The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan will go to polls for the second time in its history next month for elections which will consolidate its transformation to democracy, according to a royal decree. A vote for the 25-member upper house will take place on April 23, said the decree which was posted…
BP head Robert Dudley to represent Russia on Rosneft board
BP secured two board seats at Rosneft after an agreement to sellits 50 percent stake in Russian joint venture TNK-BP to thecompany, according to a government decree published on Friday.It is hoped Robert Dudley’s nomination to Rosneft managementwill bring experience that will “increase the efficiency of theintegration process [with TNK-BP] and make the company one of theworld’s most competitive players,” according to Rosneft bossIgor Sechin.As a Rosneft board member, Dudley will have to work closely withMatthias Warnig, a former East German secret agent turnedinvestment banker who was offered the option of retaining hisnon-executive seat on the Rosneft board.Other representatives for Russia include VTB Bank CEO AndreyKostin, Russian Academy of Sciences Vice President AleksandrNekipelov, Rosneft President Igor Sechin and Rostechnadzor DeputyGeneral Director Dmitry Shugaev.Dudley has vast experience in the oil business. From 2003-2008,he was President and Chief Executive of TNK-BP and under hisleadership the joint venture increased oil output by a third to 1.6million barrels per day. In 2009 he became managing director of BPoverseeing the company’s activities in the Americas and Asia. In2010 he was appointed President and CEO of BP’s Gulf CoastRestoration Organization and was responsible for coping with theoil leak in the Gulf of Mexico that affected five US states. OnJuly 27, 2010, BP announced that Dudley would succeed Tony Haywardas BP’s Group Chief Executive, which made him head of thecompany.TNK-BP’s top managers have already received instructions tostart their merger with Rosneft. The companies are expected to gothrough a ‘mixed integration’ that will see their staffs joinedtogether.Rosneft has an agreement to purchase 100% TNK-BP from BP and theAAR consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders. The terms ofthe deal see BP selling its half in TNK-BP to Rosneft for $17.1billion and a 12.84% of the Russian company, while the AAR(Alfa-Access-Renova) consortium sells the other half for $28billion in cash. … Read More
Timeline: How the crisis in Egypt unfolded
http://www.youtube.com/v/MrXVIOPpoLk?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Excerpt from: Timeline: How the crisis in Egypt unfolded
Putin says he will ban US adoptions of Russian children
Russian President Vladimir said Thursday that he is likely to sign a bill which would ban the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. According to the New York Times, a number of Russian lawmakers framed the adoption bill as retaliation for the recent American ban on Russian citizens accused of human rights violations traveling to the United States or owning U.S. assets.Putin said that he still needed to review the bill’s final text but that he “intend[ed] to sign the law,” adding that he also planned to beef up care for disadvantaged children within Russia with “a presidential decree changing the procedure of helping orphaned children, children left without parental care, and especially children who are in a disadvantageous situation due to their health problems.”Continue Reading… … Read More
Mohammed Morsi Annuls Constitutional Amendment That Would Have Expanded His Power
According to several sources, Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has annulled the constitutional decree he announced just weeks ago, which would have given him far-reaching state powers and immunity from judicial oversight. According to the AFP, Islamist politician Selim al-Awa told a news conference that “the constitutional decree is annulled from this moment.”The decree, in combination with an equally controversial constitutional draft that will be voted on in December, have inspired large, violent protests in Cairo for days. Read More…
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Egypt protests continue over the Morsi decree
Protests continued in Egypt for a sixth day as demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square demanded that President Mohamed Morsi rescind the decree that they say gives him dictatorial powers.There were reports of clashes between riot police and demonstrators, according to CNN, with the police firing tear gas and charging at protesters who threw stones. CNN said the police arrested many demonstrators, beating some.The protesters, nearly 200,000 of them, filled Tahrir Square from Tuesday night into Wednesday. Observers said the crowds were the biggest since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power last year.Reuters reported that two of Egypt’s top courts also stopped work in protest of the decree.Continue Reading… … Read More
