King Richard III had a short but notable reign (1483-1485), starting with the death of his brother, his 12-year old nephew Edward V declared an illegitimate heir to the throne, then Richard III ascending to the throne. His tumultuous reign ended when he was killed in battle by the forces of Henry VII. At the age of 32, he was the last of English Royalty to die in battle, and the only king whose remains were not known.
battle of the year 2013 torrent
Although hugely popular in Russia, torrent websites and sharing websites are illegal according to Russian anti-piracy legislation. One of Russia's most popular torrent tracker websites, Rutracker.org, was closed down late last year.
Second, opportunities exist along the industrial chain of e-commerce. Taking Amazon for example, it's a business-to-customer (B2C) website where third-party sellers are invited to open stores. Solving cross-border logistics problems for Amazon sellers could be a huge business. In 2013, SAIF invested in BFE (also named ChukouI), a cross-border e-commerce logistics service provider headquartered in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. Many of the products sold on Amazon and eBay are made in China, while sellers promise next-day delivery on those e-commerce platforms. It's extremely difficult for those sellers to deliver the products within one day, as it concerns lots of issues, such as customs, storage, logistics and supply chains. BFE helps those sellers by establishing a chain of warehouses for the most frequently sold goods where DHL is available whenever a deal is sealed online. This way, customers can receive their products very quickly. Since it solves practical efficiency problems facing online sellers, the company is growing rapidly with its revenue having almost doubled over the past few years.
In the meantime, junior mining company boards will continue to struggle, as they have been facing a torrent of proxy battles (in which competing shareholders struggle to gain control and oust existing directors). A study conducted by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP found that 51% of the 87 proxy battles in Canada between 2008 and 2012 were within junior mining companies.
Concerns about declining media freedom in Macedonia over the last several years were amplified in 2013 by the arrest and harsh sentencing of investigative journalist Tomislav Kezarovski. Kezarovski, who was kept in pretrial detention for several months, was sentenced to four and a half years in October for revealing the identity of a protected witness. International media watchdogs also reacted negatively to a packet of media legislation that could potentially curb freedom of speech; the government promised to amend the laws at year's end.
Civil Society. Compared to previous years, the government appeared more open to cooperation with the civil sector in 2013. Several initiatives, such as the online legislative register and the e-democracy portal, aimed to foster cooperation and provide a favorable environment for civil society in Macedonia. At the same time, the number of politically connected NGOs remained high, and political ties with the government continued to discredit the sector. Macedonia's civil society rating remains unchanged at 3.25.
Independent Media. Media outlets in Macedonia are increasingly dependent on government advertising for financial support, contributing to their growing politicization and a further loss of credibility and readership. Pressures facing Macedonian media and journalists drew significant attention in late 2013, when investigative journalist Tomislav Kezarovski was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for revealing the identity of a protected witness in the 2008 "Oreshe" case. Local and international press watchdogs condemned Kezarovski's harsh sentencing and lengthy pretrial detention, raising many questions about the merits of the case itself. In December, the government drew additional criticism when it adopted controversial media legislation in a quick, nontransparent process. Among other changes, the new laws expanded statutory regulation to print and online media. As the legislative and economic environment for independent media deteriorates, Macedonia's independent media rating declines from 4.75 to 5.00.
Judicial Framework and Independence. The judiciary in Macedonia is still plagued by allegations of selective justice, indirect political pressure, and unusually expedited lawsuits. The influence of the executive branch over legal proceedings was criticized in numerous high-profile cases during the year. Meanwhile, the Kezarovski trial highlighted flaws in the legal framework and a general lack of understanding of the institution of witness protection. As of December 2013, Macedonia replaced investigative judge-led proceedings with an adversarial system. Macedonia's rating for judicial framework and independence remains at 4.25.
Political deadlock in the first half of 2013 jeopardized Macedonia's spring progress report and stalled accession negotiations with the European Union (EU).[1] The country was granted candidate status in 2005, but continuous problems, including a 20-year-long naming dispute with Greece, resulted in the repeated postponement of opening talks. Macedonia, after Turkey, is the second country to spend almost a decade in the EU's waiting room.
Macedonia's civil society sector remained highly polarized in 2013. Parallel civil movements with similar goals but different political loyalties continued to support different agendas throughout the year. Some of the NGOs critical of the government were linked to SDMS, while many organizations that supported the policies of the government, such as limiting abortion rights, had close ties with the ruling party VRMO-DPMNE and received funds from the central government budget.[27] This politicization hurt other organizations working for civil causes as they often failed to secure funding due to the lack of political connections.
In June, the parliament adopted a new law on abortion, introducing several measures that limited the right of pregnant women over their bodies, as well as the number of abortions within a year.[29] The law met with outrage from civil society organizations and elicited a torrent of responses, especially from NGOs working on patients' rights. The initiative was backed only by a small NGO called Revita, which was founded by a member of VRMO-DPMNE and was asked to give an expert opinion on the law in the parliament.[30]
The political crisis following the removal of opposition MPs and journalists from parliament in December 2012 also had consequences on the local level. Most of 2013 was characterized by political battles which hindered tangible progress on several pressing issues, such as decentralization and fiscal independency from the central government. After local elections in March, both the governing and opposition parties repeatedly accused each other's local representatives of abusing their position.
Starting on 1 December 2013, the previous Law on Criminal Procedure was phased out, and investigative judge-led prosecutions were substituted by the adversarial system, where defense lawyers and public prosecutors have to collect evidence and investigate. The responsibilities of public prosecutors also changed with the new code: they can decide not to prosecute cases with a fine or penalty up to three years in jail in case the suspect agrees to "fulfil certain commitments by which the harmful consequences of the crime will be reduced or annulled."[62] Even though the new law came into effect with a one-year delay, public prosecutorial teams were understaffed and investigation centers were not yet established at year's end. Head Public Prosecutor Marko Zvrlevski, Minister for Internal Affairs Gordana Jankulovska, and Minister for Justice Blerim Bedgeti were optimistic, claiming the new law will provide faster justice for the citizens of Macedonia.[63]
Although nearly every government in independent Macedonia's history has claimed to prioritize the fight against corruption, graft remains widespread. Year after year, EU progress reports criticize the nontransparency of party finance and general public expenditures, citing these as significant problems. The government's response has been ad hoc, and 70 percent of respondents to Transparency International's 2013 polling feel that corruption has either remained the same or worsened over the past two years.[67] 2ff7e9595c
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