Uruguay’s unprecedented plan to put the government at the center of a legal marijuana industry has made it halfway through congress, giving President Jose Mujica a long-sought victory in his effort to explore alternatives to the global war on drugs. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Uruguay’s Congress is finally debating President Jose Mujica’s proposal to fight organized crime by legalizing the production and sale of marijuana. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
The first MLS Cup Final in 1996 was a dramatic affair that saw D.C. United recover from a late two-goal deficit against the Los Angeles Galaxy to win through Eddie Pope’s golden goal in overtime. Yet the drama at Foxborough Stadium that day could not come close to emulating the ‘Greatest Soccer Final Played on American Soil’ — the first continental professional final held between franchises from those two cities to crown the 1967 United Soccer Association champion. Nearly 18,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum witnessed 11 goals, two hat-tricks, three penalty kicks, last-minute equalizers in normal and extra-time, one sending off, countless punch-ups and a heartbreaking golden own goal in sudden-death overtime. Ian Thomson is a former Wall Street reporter and freelance soccer journalist based in Morgantown, West Virginia. In his first book “Summer Of ’67” Ian tells the story of that final and the 12 teams that arrived in North America from around the globe to compete in the first United Soccer Association. The twelve teams were adopted by cities across North America and went through name changes. Cagliari of Italy became the Chicago Mustangs, Wolves and Sunderland from England played as the Los Angeles Wolves and the Vancouver Royal Canadians. Stoke City became the Cleveland Stokers, Bangu from Brazil the Houston Stars and Dundee United offered a Texas rivalry as the Dallas Tornado. Toronto City was Hibernian from Scotland, C.A. Cerro of Uruguay the New York Skyliners and the Netherlands side ADO Den Haag took temporary possession of the mouthful that was the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales. Rounding out the 12 teams was Glentoran of Northern Ireland as the Detroit Cougars, Shamrock Rovers from the Republic not surprisingly lined up as the Boston Rovers and Aberdeen became the Washington Whips. Ian was kind enough to take time to answer some of my questions. Q What drew you to this specific subject? A I’d heard many years ago that my team, Aberdeen from Scotland, had played as the Washington Whips in some far-flung American tournament before I was born. I never thought too much about it until I attended my first D.C. United game at RFK Stadium last year. Shortly afterward, I interviewed Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark for a college soccer story. Bobby was Aberdeen’s goalkeeper during the 1967 tour. It struck me that the United Soccer Association was a key milestone in the timeline of U.S. soccer history that remains largely obscure. Q As you did your research what level of awareness did you find 0f the 1967 United Soccer Association on both sides of the Atlantic? Or was it case that Pele signing for the Cosmos years later was the starting point for most? A It’s funny, I was talking to Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie after his team’s 1-0 win at RFK Stadium in June. Rennie is an Aberdeen fan, yet he had no idea that The Dons had played in that venue. Sunderland’s club historian had written a …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard revealed Wednesday he has been working to convince Luis Suarez to remain at the club as Arsenal reportedly upped their bid for the Uruguay striker to ??40 million ($61 million). …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said on Monday he expects unsettled star Luis Suarez to stay with the club after the Uruguay striker arrived in Australia to join his teammates in “great spirits”. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) just keeps on spending like a drunken sailor with a limitless credit card. This week the Paris club acquired three more players at an initial cost of around $150M. Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani arrived from Napoli for $84M followed later in the week by two young defenders – Lucas Digne (Lille) $19M and Marquinhos (Roma) $42M. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
A Chilean air force plane is checking on a Chinese ship that caught fire in Antarctica.
The Kai Xin vessel burned off the coast of Antarctica on Wednesday and its 97 crew members were rescued by a Norwegian ship.
Then it began to drift unmanned, zigzagging dangerously close to sharp glaciers.
Chile‘s air force said Friday that the ship is still in flames at Bransfield Strait in the Antarctic peninsula.
A Chilean navy tugboat is on its way to tow the ship to harbor before it crashes into the glaciers and causes an oil spill.
A Panamanian-flagged Chinese ship, Skyfrost, is also nearing the area to help tow the disabled craft.
