Yearbook 2008 Ghana. High oil and food prices drove inflation up. The rate of increase in prices peaked in June at 18.4 percent and then declined marginally. The state budget for 2008 predicted inflation of 6–8 percent. Despite financial problems, a new presidential palace was completed in Accra. The budget framework of US $ 30…
Author: payhelpcenter
Germany 2008
Yearbook 2008 Germany. At the beginning of the year, three state elections were held that were seen as a thumbs-up for the 2009 election. Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic CDU lost ground in all three elections while the result became more mixed for the national-level coalition partner, the Social Democratic SPD. The elections were…
Georgia 2008
Yearbook 2008 Georgia. President Micheil Saakashvili won the new presidential election in January, which had been forced by the opposition. Saakashvili got just over 53 percent of the vote, against just under 26 percent for chief rival Levan Gatjetjiladze. The opposition accused the government of electoral fraud, and even international election observers criticized, but they…
Gambia 2008
Yearbook 2008 The Gambia. Shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted the Gambia debt amortization of over half a billion dollars, President Yahya Jammeh promised that all public servants would receive a 20 percent higher salary. At the same time, he said government spending would be tightened to curb inflation. During the year, several…
Gabon 2008
Yearbook 2008 Gabon. Foreign Minister Jean Ping was elected in February as new chairman of the AU Commission, the African Union’s administrative body. He was succeeded as Foreign Minister by Laure Olga Gondjout, who was most recently Minister responsible for communications, postal and IT issues. In municipal elections in April, the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party…
France 2008
Yearbook 2008 France. The biggest bank fraud in history was revealed in January when a stock trader at France’s second largest bank, Société Générale, was found to have caused losses of € 4.9 billion through volatile securities transactions. A criminal investigation was launched against 31-year-old broker Jérôme Kerviel, who was suspected of being unfaithful to…
Finland 2008
Yearbook 2008 Finland. The EU ban on snus sales posed problems in Finland during the year. As Sweden is exempt from the ban, an Åland shipping company decided to switch to the Swedish flag in order to sell snus in the duty-free shop aboard the ferries between Åland and Sweden. When more and larger shipping…
Fiji 2008
Yearbook 2008 Fiji. The interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who took power in a coup in December 2006, dropped the cabinet in early January and merged several ministries. At the same time, he extended his own area of responsibility to multi-ethnic issues, the public sector, information and more. In February, Bainimarama appointed himself chairman of…
Faroe Islands 2008
Yearbook 2008 Faroe Islands. The January election did not result in any major changes in the Lagting. But the left-leaning opposition party Republicans came forward with a mandate and demanded a seat in the self-government. Negotiations led to the bourgeois Union Party and the People’s Party in opposition, while the Social Democrats instead formed a…
Faro Attractions and Tourist
Attractions in Faro Faro and the Algarve are attracting the most people first and foremost because of their good climate and long coastal area with bathing beaches. This is where the sun worshipers come when they have decided to vacation in Portugal. But in Faro there are also attractions and sights for those who want…