Mandatory HIV test before marriage in India

India is moving fast, and not only economically.

A committee set up by the Indian state of Maharashtra has provisionally approved the mandatory HIV testing of couples before marriage. If the decision is made into law, Maharashtra would be the first state in the country to have such a scheme. India has one of the highest numbers of people with HIV in the world.

Here is the full story.

A message from John Edwards

Below is the message John Edwards sent to him supporters after annowncing that he suspended his campaign

Dear...

Let me start by saying, "Thank you." You have stood with Elizabeth and me throughout this campaign. Your support has sustained us as we have traveled across this country.
Earlier today, I suspended my campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. I made this announcement from where our journey began just over 12 months ago: New Orleans.
I began my presidential campaign in New Orleans to remind the country that all of us -- as citizens and as a government -- have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters.
Now, it's time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to the White House -- but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history.
And, along the way, all of you who have been involved in this campaign and this movement for change and this cause, I am asking you to continue speaking out for those who have no voice, just as Elizabeth and I will continue to do. We need you.

Do not turn away from the great struggles before us. Do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. Do not walk away from what's possible, because it's time for all of us -- all of us together -- to make the two one. We need you.I hope you will take a few moments to listen to the video clip of my speech in earlier this afternoon or to read it below.
In the meantime, Elizabeth and my family join me in thanking all of you for your support and for working so hard on my behalf. We are truly blessed to have such friends.

Thank you.

John Edwards

Edwards 'quits' White House race?

According to the BBC web site, John Edwards is exiting the race for the White House after failing to win any of the four party nomination contests held so far, officials say.
Members of his team said the former North Carolina senator had decided not to continue to Super Tuesday next week. He lost Iowa's caucuses, came third in New Hampshire, admitted getting his "butt kicked" in Nevada and came third in his native South Carolina. The two-time candidate reportedly plans to make a statement soon.
It is not yet clear if the 54 year-old will endorse either of the two current Democratic front-runners, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
His spokeswoman Colleen Murray told AFP news agency that Mr Edwards would publicly announce the end to his White House bid in New Orleans, where he formally launched his campaign in 2006. Mr Edwards's campaign website said he was scheduled to make a speech on poverty at a community project in the flood-ravaged Louisiana city on Wednesday 1300 local time (1900 GMT).

Siemens and the kickbacks in Greece

With reference to the above, I found the following in the Trend Capital news Agency:

In the last quarter, which counts as the first quarter of the Siemens financial year ending September 30, 2008, the company spent a further 127 million euros on the investigation and improving surveillance against bribery.
In a bid to find and punish the key executives behind the corrupt practices in Greece, Italy and other nations, Siemens investigators have offered an amnesty to smaller fish who reveal their role in the kickbacks.
Loescher said that 33 staff had applied for the amnesty. It had been granted to four and denied to two, and the rest of the cases were still being investigated.

The Florida primaries and the polls

The GOP results (99% reported): McCain 36% (693,425), Romney 31% (598,152), Giuliani 15%,(281,755), Huckabee 13% (259,703), Paul 3% (62,060), Thompson 1% (22,287).
Giuliani is expected to drop out of the race today and to endorse McCain.
It looks as though all the polls underestimated the votes of the winner (most of them outside the margin of error they themfelfs reported). The latest polls:


For the Democrats: Clinton 50% (856,944), Obama 33%, (568,930), Edwards 14% (248,545). The polls here got it right (more or less).

There were 1,925,728 voters who participated in the republican primary as opposed to 1,724,825 for the democrats. Although there are no deligates for the democrats, and there was a campaign boycott by all the Democratic candidates, this was the largest turnout for decades for the democrats. And this may be a good indication as to what is going to happen in November.

Video of Ted Kennedey's speech endorsing Barack Obama

The video of Ted Kennedy's speech endorsing Barack Obama can be found here.

Ted Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama

Senator Kennedy, in a very moving speech, just announced his support for Barack Obama.

For those of us who were undecided as to whom to support between Barack Obama and John Edwards, this endorcement tilts the balance.

Texas thief steals Greek Orthodox bishop's crown

Now, this is news! Another news for me is that there is a bishop who was an ex marine!

