2012 Happy New Year

 Dear All

I wish to have you a
Sweetest Sunday
Marvelous Monday
Tasty Tuesday
Wonderful Wednesday
Thankful Thursday
Friendly Friday
Successful Saturday
Have a great 2012
Happy New Year

Venezuela and Venezuelan News

Country Profile
Venezuela officially called the 'Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela' is a tropical country on the Northern Coast of South America.
Venezuela is divided into 23 states,a capital district
Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America
Venezuela has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil and has the largest Oil Reserves
Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522, overcoming resistance from indigenous people. It became the first Spanish American colony to declare independence in 1811, but did not securely establish independence until 1821 (initially as a department of the federal republic of Gran Colombia( which included the territories of present-day Colombia,Venezuela,Ecuador,Panama,northern Peru and Northwest Brazil ) gaining full independence in 1830)
Venezuela first saw democratic rule from 1945 to 1948, and after a period of dictatorship has remained democratic since 1958.

Capital - Caracas
Currency - bolívar fuerte
Population - 30 Million
National Language - Spanish 


Government 
The President is the Head of the State and Head of the Govt.The term of Office is 6 Years with eleigibile for re-election for unlimited number of times.The President is elected by Vote of adult citizens directly.The voting age in Venezuela is 18 and older.
Venezuelan Parliament '' Asamblea Nacional '' (National Assembly) is Unicameral.

The number of members is variable, each state and the Capital district elect three representatives plus the result of dividing the state population by 1.1% of the total population of the country.

Venezuela's Murder Rate is the Highest in South America

 


The Venezuela Violence Observatory says at least 19,336 people have been killed this year, an average of 53 a day. The figures suggest Venezuela's murder rate is the highest in South America and four times that of Mexico.

In November2011, President Hugo Chavez announced the creation of a new armed force - the People's Guard - to improve public security. Thousands of troops were deployed to support police on the streets of Caracas(Caracas is the capital and largest city in Venezuela) and other regions where crime levels are high .

 


Several Latin American countries have murder rates far higher than the global average of 6.9 murders per 100,000 people.In 2011 Venezuela had a murder rate of 67 per 100,000 inhabitants.

2012 Venezuela Presidential Elections - Oct 7,2012

The election is to take place on Oct 7,2012Incumbent President Hugo Chavez Frias (United Socialist Party of Venezuela - PSUV)

announced his candidacy at a rally held in Caracas in Nov 2010, seeking re-election for a third term (2013–2019) and on Aug 4, 2011 members of the coalition(Communist Party of  Venezuela(PCV)

and Venezuelan Popular Unity(UPV)

ratified the candidacy of President Hugo Chavez Frias.


President Hugo Chavez  Re-elected  

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was re-elected on Sunday Oct 7,2012 to a 4th term who polled 54.42 % of the votes with about 90 % of the ballots counted while Henrique Capriles, the unified opposition candidate, received 44.97 %.

Chavez had secured 7.4 million votes and Capriles 6.1 million votes, election officials said.

Chavez, who has been president since 1999, defeated Henrique Capriles Radonski, whose campaign criticized the Chavez administration for inefficiencies, infrastructure shortcomings and corruption.

Hugo Chavez Names New Vice President -  Oct 10,2012

 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez named a new vice president on Wednesday, choosing his longtime foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro.

 

Chavez made the announcement at an event where he was declared the winner of Sunday's presidential election. He called for a round of applause for his outgoing vice president, Elias Jaua, who has held the post since 2010.

Maduro has been Venezuela's top diplomat since 2006, and his prominence at government events in recent months had generated speculation that Chavez might choose him as his next vice president

 

Fire at Venezuela's Amuay Refinery - Saturday Aug 25,2012

 

Amuay is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, which also includes the adjacent Cardon refinery. Together, the two refineries process about 900,000 barrels of crude a day and 200,000 barrels of gasoline.

 

A huge explosion rocked Venezuela’s biggest oil refinery early Saturday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 50 others in the deadliest disaster.

 

 

The blast occurred after 1 a.m. when a gas leak created a cloud that ignited, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Socialist Party Wins State Elections -Sunday Dec 16,2012

 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Socialist Party has increased the number of governorships it holds, winning 20 of the country's 23 states.The vote was the first time in Hugo Chavez’s nearly 14-year-old presidency that he has been unable to actively campaign.
The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Socialist Party not only increased the number of governorships they held from 18 to 20, but they took two key states from the opposition - Zulia, the cradle of the country's oil sector, and Carabobo, Venezuela's industrial heartland.

The opposition coalition held on to two key states, including Miranda, where Henrique Capriles was re-elected.Henrique Capriles, held onto the governorship of Miranda state by defeating former Vice-President Elias Jaua. Having lost in October's presidential polls to Hugo Chavez,he needed this win to revive his political career.

The opposition had held the governorships in 8 states, and it lost in 5 of those states according to the results announced by National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena.

 

Hugo Chavez swearing-in delay legal, Venezuela's SC Rules 

 

Venezuela's Supreme Court has ruled that the postponement of President Hugo Chavez's inauguration for a new term in office is legal.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles accepted the ruling as binding, but said it did not end the uncertainty facing Venezuela.

SC President Luisa Estella Morales said it would be "absurd" to consider Mr Chavez's treatment in Cuba as an unauthorised absence.
She said that the oath of office could be taken at a later date, as the constitution states, and Mr Chavez's re-election had guaranteed "continuity" in government.
In a televised statement, SC President Luisa Estella Morales read out the unanimous decision of the panel of seven magistrates who handle constitutional issues before the court.