The Kai Xin left port in Uruguay. Chilean officials don’t know how much fuel it carries.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/pRmrsQNBbOs/
Venezuela‘s opposition watched its options dwindle Wednesday after the head of the Supreme Court said there could be no recount of the razor-thin presidential election victory by Hugo Chavez‘s heir, leaving many government foes feeling the only chance at power is to wait for the ruling socialists to stumble.
Opposition activists and independent observers called the judge’s declaration blatant and legally unfounded favoritism from a purportedly independent body that is packed with confederates of President-elect Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s hand-picked successor.
The recount issue isn’t before the court, but its president, Luisa Morales, appeared on television at midday to declare that the opposition call for an examination of each and every paper vote receipt had “angered many Venezuelans.”
It was an unsubtle reminder that virtually every lever of power in Venezuela sits in the hands of a ruling party unafraid to use almost all means at its disposal to marginalize its opponents.
“In Venezuela the system is absolutely automatic, in such a way that manual recounts don’t exist,” Morales said.
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles later told a TV interviewer that Morales should be disqualified from legal decision on petition that his campaign filed Wednesday for a recount.
A day earlier, Capriles canceled a march in the capital planned for Wednesday, saying the government planned to react with violence. That decision came after Maduro urged his own supporters to take to the streets Wednesday.
Maduro hectored the opposition during a 45-minute live appearance on state television Wednesday, calling his opponents “fascists” plotting to overthrow the government.
“Superman could not win an election here,” Diego Arria, a former U.N. ambassador and conservative member of the opposition coalition, said resignedly.
“We’re left with the option of calling the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, but that won’t have any impact here,” Arria told The Associated Press. “If the population stands down, we lose.”
The National Electoral Council on Monday ratified Maduro as the winner of the previous day’s vote with 50.8 percent to Capriles’ 49 percent.
The United States, meanwhile, appeared to soften its insistence on a recount as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left open the possibility of recognizing Maduro as president even the votes aren’t reviewed.
The Obama administration has stood almost alone, along with Paraguay and Panama, in insisting on a recount as other governments congratulated Maduro, who is scheduled to be formally sworn in Friday.
Maduro’s government said 15 countries had confirmed they were sending high-level delegations, among them Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Haiti, Uruguay and Argentina.
Kerry said there was no plan to send a U.S. diplomat but when asked about whether the U.S. would recognize Maduro as legitimate, he said, “I can’t give you a yes-or-no answer on that.”
“If there are huge irregularities, we’re going to have serious questions about the viability of that government. But that evaluation has to be made, and I haven’t made it yet,” Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Maduro boomed angrily in a later TV appearance.
“Take your eyes off Venezuela, John Kerry! Get out
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/VnzJtRktZUA/
Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates celebrated at New Zealand‘s Parliament as the country become the thirteenth in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage.
Lawmakers voted 77 to 44 Wednesday night in favor of the gay-marriage bill.
People watching from the public gallery immediately broke into song after the result was announced, singing a New Zealand anthem in the indigenous Maori language.
Leaders of most political parties encouraged lawmakers to vote as their consciences dictated rather than along party lines.
Same-sex marriage is currently recognized in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina and Denmark. Lawmakers in Uruguay approved a law last week that President Jose Mujica is expected to sign.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/rshH108vP20/
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
AarhusKarlshamn: AAK’s Annual Report 2012 Published
KARLSHAMN, Sweden–(BUSINESS WIRE)– AAK’s (STO:AAK) Annual Report 2012 has been published and is available at the company’s homepage, www.aak.com.
The printed version of the Annual Report 2012 will be distributed by mail to shareholders and other stakeholders, commencing April 15, 2013.
The information is that which AarhusKarlshamn AB (publ) is obliged to publish under the provisions of the Stock Exchange and Clearing Operations Act and/or the Trading in Financial Instruments Act. The information was released to the media for publication on April 12, 2013 at 10.00 am CET.