A thief has broken into a car in Texas and stolen a valuable crown and other items belonging to a visiting Greek Orthodox bishop from Colorado.
Metropolitan Isaiah, an ex-US marine who served in the Korean War, was dining with others at a restaurant when the thief smashed his car's window.
The gold and silver crown is believed to be worth up to $10,000 (£5,000). Also stolen was his Bible and a bag embroidered with his religious title, a gift from the widow of a fellow marine. Metropolitan Isaiah, who was the only priest at a Vespers service on Saturday night without a head covering, is offering a reward of at least $1,000 for the safe return of the crown stolen in Arlington. "We parked in a brightly lit place, and with all the lights there, we thought we were fine," he was quoted by the Dallas News as saying. "We came out at 10 o'clock, and the window was smashed." The symbolic crown, he said, was the first gift he had received as a bishop, 22 years earlier, and he felt "lost without it". Other items missing include the bishop's mobile phone and his clerical veil but the loss of the bag seemed to be a particularly hard blow. "It has my name on it, embroidered Metropolitan Isaiah, so who can use it?" Metropolitan Isaiah asked.According to his official biography, the ex-marine, whose official title is Metropolitan of Denver, entered a Massachusetts seminary in 1954 and became a bishop in 1986.

The result of the South Carolina Democratic Primary and the polls

The results (with 99% of the votes counted)
Obama 55.70% (295,091),
Clinton 26.64% (141,128),
Edwards 17.66% (93,552)
Voting in South Carolina was brisk, producing a record turn-out of more than 530,000. By comparison, the turn-out for the 2004 Democratic primary was 280,000.

All the polls, totally failed to predict Obama's support (they underestimated it by 13% (minimum) to 29% (maximum). Most of them were closer to the actual percentages of Clinton and Edwards.
Strangely, on the face of it, if one adds all of those counted as "undecided" in the latest polls to the Obama vote then the polls seem closer to reality.

The opinion poll results:

Public and private Universities in the US and financial aid

Α very interesting article by Robert J. Birgeneau, Chancellor of the University of California-Berkeley.

Harvard University focused the discussion on college costs with its bold announcement that it is extending financial aid to families earning from $120,000 to $180,000 a year. Costs for tuition, fees and room and board will be capped at about 10% of family income. Following Harvard's lead, Yale and other elite private universities are responding with various measures to extend financial aid to more students. The vast majority of Americans, however, are educated in public universities that cannot provide the financial aid packages of private universities with large endowments. Ironically, it could become more expensive for a student from a family of low or moderate means to attend a public university than for a student from a well-to-do family to attend a private college. The solution to this dilemma lies in new public-private partnerships to create endowments that will ensure access for all students, regardless of family income, to attend public universities. The situation at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am chancellor, is illustrative. The total cost of attending Berkeley is about $25,000 per year. That cost is much lower than the $45,000 typical of Harvard and similar institutions. Because many more Berkeley students need aid, and because sources are more limited, the price for our students can be significant. Harvard's new cutoff point for aid is a family income of $180,000 a year; Berkeley's is about $90,000. Consequently, a family with an income of $180,000 will pay $18,000 to attend Harvard, while one with an income of $90,000 pays about $25,000 to attend Berkeley. Ivy League institutions educate less than 1% of the U.S. college population, compared with 75% for public colleges and universities. Public universities have been the nation's single most powerful engine for prosperity for millions of students from middle- and low-income families. Yet, the costs of public education are growing rapidly. At Berkeley, a third of our students come from families with incomes less than $40,000 a year. These students qualify for federal Pell Grants to assist their education. The comparable percentage of Pell Grant students in wealthy elite private schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale is about 10%, and the absolute numbers are very small. For students from the poorest families, we provide a $17,000 grant, lowering the cost to $8,000 a year. But based on sources of aid, we project that in 10 years these students will have to contribute $16,000 or more. What are our options? Many politicians want to freeze or roll back tuition and fees. But this is the worst option for poor families. Tuition and fee increases generate additional funding for aid that insulates poor families and can help them cover other cost increases. In California, as in many states, if tuition and fees are frozen, then so is the amount of money available for financial aid. Public universities need a new model for financial aid. A public-private partnership in which state governments match private donations to endowments for needs-based financial aid would be most effective. As an extreme example, if each of Berkeley's 420,000 living alumni were to give a one-time donation of $1,000, and if that donation were matched by the state, an endowment could be created at Berkeley that would ensure access for the indefinite future for students from the poorest families as well as those from the middle class. Public education and universal access for our brightest students, irrespective of their ability to pay, has been one of the most important social concepts that has made America great. Financial aid for low- and middle-income students is one of the best investments we can make in our country's future.

