Guatemalan Ex-President Ordered to Jail, VP Sworn in as President

Pic Source: The Guardian

President Otto Perez Molina was all over the media recently, due to the major fact that his post-protests resignation led immediately to a court order for arrest against him (stemming from corruption charges), an idea you would never see in classic Central American affairs.

It’s an incredible sight to see that all 118 members of Congress who were present voted unanimously (118-0) to accept his resignation, leading to Guatemala welcoming a new leader, former VP Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/americas/guatemala-president-arrest-warrant/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/world/americas/otto-perez-molina-guatemalan-president-resigns-amid-scandal.html?_r=0

Moldova’s Plan to Liquidate the Three Banks Connected With the 1 Billion Euro Disappearance

Pic Source: Moldova.org

In the looming bankruptcy crisis of Moldova, Valeriu Strelet, the new PM of Moldova, announced on August 5th his intentions to liquidate Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank.

While the government doesn’t have the power and thus “delegated the responsibility to the National Bank of Moldova”, it is an interesting direction to take, considering that this guy also openly espouses more transparency in making company owners more public.

http://www.moldova.org/moldovas-pm-banca-de-economii-banca-sociala-and-unibank-banks-to-be-liquidated/

http://www.moldova.org/video-grand-theft-moldova-how-money-is-being-stolen-through-moldovan-banks/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2015/07/10/bankruptcy-looms-for-tiny-moldova/

Estonia’s Mayor Not Happy With Fine for Advertisement

Source: Eesti Paevaleht

The Mayor of Tallinn and former acting PM Edgar Savisaar will likely appeal the recent court decision to reject his complaint over a hefty 115,000 euro fine for using public funds on political advertisements.

The poor guy had to have his leg amputated due to an infection! Well, at least that still didn’t stop him from having fun with his instruments…

http://news.err.ee/v/politics/23d408dc-b4a8-4524-8387-91ea8cc9139b/court-rejects-savisaar-political-ad-fine-complaint

Obama’s Little Misstep in Africa: Ethiopia’s Government is “Democratically Elected”

Source: CNN

Ouch, Mr. President. No wonder Twitter is exploding with stories of the POTUS being “out-of-touch” with realities in African nations. I mean c’mon Barry! A little homework would have done you many favors. I can totally believe that a country that elects 100% of a single party into all of its available parliamentary offices is a democratic nation.

Some folks are fearful that his recent visit and generous comments on Ethiopia might lend legitimacy to the current regime. When a politician makes a comment like that, expect a generic backlash all over the world, ladies and gentlemen.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/28/obama-draws-criticism-for-saying-ethiopia-is-democratic.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33228207

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2015/06/ethiopia-election-seat-parliament-opposition-150623150257749.html

Corruption Alleged Among Petrobras and Politicians

Bribery involved with a state-run oil company? You don’t say…

Police conducted 53 searches in their “Operation Car Wash” (love the name) Petrobras investigation of multiple Petrobras execs and congressmen. Now to be fair, cops in Brazil weren’t known to be virtuous and corruption-free, and this could be another classic example of a police vs. politician game. Then again, Petrobras (and for that matter any major oil company) did engage in their own naughty behavior at times.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33532408