AarhusKarlshamn is one of the world’s leading producers of high value-added speciality vegetable fats. These fats are characterized by a high technological content and are used as substitute for butter-fat and cocoa butter, transfree solutions for fillings in chocolate and confectionery products, and in the cosmetics industry. AarhusKarlshamn has production facilities in Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Uruguay and the US. The company is organised in three Business Areas; Food Ingredients, Chocolate and Confectionery Fats and Technical Products & Feed. Further information on AarhusKarlshamn can be found on the company’s website www.aak.com.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
AAK
Fredrik Nilsson
Director Group Controlling and Investor Relations
Phone: + 46 40 627 83 34
Mobile: + 46 708 95 22 21
KEYWORDS: Europe Sweden
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/12/aarhuskarlshamn-aaks-annual-report-2012-published/
Uruguay‘s lawmakers were debating Wednesday night whether to legalize gay marriage.
Their vote would make Uruguay the third country in the Americas after Canada and Argentina to eliminate laws making marriage, adoption and other family rights exclusive to heterosexuals. In all, 11 other nations around the world have already taken this step.
The “marriage equality project” was already approved by ample majorities in both houses, but senators made some changes requiring a final vote by the deputies. Among them: gay and lesbian foreigners will now be allowed to come to Uruguay to marry, just as heterosexual couples can, said Michelle Suarez, a member of the Black Sheep Collective, a gay rights group that drafted the proposal.
President Jose Mujica‘s ruling Broad Front majority is expected to put the law into effect within 10 days of the vote.
Whereas some other countries have carved out new territory for gay and lesbian couples without affecting heterosexual marrieds, Uruguay is creating a single set of rules for all people, gay or straight. Instead of the words “husband and wife” in marriage contracts, it refers to the gender-neutral “contracting parties.”
All couples will get to decide which parent’s surname comes first when they have children. All couples can adopt, or undergo in-vitro fertilization procedures.
It also updates divorce laws in Uruguay, which in 1912 gave women only the right to unilaterally renounce their wedding vows as a sort of equalizer to male power. Now either spouse will be able to unilaterally request a divorce and get one. The law also changes the age when people can legally marry from 12 years old for girls and 14 for boys– people of either gender would need to be at least 16.
Mujica, who spent more than a decade in prison for his actions as a leftist guerrilla in the 1970s, and still lives on a ramshackle flower farm in a poor neighborhood on the edge of Uruguay‘s capital, has pushed for a series of liberal laws recently. Congress agreed to decriminalize abortion, but he had to table an effort to put the government in charge of the marijuana business, saying society has to reach consensus on that idea first.
Uruguay‘s Roman Catholic Church asked lawmakers to vote their conscience and challenged the label of “marriage equality” as a false pretext, saying it’s “not justice but an inconsistent assimilation that will only further weaken marriage.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Venezuelans complain that what goes into their Sunday dinner plate comes from abroad: Steak, from Brazil; plantains, the Dominican Republic; rice, South Africa; Parmesan cheese, Uruguay; oats, Chile. Even coffee, in a country famed for it, often is Colombian.
It’s a complaint heard often these days as Hugo Chavez‘s hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, seeks election against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. Under the socialist government, shoppers cannot count on finding sugar, cornmeal for Venezuela‘s beloved arepas and other goods when they go to market.
Those shoppers will be casting ballots Sunday in an election in which food security is a key issue, along with crime and power outages.
“You can’t find anything,” said Ermis Rodriguez, a 76-year-old retiree who walked away from the chicken legs on offer at a meat stand inside Caracas’ bustling Guaicapuro Market. “I voted for Chavez, but I’m not voting for Maduro. Things are getting worse.”
Chavez, who died March 5, made agrarian reform a pillar of his “revolution” and vowed to turn Venezuela into a self-sufficient, food-exporting power. His government expropriated 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres) of farmland over the last 12 years that he said were misused. He nationalized food-producing companies whose owners he claimed were gouging the people, conspiring against his government, or both. For some products such as rice and coffee, the government-controlled market share has ranged from 40 percent to 75 percent.
For the past seven years, Venezuela, a major oil exporter, has seen sporadic shortages of some basic foods like milk and butter. The country of 30 million people still imports nearly 70 percent of its food. And it has to import products it did not need to before Chavez, including beef, coffee and rice.
While Venezuela was nearly self-sufficient in beef 15 years ago, it now imports nearly half the beef it consumes, said Manuel Cipriano, president of the national cattle ranchers’ association. The government and some pro-Chavez agricultural groups dispute that figure but still put it at least 30 percent. Last year alone, frozen beef imports increased nearly 150 percent, according to government figures posted on the ranchers’ association’s website. That has pushed up beef prices.