Child adoption and homosexuality in France

Here is the story.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that France discriminated against a lesbian nursery school teacher by refusing to let her adopt a child. The judges decided that the woman was a victim of discrimination because of her sexual orientation.They said her right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights had also been infringed. France has been told to pay her damages.
Nine European countries allow homosexuals to adopt children.
The court's ruling in Strasbourg on Tuesday noted that: "French law allowed single persons to adopt a child, thereby opening up the possibility of adoption by a single homosexual." The court criticised the French judiciary's emphasis on "the lack of a paternal referent in the household" in the case of the lesbian woman, who was identified only as E.B.

Albert Bowker passed away

Albert Hosmer Bowker, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert in statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died Sunday in a retirement home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 88 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Bowker was chancellor of UC Berkeley, which he called a "wild and wonderful place," from 1971 to 1980, a period largely defined by steady reductions in state funding, lingering student sentiment against the Vietnam War, and demonstrations against the university system’s investments in apartheid South Africa.
More about A. Bowker here.
One of his greater achievements is, in my opinion, that as an assistant professor of math and statistics at Stanford University (his first appointment in 1947) set up the Statistics Department and was its firt chair from 1948 to 1959.

Serbia: Presidential election 2008 (results)

22:35 Nikolic acknowledged electoral defeat and congratulated Tadic.

22:31TADIC51.6%, NIKOLIC 47.18% (according to Republican Election Commission on the basis of 56.87% of the votes counted).

22:16 TADIC 50.5%, NIKOLIC 47.9%, TURNOUT 67.6% (According to the first preliminary data of the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) ).

22:03 CeSID programme director Marko Blagojevic said that, on the basis of the processed electoral sample, it can be assessed that voters in Serbia have entrusted Boris Tadic with another mandate.

21:53 (19.53) NIKOLIC 49.45 % TADIC 48.75% (11.01% of the ballots counted)

21:39 Tadić 48,8, Nikolić 49,32

21:29 Tadić 50,5 Nikolić 47,9

Upadate: 03, feb 20:26 (18:26GMT) - Polls closed at 20.00 (18:00 GMT). According to the latest information 63% of the electorate voted (approx. 4.5 million people).

Upadate: 03, feb, 19:46 (17.46 GMT)- By 18.00 57.80% of of the electorate has voted , said Republic Election Commission deputy president Dejan Djurdjevic.

Upadate: 03, feb. 16.07GMT - According to the preliminary figures of the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), around 51% of the electorate went to the polls by 1700 hours (1500GMT), which is around 3% more than at the same time in the first round.

Upadate: 03, feb. 2.54GMT. (From Tanjug): The second round of the presidential election in Serbia opened Sunday at 7 a.m. Voters in Serbia will choose beteween Tomislav Nikolic, deputy president of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and Boris Tadic, leader of the Democratic Party (DS), whose names are listed in that order on voting slips. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) determined that there are a total of 6,723,762 registered voters in Serbia, about 15,000 more than in the first round, and 8481 polling stations. The turnout of the voters in the second round of the presidential election in Serbia by noon Sunday was 22.4%, about 1% more than in the first round at the same time, the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) told Tanjug. About five percent of the voters go to the polls every hour, CeSID said.

updated: 2/2/08: the latest opinion polls for the second round, show Tadić ahead of Nikolić by a 2% margin. I don't trust the accuracy of the polls in predicting election results, so I will not be surprised if the final result is the other way around.
In the meantime, the TV debate of the two candidates on Wednesday had a record audience for an information political programme since ratings began in 2002. It registered 30% higher ratings than the debate of the same candidates ahead of the presidential elections in 2004 (2,200,000 viewers). On Wednesday evening the ratings share was 60%. (3,100,000) viewers.

21/1/08. According to the official Serbian news agency Tanjug's latest results (6.15am), Tomislav Nikolić of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) gets 39,57%, Boris Tadić of the Democratic Party (DS) 35,45% , Srbije Velimir Ilić of New Serbia (NS) 7,45%, Milutin Mrkonjic of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) 5.96% and Čedomir Jovanović of the Liberal Demoratic Party (LDP) 5,39% .
(The agency site in English has not been updated since yesterday evening).
I will try to post the final result on February 3.