She said there was a clear distinction between the act of taking the oath and the beginning of a new mandate.

The Supreme Court considered the swearing-in an important formality, but not indispensable for the start of the new presidential term, she said.

She said that the swearing-in ceremony would no doubt happen.
"But at this moment, we can't say when, how, or where he [the president] will be sworn in", SC President Luisa Estella Morales said.
Note
Hugo Chavez is in hospital in Cuba after undergoing cancer surgery.
Earlier,on Tuesday Jan 8,2013 the National Assembly voted to give Mr Chavez as much time as he needed to recover.

 

For France 2011 is Hottest Year Since 1900

The average national temperature in 2011 was 13.6 degrees Celsius (56 degrees Fahrenheit).Autumn 2011 was also exceptionally mild, with November the second hottest since 1900, 3.0 degrees Celsius warmer than the average of temperatures from 1971 to 2000.

The year's warm temperatures were accompanied by 20 per cent less rainfall than usual, except in the southeast of France.

Kyrgyzstan Starts Anti-Bride Kidnapping Campaign

The origins of bride kidnapping are rooted in the former Soviet state's nomadic folklore.Bride kidnapping is a tradition of the Kyrgyz people, but these crimes often force women to commit suicide.Around 15,000 women each year become the victims of bride kidnapping.Bride kidnapping, though, is a crime in Kyrgyzstan although if found guilty offenders receive up to three years in jail rather than the 10 years given to people for other abductions.
Kyrgyzstan’s President, Roza Otunbayeva  called on the Kyrgyz people to stop bride kidnapping. 

 

Turkmenistan Holds World's 2nd Largest Gas Field

After months of research, auditors Gaffney, Cline & Associates said  that the South Yolotan field contains between 13.1 trillion cubic metres and 21.2 trillion cubic metres of gas, 2nd only in size to Iran's South Pars.
Chinese state oil and gas company CNPC is one of 4 companies that won a tender in 2009 to develop the South Ioloten field. The other 3 companies were - Petrofac Emirates and South Korea's LG International Corp and Hyundai Engineering Co.

 

Libraries Around the World

Anna Centenary Library,Chennai,Tamilnadu,India

Anna Centenary Library (ACL) built at a cost of 1,720 million, it is the largest library in South Asia and is named after the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu,C N Annadurai.Built on 8 acres of land, the 9-floor library building houses a total area of 333,140 sq. ft and has a capacity to accommodate 1.2 million books.The library is designed to accommodate a total of 1,250 persons; an auditorium of 50,000 sq. ft. with a seating capacity of 1,280, and an amphitheatre on the terrace that can accommodate more than 800 persons and two conference halls with capacities of 151 and 30 persons are some of the facilities available.A dedicated children's section, spread over 15,000 sq. ft. has a fun-filled theme-based reading area with multimedia kits and storybooks. The library also boasts a high-tech section for the visually-impaired, with talking books and Braille displays.Parking space exists for about 420 cars and 1,030 two-wheelers.The library employs 200 staff, including 96 permanent and 40 contract employees, and has a collection of 550,000 books. It is visited by about 2700 persons every day.

Biblioteca Nacional de España - Madrid, Spain

The National Library of Spain didn't always carry the name of National Library. It was founded by Felipe V at the end of 1711 and opened its doors in March of 1712 as the "royal public library." In 1836, it passed from being royal property to belonging to the government, and then, first became known as the National Library of all of Spain.

                                                                                         

Bibliothèque Nacionale de France - Paris, France

 

In France, the National Library is located in the capital: Paris. Its origins trace back to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. In 1998, the French president Francois Mitterand ordered the construction of a new building, which contains more than ten million volumes. An exhibition space is also part of the new building.

                                                                                

Philological Library of the Free University - Berlin, Germany

Since the end of World War II, the Free University has been not only of the city's symbolically most important institutions, but also one of the leading universities in Germany as a whole. It oocupies a central role in the capital's intellectual life. Its redevelopment, in turn, includes the restoraction of the university's Modernist buildings and the construction of the new Philology Library, which was built from 1997 to 2005. 

                                                                                         

Law Library of the University of Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland

 

 The Law Library of the University of Zurich is one of them. It carries the famous name of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who has his main office in Zurich. The library was opened in 2004, after 15 years of planning and construction. The original building dates back to 1908, and Calatrava's extended version cannot actually be seen from the street. The library's collection itself holds about 170,000 books and 700 magazines

 

National Library Singapore - Singapore

The National Library of Singapore dates back to 1823. At that time, it was very much linked to the founding of Singapore's first major educational institution, The Singapore Institution. Much time has passed since then, and this institution is now known as the Raffles Institution. The National Library, too, has undergone great evolution; at the beginning it only served the needs of a privileged few but nowadays it is aimed at reaching out towards all Singaporeans. The National Library Building houses the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library and the Central Public Library .

Austrian National Library - Vienna, Austria

The Austrian National Library is the central academic library of the Republic of Austria, and as such, spans a rich history and tradition that dates back all the way to the 14th century.It was Emperor Charles VI who ordered it to be constructed as his Court Library. Architect Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach planned its construction, and it was built from 1723 to 1726 by his son Joseph Emanuel. Court painted Daniel Gran, in turn,can be thanked for the beautiful ceiling frescoes.