Gerardo Barreto, president of the Chamber of Industry of the central state of Carabobo, said Chavez gutted Venezuela‘s coffee industry by expropriating its major players, in one stroke diminishing and degrading the product as companies with decades of know-how were replaced by state conglomerates lacking expertise.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Argentines and Uruguayans are joking about insulting comments that Uruguayan President Jose Mujica was caught making about his Argentine ally, President Cristina Fernandez. But politicians in both countries are concerned about the diplomatic fallout.
Mujica basically called Fernandez an “old shrew” and said she was “worse than her cross-eyed” late husband, Nestor Kirchner. “The cross-eyed guy had more of a political sensibility. This one is just stubborn as a mule,” he added.
The comments were picked up on a microphone that Mujica thought was turned off. He says they weren’t intended to be public, so he won’t apologize.
Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman protested to Uruguay‘s ambassador Friday, calling the comments “unacceptable and denigrating … particularly from someone whom Dr. Kirchner had considered to be a friend.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
A Dutch NGO called the Drug Peace Institute recently made a bold proposal to Uruguayan President José Mujica.
The organization is pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the 76-year-old head of state, on account of his efforts to legalize marijuana in the South American country.
“We have come to Uruguay to ask for [Mujica’s] permission to campaign on his behalf,” said Frans Bronkhorst of the Drug Peace Institute.
Read More…
More on Latino Icons
Britain is hoping a referendum on the status of the Falkland Islands will push the United States and other neutral governments off the fence in its territorial dispute with Argentina over the remote South Atlantic archipelago.
Just 1,650 voters are registered to cast secret ballots Sunday and Monday, with election observers on hand from Canada, Mexico, the U.S., Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and New Zealand.
Islanders face a simple yes-or-no question: Should the territory keep its current status as a self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom?”
Islanders expect the answer to be overwhelmingly in favor of British governance and protection. They hope will put their own self-determination at the center of any debate about their future in the face of Argentine claims to the islands.
By Harvey Jones, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
LONDON — Every investor dreams of that elusive 10-bagger, the stock that multiplies every pound or dollar you invest by 10. This doesn’t just happen with smaller companies: At least 10 FTSE 100 stocks have delivered a total return of between 1,000% and 2,000% over the [ast decade, according to research from Fidelity Worldwide Investment. Last week, I looked at the top 3 FTSE shares over the past 10 years. But the next three are almost as impressive. And they are …
Randgold Resources
There are more peaceful places to do business than Mali, but few more profitable.
Over the past decade, Randgold Resources , a gold miner and explorer mostly based in the strife-torn African nation, has returned a dazzling 1,723%. Its strategy is to unearth multimillion-ounce deposits in the prospective gold belts of West and Central Africa and develop them into profitable mines. It currently operates four gold mines — Morila, Loulo, and Gounkoto in Mali and Tongon in Cote d’Ivoire — and is developing a fifth, Kibali in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
After enjoying a golden decade, its share price is down 23% over the past six months, and that’s despite reporting record production levels in 2012 and a 16% rise in full-year profits to $511 million. Even a 25% dividend hike didn’t help the share price shine, although on a current yield of 0.6%, this isn’t for income seekers.
The falling gold price is a concern, as investors become less risk-averse. Political unrest is another worry, both in Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. But Randgold is hungry for more and has launched a hefty program of capital investment. The recent share-price dip looks like a buying opportunity, except I worry that gold’s glory days are now over. Despite its impressive portfolio of mines, this stock is too risky for me. Gold bugs will feel differently.
Tullow Oil
If gold isn’t your thing, what about black gold?
Today’s second FTSE 100 multibagger is oil explorer Tullow Oil , which returned 1,600% over the past decade, making it a sweet 16-bagger. It enjoyed a solid 2012, with sales revenue up 2% to $2.34 billion, and full-year profit before tax up 4% to $1.1 billion. Net debt fell from $2.9 billion to $1 billion. Highlights included the discovery of a new oil basin in Kenya, the Ngamia-1 and Twiga South-1 wells, its fourth major discovery in six years. It also enjoyed success in Uganda and Ghana.