The Nevada democratic caucus

Democratic party officials announced that more than 115,000 Democrats came out and participated. That compares with the 2004 caucuses, when about 9,000 voters joined in for the party’s caucuses.
Despite the support to Obama of the Clinary Union (a local union with 60000 members), Clinton won the popular vote. (Clinton 51%, Obama 45%, Edwards 4%). However, Obama won the majority of delegates (13 to 12 of Hillary). The math turns out to be a bit confusing, but the shorthand is this: The more populous Clark County, which Clinton won, awarded a even number of delegates, and Clinton and Obama split those down the middle. Meanwhile, the more rural areas, which Obama won, awarded an odd number of delegates, which gave Obama the edge.
It wasn't a High Noon quick draw that resolved the stalemate between Clinton and Obama - but a pack of cards. Under party rules, a pack was shuffled and a supporter from each camp asked to pick a card. Obama won both times. The quirk had little effect overall, and Mrs Clinton won the popular vote.The votes were tied after Saturday's caucuses by 26 votes each at a district in Genoa and 24-24 at Zephyr Cove near Lake Tahoe. At an elementary school in Genoa, caucus chairman Nancy Downey shuffled the pack of cards - which happened to have "Hillary" printed on the back - and spread them out on a table.Clinton supporter Greg Kuntz pulled out a five. An Obama supporter picked a king, clinching the vote, and securing an extra delegate to the next round of voting, when about 10,000 delegates meet at county level. "I drew the five to lose to the king," Mr Kuntz told the Associated Press. "Only in Nevada." Mr Obama's luck held in Zephyr Cove and his supporters again won the traditional Old West tiebreaker by picking a nine and trumping the Clinton camp's five.

The richest people in Asia

Forbes publishes such lists for different countries. Below are the links for China, India and Hong Kong.
China's 400 richest, Hong Kong's 40 richest, India's 40 richest.

Another failure of opinion polls in the US

The Michigan Republican primary was another instance that opinion polls seem to have failed in the US.
The result of the actual voting was
Romney: 39%, McCain: 30%, Huckabee: 16%, Paul: 6%, Thompson: 4%, Giuliani: 3%
and the results of the last polls were

Sarkozy to ban advertising from state television

Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of lining the pockets of his media tycoon friends and exerting a Berlusconi-style grip on the airwaves, after he announced a plan to ban advertising from public television and revolutionise French state TV along the lines of the BBC.
Sarkozy, who moves in a circle of wealthy television owners and press barons and counts "Télépresident" among his numerous nicknames, surprised even his own culture minister this week when he announced that adverts should be eliminated from France's five state TV stations in the name of a "cultural revolution in public service television" (From the Guardian.)

Sarkozy chooses Sen and Stiglitz to advise on growth

Economics Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz have been handpicked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to advise France on the way in which it calculates its growth, news reports said.
France has been planning to include factors like 'quality of life' into the measurement of its economic growth, instead of going by the traditional methods of calculating gross national product, ever since Sarkozy assumed power.
Sarkozy's election promises included freeing up the economy and introducing more reforms so as to provide better living standards for the French.
Amartya Sen will be an advisor the French government, while American Joseph Stiglitz will be chairman of the committee of experts appointed to oversee the reform process.
Although the quality of life in France is said to be very good, the rate of the nation's economic growth has remained stagnant for some time now.

Nigeria sues tobacco firms for 40 billion dollars

The Nigerian government is suing three leading tobacco companies (British American Tobacco Plc, Philip Morris International and International Tobacco Ltd, a Nigerian company), seeking more than 40 billion dollars (29 billion euros) in damages for the cost of treating smoking-related diseases, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.
"It is the first time ever that an African state files a case against a tobacco company. No other state in Africa has ever done it," Babatunde Irukera, the lawyer representing the government told AFP.
"The exact amount the federal government is claiming is 5.3 trillion naira," (42 billion dollars) he told AFP.
The suit accuses them of concealing the harmful nature of smoking and of promoting underage smoking.
"The amount is certainly high for Africa, but it is far lower than the amounts that have been claimed in the USA for example," Irukera said, adding that one US state had claimed 286 billion dollars compensation.
Irukera also represents Nigeria in its 6.5-billion-dollar suit against US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer Inc. for an alleged illegal drug trial.
The government is also seeking an injunction compelling the companies to stop the marketing and sale of cigarettes.
more here.
What I find amazing is that in the link I provide and in the same news item, Marlboro has a big ad!

