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Russia

Putin Gets New Powers Over Top Bosses At State Corporations

KOMMERSANT (Russia)

Worldcrunch

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin made official his control of state-controlled corportations and information outlets, including major telecommunications companies. Although Putin has informally had the power to control the top management at these companies, the companies will now formally have to answer to him and his administration, Kommersant reported.

The change came about when Putin went from being Prime Minister to President. Officially, the state-owned corporations are controlled by Parliament, with the Prime Minister the head of the legislative body. That arrangement worked perfectly well for Putin when he was Prime Minister, but when he relinquished the post prior to his reelection as president, he found that he no longer had the veto power for top management appointments that he had grown accustomed to. He appears to have found that unacceptable.

In general, the change in law will not mean any changes for the state-owned corporations. In fact, it is a sort of protection against change. Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev’s government didn’t have time to use its short-lived opportunity to change any of the managers at these major companies - and now it has lost the opportunity to do so in the future, Kommersant reports.

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Migrant Lives

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

An orchid rehabilitation project is turning a small Mexican community into a tourist magnet — and attracting far-flung locals back to their hometown.

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

Marcos Aguilar Pérez takes care of orchids rescued from the rainforest in his backyard in Santa Rita Las Flores, Mapastepec, Chiapas, Mexico.

Adriana Alcázar González/GPJ Mexico
Adriana Alcázar González

MAPASTEPEC — Sweat cascades down Candelaria Salas Gómez’s forehead as she separates the bulbs of one of the orchids she and the other members of the Santa Rita Las Flores Community Ecotourism group have rescued from the rainforest. The group houses and protects over 1,000 orchids recovered from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, after powerful storms.

“When the storms and heavy rains end, we climb to the vicinity of the mountains and collect the orchids that have fallen from the trees. We bring them to Santa Rita, care for them, and build their strength to reintegrate them into the reserve later,” says Salas Gómez, 32, as she attaches an orchid to a clay base to help it recover.

Like magnets, the orchids of Santa Rita have exerted a pull on those who have migrated from the area due to lack of opportunity. After years away from home, Salas Gómez was one of those who returned, attracted by the community venture to rescue these flowers and exhibit them as a tourist attraction, which provides residents with an adequate income.

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