Exploration will always be a risky business, and Tullow wrote off an eye-watering $671 million on failed exploration activities, a massive leap from the $121 million lost in 2012. Happily, its strong balance sheet should help it shrug off these losses, as well as fund the 40 exploration and appraisal campaigns in 2013, including new territories in Africa as well as Guinea, Greenland, Uruguay, and Mozambique.
You only have to look at the company’s earnings-per-share growth to see how volatile your holding is likely to be. It …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Hugo Chavez has been carried back to the military academy where he started his army career, his flag-draped coffin lying in state in the echoing halls until Friday’s funeral.
As a band played the hymn from his first battalion, a long ribbon of tearful mourners numbering in the hundreds of thousands bid farewell to the larger-than-life leader Wednesday after a procession carried his casket through Caracas.
With the entire government, including anointed successor Nicolas Maduro, caught up in the seven-hour procession, there were few answers to the most pressing question facing the country — the timing of a presidential election that must be called within a month.
Generations of Venezuelans, many dressed in the red of Chavez’s socialist party, filled the capital’s streets to remember the man who dominated their country for 14 years before succumbing to cancer Tuesday afternoon.
Chavez’s coffin made its way through the crowds atop an open hearse on an eight-kilometer (five-mile) journey that wound through the city’s north and southeast, into many of the poorer neighborhoods where Chavez drew his political strength.
At the academy, Chavez’s family and close advisers, as well as the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay, attended a funeral Mass around the president’s glass-topped casket. The public then began filing past to peer at their longtime president, many of them coming closer to him than they had ever been while he was alive. Some placed their hand over their heart, others saluting or raising a fist in solidarity. The viewing lasted far into the night.
The head of Venezuela‘s presidential guard, Gen. Jose Ornella, told The Associated Press late Wednesday that Chavez died of a massive heart attack after great suffering.
“He couldn’t speak but he said it with his lips … ‘I don’t want to die. Please don’t let me die,’ because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country,” said Ornella, who said he was with the socialist president at the moment of his death Tuesday.
Set against the outpouring of grief was near-total official silence on where Venezuela is heading next, including when the election will take place. Even the exact time and place of Chavez’s funeral Friday has not been announced, nor has it been revealed where he will be laid to rest.
During Chavez‘s nearly two-year …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Out of respect for President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan-owned oil refiner Citgo flew its flags half-mast outside its Houston and Lake Charles, La., offices Wednesday.
Citgo told KHOU 11 News earlier Wednesday that it would lower flags, including the American flag, for Chavez. The company said it would release a statement later in the day, but a request for comment by FoxNews.com was not immediately returned.
In Houston, the flags at the refinery were lowered to half-mast as late as this afternoon, and caused a number of people to look twice as they drove by. James Post, an assistant project manager at an engineering and construction firm in Harris County, told FoxNews.com the sight was “jarring” and it was “disappointing.”
U.S. protocol allows for flags to be lowered for foreign dignitaries and Post recognized Citgo’s right to do so as a private company. However, he said upon seeing the American or Texas flag at half-mast, he immediately questioned the person being honored; and said his mind “immediately jumped to the last time we did this in the Houston-area and it was for Neil Armstrong, so, you wonder.”
Meanwhile, Terry Backhaus, a financial adviser in Louisiana, told FoxNews.com the flags at the Citgo refinery in Lake Charles had apparently been raised back by noon. “I think I used a profanity when I saw it this morning, I was disgusted,” Bakhaus said. “I didn’t believe it to be right, not for somebody who wasn’t a true American ally.”
The late Venezuelan president died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 58 after a two-year battle with cancer. Chavez’s funeral will be held Friday in Caracas. The ceremony is expected to draw leaders from all over the world including Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia.
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Thousands of Chavez’s supporters filled Caracas’ streets Wednesday to remember the man who dominated their country for 14 years.
But even amid the mass outpouring of grief, questions about the country’s future could not be put off for long, with worries amplified by the government‘s lack of regard for the letter of the constitution, and the military’s eagerness to choose political sides.
Others who bitterly opposed Chavez’s take-no-prisoners brand of socialism said they were sorry about his death, but hopeful it would usher in a less confrontational, more business-friendly era in this major oil-producing country. Under his leadership, the state expropriated key industries, raised taxes on the rich and forced many opponents into exile.