The failure of polls in New Hampshire

The results of the Democratic part primary may be the biggest failure of opinion polls since 1948.
Is the large turnout the only reason?



and the results, so far: Clinton 39% , Obama 36%, Edwards 17%, Richardson 5%

Is Obama the Reagan, or the Thatcher, of the left?

A few more news items on Obama that, in my opinion, explain his success. The article, reveals remarkable similarities between Obama and Reagan/Thatcher.

From the SF Chronicle (6/1/08) (By Debra Saunders)
...Iowa Democrats clearly decided not to repeat the mistake of 2004. In 2004, caucus-goers, who opposed the war in Iraq, put their weight behind John Kerry, who had voted for the Iraq war resolution, because they believed that Kerry was the Democrat who could win in November. Instead, the Dems lost in the most painful way possible, having sold out utterly and compromised their principles -- with nothing to show for it.
Caucus-goers rejected Hillary Clinton's siren song of inevitability and John Edwards' slick populist themes, and instead lined up behind Barack Obama, the one top-tier candidate who opposed the war in Iraq when it was popular.
Clinton can say she's the change candidate, but that doesn't make it so. Both Clinton and Edwards voted for the Iraq war and voted for the Patriot Act -- when the polls told them to. They have stood for nothing with unshakable conviction, except their own advancement. Iowa caucus-goers went for the new guy, instead of the same old excuses.

From The Australian (7/1/08)
(Andrew Sullivan, The Times).
...The analogy that worries Republicans the most is a more recent one. Could Obama be a potential liberal version of Ronald Reagan? Could he do for the Democrats what Reagan did for the Republicans a quarter century ago? It's increasingly possible. Reagan was the cutting edge of the previous realignment in US politics. With a good-natured civil appeal to Democrats who felt abandoned by their party under Jimmy Carter, Reagan revolutionised the reach of his party.
He didn't aim for a mere plurality, as Bill Clinton did. Nor did he go for a polarising 51 per cent strategy, as George W. Bush has done. He ran as a national candidate in search of a national mandate, a proud Republican who nonetheless wanted Democrats to vote for him.
He came out of a period in which Americans had become sickened by the incompetence of their government. Reagan shocked US elites by pivoting that discontent into a victory in 1980. And by his second term, he won 49 out of 50 states.
You can see the same potential in Obama. What has long been remarkable to me is how this liberal politician fails to alienate conservatives. In fact, many like him a great deal. His calm and reasoned demeanour, his crisp style, his refusal to engage in racial identity politics: these appeal to disaffected Republicans.
He is particularly attractive to those on the US Right who feel betrayed by the Bush administration's version of conservatism, just as many Democrats felt betrayed by Carter's liberalism.These voters -- non-evangelical, fiscally and militarily prudent, socially tolerant -- do not feel at home in the angry, southern, anti-immigrant Republican Party of the past few years. Almost one-quarter of those voting in the Democratic caucus last Thursday night were Republicans or independents.The other strikingly Reaganite aspect to Obama is his appeal to the younger generation. People forget that the oldest president was extremely popular among the under-30s.
Obama has kept his ego in check, but he is clearly aiming for a large mandate rather than a small win. He isn't a Clinton in this respect or even a Bush. He is a Reagan, a Margaret Thatcher of the Left.

Newsweek on Obama

Newsweek, on the Jan.14, 2008 issue, has a cover story on Obama.
Here are some of the points that I found interesting.

