Word: month
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...irritating it must have been for Sarkozy to read French press reports last month that revealed Bush's successor Obama had written a private letter to Chirac ahead of the London G-20 summit. In it, Obama tells Chirac he anticipates their chances to "collaborate together in a spirit of peace and friendship in order to build a safer world." Most French pundits interpret the letter as Obama giving Chirac credit for correctly opposing the Iraq war as a looming strategic and diplomatic calamity - a position Obama shared. According to French press reports, Sarkozy was livid at seeing the star...
...forward. Bloggers are whipping up fears that the influx of Chinese workers is part of Beijing's long-term strategy to occupy their country. Banned pro-democracy groups, which are happy for any opportunity to criticize the authoritarian government, call the mining venture an "ill-begotten scheme." Earlier this month, a dissident Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Do, said that strip mining will destroy the way of life of the region's ethnic minorities. He added that the project created "an illustration of Vietnam's dependence on China." There has been no such outcry against U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa's plans...
...Other countries in the region are made uneasy by China's thirst for resources. Last month, the Australian government rejected a $1.8 billion bid by Chinese mining company Minmetals to acquire debt-ridden OZ Minerals, the world's second-biggest zinc miner, due to national security concerns. OZ Minerals has operations near Australia's Woomera weapons testing site...
...crisis has borne out Chávez's condemnation of capitalism, it has also sent oil prices plummeting - and his populist largesse along with them. At the same time, some supporters worry that as Chávez accumulates more power at home, he's jeopardizing his democratic cachet. This month he prodded Venezuela's Chavista-dominated National Assembly to pass a law that virtually eliminates the elected office of mayor of Caracas, the capital - a seat that was recently won by an opposition candidate - and replaces it with an administrator appointed by Chávez. (See pictures of President Obama...
...last month alone, employees and union officials have held no less than five company CEOs captive after they had announced major staff cuts or plant closures. On March 31, PPR president Fran?ois-Henri Pinault had to be rescued by police after outraged staff surrounded his car following the disclosure of 1,200 job eliminations throughout his distribution group. Such exceptional French acts of intimidation didn't begin with the current recession. Bossnappings have been occurring sporadically in France in response to major staff cuts since 2000, after having been central to frequent factory occupations by radical labor unions...