Global Agenda articles from July 2009

Global Agenda archives from July 2009

Billy Mays, the infomercial king; Death of a great American salesman; Want to know the secret of America's innovation edge? Call now!
July 1, 2009... Want to know the secret of America's innovation edge? Call now! MICHAEL JACKSON was not the only famous 50-year-old to meet an untimely death in the past few days. On June 28th it was reported that Billy Mays, America's "infomercial king",...

Africa votes; More elections in Africa; More African elections do not necessarily mean better governments.
July 1, 2009... More elections in Africa do not necessarily mean better governments Every year the African electoral calendar gets more crowded, and every year more posts--from the presidency to town mayorships--are competed for rather than seized or...

Baltic martyrs for the euro.
July 2, 2009... The Baltic states are suffering deep recessions in their quest to reach the safe haven of the euro zone The Baltic states, despite facing double-digit falls in GDP this year, are striving to limit their budget deficits with a view to...

Constitution please; Fiji is failing to return to democracy; Fiji's failure to return to democracy.
July 3, 2009... Fiji is far from returning to democracy On July 1st Fiji's unelected prime minister, Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, unveiled plans to introduce a new constitution by 2013. The new charter would replace the one that Mr Bainimarama abolished in...

Happy days for some; Contemporary art auctions in London.
July 4, 2009... The art market may have simmered down, but a few artists are still in high demand A little over a year ago, a contemporary evening auction unfolded like a Hollywood thriller, with billionaires in cameo roles and astronomical prices in lieu...

On the edge; Albania's ruling coalition looks shaky; New rules mean Albania's ruling coalition is under threat.
July 6, 2009... Albania's ruling coalition looks shaky Albania's centre-right Democratic Party (DPA), led by Sali Berisha, has forged a coalition to keep it in power following the parliamentary election. However, the new rules under which the election was...

Extinct and unmourned; An online tool for nature conservation; A database of endangered creatures.
July 6, 2009... A database of endangered creatures fails to list those most at risk ONE of the problems facing nature conservationists is that they often have little idea what is being lost. The places where flora and fauna flourish are frequently remote,...

Rejuvenated PRI; Mexico's opposition party makes a comeback; A boost for the PRI in Mexico's legislative elections.
July 7, 2009... A boost for the PRI in Mexico's legislative elections The strong showing by Mexico's opposition Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in the July 5th local and legislative elections was a vindication of the party's status as the oldest...

Big spender; India blows its budget; India's new budget increases spending.
July 7, 2009... India's new budget increases spending, but does not explain where the money will come from On July 6th India's finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, unveiled the recently re-elected government's budget for the 2009/10 fiscal year...