-In public, Obama attributes his quick political rise to that "respectful tone," which he believes voters crave after so many ugly, dispiriting campaign seasons. (Which includes most races since 1800.) When he first began thinking about a White House bid, he told advisers that he would be willing to run only if he could do it his way, which meant defying the conventional campaign theology of hitting the other guy hard and first, sticking to simple sound bites and preaching only to the base. He has shown a willingness to stray from his script and risk engaging (or boring) audiences with rambling professorial explanations about the details of this or that policy. And he has tried to rewrite Karl Rove's campaign manual by reaching across racial and party lines to appeal to the broadest―rather than the very narrowest―base of supporters.
-In South Carolina—considered a critical primary for Obama, especially if he does not win or come in a close second in this week's New Hampshire primary—campaign workers have spent months recruiting barbers and hairdressers to preach the candidate's virtues to their customers.
-Although Obama's debate performances improved over time, his aides moaned whenever he gave long, discursive answers to simple questions instead of sticking to pithy sound bites that voters would remember.
-In the final three days in Iowa, Obama operatives made 150,000 phone calls to potential supporters.

Quality of life index 2008

International living has devised an index with the above title. The 2008 index is as follows.

Country	Cost of Living	Leisure & Culture	Economy	Environment	Freedom	Health	Infrastructure	Risk & Safety	Climate	Final Score
France	50	98	85	72	100	100	95	100	87	85
Switzerland	35	91	100	78	100	98	94	100	77	84
United States	59	79	89	72	92	74	100	100	86	83
Luxembourg	36	81	98	80	100	92	78	100	83	82
Germany	45	87	69	83	100	94	85	100	79	80
Australia	36	75	68	80	100	91	91	100	93	79
Italy	51	100	58	74	100	93	65	100	87	78
New Zealand	43	87	60	83	100	92	65	100	84	77
Spain	50	72	54	75	100	94	71	100	87	76
Netherlands	32	85	60	67	100	91	88	100	85	75
Norway	27	82	78	78	100	95	61	100	71	74
Belgium	24	88	60	64	100	92	88	100	86	74
Argentina	66	71	44	66	100	86	63	100	93	74
Austria	31	83	61	87	100	90	70	100	76	74
Uruguay	67	76	40	72	100	80	62	100	93	74
Canada	47	78	63	62	100	88	82	100	67	74
Japan	14	97	75	71	92	94	69	100	84	74
Portugal	52	76	44	74	100	91	62	100	93	74
Malta	58	76	46	84	100	91	34	100	99	74
Liechtenstein	37	80	71	65	100	85	65	100	82	74
Iceland	28	90	63	74	100	91	59	100	74	72
Lithuania	58	72	43	81	100	84	56	100	79	72
Hungary	54	81	43	77	100	71	63	100	76	71
Denmark	20	60	65	84	100	90	72	100	78	71
Finland	28	69	63	68	100	86	75	100	76	71
Costa Rica	63	68	39	100	100	82	50	93	60	71
Sweden	11	76	63	75	100	87	88	100	68	71
Bulgaria	56	74	39	78	92	82	53	100	80	70
Czech Republic	41	82	46	74	100	86	61	100	67	70
Slovenia	42	74	49	74	100	76	56	100	83	70
Greece	37	68	50	70	100	89	60	100	79	70
Poland	41	78	43	72	100	84	63	93	76	69
Ecuador	66	63	35	93	83	73	41	86	100	69