Venezuela and the United States have a complicated relationship — and animosity between Caracas and Washington was rising even in the final hours before Chavez’s death. Vice President Nicolas Maduro claimed “historical enemies” of Venezuela were behind Chavez’s cancer diagnosis.
U.S. officials quickly cast Chavez’s death as an opportunity for America to rebuild a relationship with Venezuela and for the country itself to pursue “meaningful democratic reforms,” with President Obama saying it marked a “new chapter” for the Latin American nation.
An election is expected to be held in 30 days.
Click here for more from KHOU.com.
Fox News’ Jana Winter and the Associated Press …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans stripped of their larger-than-life leader awoke to an uncertain future on Wednesday, with jittery throngs flocking to supermarkets and gas stations to stock up, and anti-American vitriol infusing official statements and the chants of the street.
Hugo Chavez‘s body was being brought from the hospital where he died to a military academy where it will remain until the late president’s funeral Friday, an event that promises to draw leaders from all over Latin America and the world. Already, the presidents of Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia have arrived for the ceremony.
Even in death, Chavez’s orders were being heeded. The man he anointed to succeed him, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, will continue to run Venezuela as interim president and be the governing socialists’ candidate in an election to be called within 30 days.
In a late night tweet, Venezuelan state-television said Defense Minister Adm. Diego Molero had pledged military support for Maduro’s candidacy against likely opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, despite a constitutional mandate that the armed forces play a non-political role.
The streets of Caracas were free of the usual weekday morning traffic as public employees, schoolchildren and many others stayed home on the first day of a week of national mourning. The only lines were at gas stations where Venezuelans could fill up their tanks for pennies a gallon thanks to generous government subsidies.
For diehard Chavistas who camped out all night outside the military hospital where the former paratrooper died, Wednesday was the first full day without a leader many described as a father figure, an icon in the mold of the early 19th century liberator Simon Bolivar. Others saw the death of a man who presided over Venezuela as a virtual one-man show as an opportunity to turn back the clock on his socialist policies.
For both sides, uncertainty ruled the day.
It was not immediately clear when the presidential vote would be held, or where or when Chavez would be buried following Friday’s pageant-filled funeral.
Venezuela‘s constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, currently Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president can’t be sworn in.
But the officials left in charge by Chavez before he went to Cuba in December for his fourth cancer surgery have not been especially …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Strict against smoking already, New Zealand plans to make tobacco companies remove their logos from cigarette packs but will wait until a challenge to Australian legislation is resolved.
The packaging law “will remove the last remaining vestige of glamor from these deadly products,” Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia said in announcing the plan Tuesday.
New Zealand already has increased cigarette taxes and makes retailers hide packs below the counter. The new legislation would be similar to an Australian law that took effect in December and replaced logos on packs with graphic warnings including cancer-riddled mouths.
The proposed law could be introduced in Parliament later this year to take effect when the trade case over Australia‘s law plays out — next year at the earliest.
Tobacco companies lost a legal challenge in Australia‘s highest court last year, but the World Trade Organization has agreed to hear a complaint about it from several tobacco-growing countries led by the Ukraine.
The Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Indonesia argued that governments should pursue health policies “without unnecessarily restricting international trade and without nullifying intellectual property rights.”
New Zealand, Norway and Uruguay have lined up behind Australia in the WTO case. Uruguay told the trade body it couldn’t remain silent about “the most serious pandemic confronting humanity.”
Turia said the New Zealand government wants to minimize its legal exposure by waiting until the outcome of the Australian challenge. Even so, she said, the government is planning to set aside up to 6 million New Zealand dollars ($5.1 million) to defend against possible lawsuits from the “very litigious” tobacco companies.
Steve Rush, the New Zealand general manager of British American Tobacco, said in a statement Tuesday that the company is exploring its legal options.
“We expect to see numerous repercussions as a result of the government ignoring several international agreements as well as setting a dangerous precedent for other industries,” he said.
New Zealand has set itself a target of eliminating smoking altogether by 2025. Turia said the government would consider introducing further measures, such as banning smoking in cars and public places and further hiking taxes.
