" and was responsible for the regular use of press conferences to get the message out. He lost some credibility within the Movement when he "caved" on his 53-day hunger strike in Curragh prison. Photo : MacStiofain in 1972
18 Senegal		Senegalese Democratic Party's MP Youssou Diagne, was named at the head of the National Assembly for the Sopi Coalition .