Mexico	55	67	40	68	92	80	58	86	90	68
Panama	60	66	42	77	92	75	62	93	65	68
Monaco	31	90	60	30	92	85	60	100	89	68
United Kingdom	5	87	65	78	100	81	71	100	59	68
Croatia	25	72	40	77	100	80	56	100	95	68
Brazil	64	62	45	71	92	77	47	86	79	68
Slovakia	41	63	44	81	100	83	56	93	74	68
Estonia	55	60	47	77	100	66	60	86	74	68
Andorra	53	78	56	38	100	90	22	100	82	67
Korea, South (Rep of)	31	69	51	68	92	84	56	93	83	67
Latvia	54	79	46	51	100	68	60	86	73	67
Romania	45	78	39	75	92	68	56	86	84	67
Belize	65	50	36	93	92	69	53	93	60	66
Dominica	61	41	35	90	100	72	54	100	57	66
Chile	55	71	40	71	100	76	44	100	48	65
South Africa	47	63	40	75	92	56	47	86	98	65
Colombia	57	63	39	72	83	76	47	71	91	65
Saint Kitts & Nevis	58	47	36	72	100	74	55	100	57	65
Ireland	0	85	67	59	100	85	57	100	59	65
Mauritius	61	65	40	74	100	75	34	93	42	63
Israel	30	74	54	68	92	89	44	57	84	63
Moldova	65	66	32	75	58	71	56	71	91	63
Cyprus (Greek)	39	69	50	62	100	90	31	93	48	63
Antigua & Barbuda	46	59	43	74	83	52	63	100	57	62
Namibia	62	79	36	46	83	40	59	93	74	62
Ukraine	42	65	38	74	75	72	63	71	78	62
Bolivia	77	65	33	75	67	62	50	50	83	62
Grenada	49	56	33	75	92	69	59	86	57	62
Taiwan	44	50	54	75	92	72	34	79	68	62
Cayman Islands	56	41	60	26	92	80	47	100	57	62
Macedonia	62	68	36	72	67	65	47	71	79	62
Paraguay	73	63	33	64	67	74	34	86	68	62
Botswana	66	66	33	78	83	30	47	79	82	61
Barbados	27	62	44	72	100	65	50	100	57	61
Bahamas	18	71	51	74	100	53	44	100	65	61
Bosnia-Herzegovina	69	69	36	70	58	70	44	50	82	60
Dominican Republic	52	50	33	81	92	72	34	86	57	60
Puerto Rico	49	46	42	42	100	76	41	100	55	60
Bermuda	15	49	85	41	92	75	22	100	66	60
Honduras	66	34	35	70	67	69	41	79	83	59
Seychelles	54	62	36	78	67	54	41	100	55	59
Albania	55	65	36	74	67	78	41	64	65	59
Tunisia	58	65	38	68	25	77	38	86	85	59
Jamaica	52	47	33	77	75	75	50	79	57	59
Turkey	42	63	39	68	67	62	44	86	73	58
Singapore	45	75	60	39	42	78	53	100	39	58
Nicaragua	62	60	33	70	75	69	38	79	47	58
Malaysia	66	75	42	62	50	72	47	86	24	58
Guatemala	56	41	35	74	50	68	34	79	95	58
Venezuela	48	71	38	84	50	70	38	79	52	57
Morocco	35	37	38	67	67	66	34	100	92	57
Georgia	51	40	36	80	67	65	50	57	79	57
Nauru	85	9	39	64	100	57	13	100	38	57
French Polynesia	37	59	40	33	92	64	45	100	55	56
Belarus	61	78	40	75	8	54	56	64	77	56
Cuba	58	79	38	77	0	83	53	64	63	56
Suriname	61	47	36	78	83	62	44	64	39	56
China	51	68	61	54	8	71	47	57	89	56
Thailand	46	69	39	61	75	66	49	71	43	56
Tonga	66	26	32	65	50	69	41	100	63	56
El Salvador	58	46	35	65	75	73	41	79	42	56
Trinidad & Tobago	21	38	50	78	75	66	38	100	57	56
Armenia	59	56	40	81	42	48	47	64	72	56
Martinique	58	38	40	38	92	68	16	100	57	56
Guyana	58	65	35	77	67	59	41	64	39	55
Jordan	51	63	36	59	42	84	34	71	68	55
Mongolia	63	63	35	70	83	58	50	64	14	55
Brunei	61	63	54	95	25	55	28	79	25	54
Fiji	46	50	35	68	58	63	59	79	43	54
Palau	54	50	40	70	100	55	19	86	18	54
Lebanon	63	59	31	65	42	76	41	21	92	54
Bhutan	77	29	36	83	25	20	31	100	79	54
Peru	55	51	39	70	75	59	38	57	45	54
Ghana	56	29	35	67	92	42	41	64	62	53
Sri Lanka	59	37	36	78	67	55	41	71	40	53
Kiribati	72	13	31	57	100	56	13	100	38	53
