LETTER N° 28

From 09 to 15 of July

9 Palau		National holiday : Constitution Day (9 July 1979)
9 Haiti		Second-round legislative and local elections. Voting in the coastal city of Jacmel has been postponed due to "tension", according to Haitian Nationale radio. Elsewhere, a regional election official said voting in Bellance would now take place on Monday due to problems transporting election materials. Results will not be known for several days. In many cities, including Port-au-Prince, the capital, there were no runoff elections because all elections had been decided, in the first round. In Saint-Marc, many residents said they were not bothering to take part because they felt the process had been set up to favor Lavalas.
9 Hong-Kong		Members of various professions went to the polls to elect members to an electoral college that will select legislators later this year; and voters were electing candidates in 27 of the 35 subsectors that comprise the Election Committee.The wealthy and conservative dominated the results, a few members of the pro-democracy camp earned seats, among them former Bar Association chairman Audrey EuYuet-mee and former Democratic Party vice-chairman Anthony Cheung Bing-leung.
9/10 Thailand		Senate elections. Senate elections; The Bangkok Post reported that election fraud and other violations again plagued yesterday's fourth round of senate elections in three northeastern provinces where voter turnout was relatively low. The Election Commission said it would announce the election results within one week and probably organise a fifth round within two weeks.
10 Bahamas, The		National holiday : National Day (Independence : 10 July 1973 from UK)
10 Syria		Presidential referendum. In this referendum Bashar al-Assad was confirmed as the new president for a seven-year term.
10 Israel		Prime Minister Ehud Barak survives a no-confidence motion, which is supported by only 54 of the 120 members of the Knesset.
10 Sudan		Bekri Hassan Salih is named defense minister and El-Hadi Abdullah interior minister.
10/12 Togo		Meeting in Lomé, from 10 to 12 of July, for AUO's 36th summit (African Unity Organization). Chiefs of State and Heads of Government of the AUO are debating the old dream of building an African Federation which former Ghanean president Kwame Nkrumah, supported, so as Mouammar Kadhafi did afterwards. The summit will also debate : matters related to AIDS, the external debt and conflicts which are dividing the continent.
11 Mongolia		National holiday : National Day (1921)
11 Colombia		Juan Manuel Santos is named finance minister.
12 Kiribati		National holiday : Independence Day (12 July 1979 from UK)
12 Israel		President Ezer Weizman hands in his resignation, taking today. Knesset speaker Avraham Burg then becomes interim president.
12 Fiji		Ratu Josefa Iloilo is appointed interim president.
14 France		National holiday : National Day, Taking of the Bastille (1789)
14 Australia		Former South Australia governor (1971-76) Sir Mark Oliphant dies.
15 United States		Former Rhode Island governor (1945-51) John Orlando Pastore dies.
15 Zimbabwe		New governement : Moven Mahachi, Defense ; John Landa Nkomo, Home Affairs ; Patrick Chinamasa, ustice, Legal& Parliamentary Affairs ; Stan Mudenge, Foreign Affairs ; Simba Makoni, Finance & Economic Development ; Nkosana Moyo, Industry & International Trade ; Sydney Sekeramayi, Mines and Energy ; Swithun Mombeshora, Transport and Communications ; Joseph Made, Lands, Agriculture & Rural Resettlement ; Francis Nhema, Environment & Tourism ; Ignatius Chombo, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing ; Joyce Mujuru, Rural Resources & Water Development ; Timothy Stamps, Health and Child Welfare ; Herbert Murerwa, Higher Education & Technology ; Samuel Mumbengegwi, Education, Sports & Culture ; July Moyo, Public Service Labour & Social Welfare ; Border Gezi, Youth Development, Gender & Employment Creation ; Nicholas Goche, Minister of State - Security and Jonathan Moyo, Minister of State - Information & Publicity.