Swaziland	51	60	32	81	17	29	38	86	96	53
Samoa (Western Samoa)	49	22	33	68	83	71	50	79	35	53
Lesotho	66	40	32	41	75	31	31	71	93	53
Malawi	55	43	35	68	50	34	41	64	89	52
Maldives	58	66	44	36	25	63	31	100	49	52
French Guiana	42	35	39	29	92	58	56	100	28	52
Russia	20	71	43	71	25	75	53	57	72	52
Madagascar	56	29	32	59	67	39	34	64	92	52
Bahrain	52	71	51	64	33	45	31	86	30	51
Philippines	55	63	36	68	67	49	34	71	20	51
Zambia	51	46	33	71	50	20	41	64	89	51
Comoros	56	38	32	74	50	38	31	100	40	50
Macau	38	46	53	0	50	64	25	100	79	50
Senegal	44	19	32	67	75	38	34	79	73	50
Syria	65	51	33	61	0	71	44	64	60	50
Egypt	49	51	36	65	25	79	38	79	32	50
Vanuatu	48	38	36	33	83	53	34	79	49	50
Vietnam	48	56	36	71	17	61	38	57	67	49
Solomon Islands	65	29	32	61	67	64	3	79	43	49
Benin	55	25	32	64	83	36	38	64	51	49
Kyrgyzstan	54	44	32	70	42	61	34	64	47	49
Cape Verde	55	31	36	36	100	52	34	64	36	49
India	15	41	46	68	75	62	41	64	47	49
Korea, North (DR of)	59	57	32	51	0	80	22	64	79	49
Nepal	69	21	31	68	25	41	28	64	91	49
Tuvalu	77	4	32	30	100	56	16	100	17	49
Kenya	45	49	33	62	67	33	34	57	66	49
Indonesia	39	47	36	74	75	55	38	36	47	48
Kuwait	39	79	58	42	42	73	28	57	18	48
Marshall Islands	69	21	33	26	100	73	6	79	23	48
Azerbaijan	41	47	40	71	25	42	44	64	62	48
Bangladesh	61	16	35	62	50	39	50	64	49	47
Uzbekistan	66	66	33	62	0	58	41	57	40	47
Kazakhstan	44	49	40	65	25	63	53	64	27	47
Tajikistan	70	26	35	67	25	53	34	29	80	47
Papua New Guinea	48	24	33	64	67	38	41	57	55	47
Qatar	46	66	56	54	25	48	28	79	13	47
Libya	20	69	43	51	0	75	38	71	67	47
Tanzania	49	29	33	74	58	31	34	64	51	46
Mayotte	76	4	32	17	92	42	0	100	46	46
Mozambique	61	4	35	70	58	13	34	64	76	46
Mali	56	13	33	62	83	26	31	64	50	46
Gambia	56	10	33	61	42	40	44	71	60	46
Micronesia	54	38	32	42	100	70	6	71	5	46
Myanmar (Burma)	72	37	32	71	0	53	44	64	35	46
Guinea-Bissau	61	22	31	64	58	33	31	64	47	46
Cambodia	56	35	35	77	25	32	38	64	47	45
Algeria	45	54	36	67	25	53	34	29	70	45
Iran	61	57	38	52	17	50	41	20	64	45
United Arab Emirates	42	56	72	16	17	80	19	79	10	45
Congo, Republic of	46	41	35	61	33	29	41	57	62	45
Togo	48	46	31	64	25	34	34	64	58	44
Turkmenistan	82	24	38	61	0	43	16	57	61	44
Uganda	48	35	33	61	42	34	34	43	70	44
Saudi Arabia	55	72	42	51	8	74	31	36	22	44
Gabon	39	15	35	65	33	47	50	64	49	43
Mauritania	51	13	39	58	33	33	34	64	64	43
Oman	44	47	43	62	25	65	38	64	2	43
Nigeria	38	31	33	62	50	29	38	57	58	43
Laos	63	21	35	74	8	31	41	57	51	43
Rwanda	49	22	33	68	25	32	31	64	62	43
Cameroon	44	31	33	65	17	32	34	64	66	42
Burundi	46	26	32	57	50	31	31	36	75	42
Equatorial Guinea	34	49	48	75	8	25	38	50	55	42
Burkina Faso	56	6	33	65	50	23	31	64	48	42
Niger	56	3	32	64	67	19	28	64	42	42
Central African Republic	55	26	32	72	42	24	34	36	54	42
Zimbabwe	24	62	0	77	8	34	41	64	93	42
Ethiopia	49	12	36	67	33	11	31	57	76	41
Haiti	55	21	32	61	42	39	28	36	53	41
Cote d'Ivoire	49	28	31	67	17	35	34	43	55	40
Pakistan	51	3	35	67	25	54	34	7	77	40
Angola	35	38	43	67	25	2	34	57	52	39
Congo, Democratic Republic of	27	31	33	58	17	31	38	64	62	39
Eritrea	56	25	31	29	8	29	38	57	73	39
Guinea	62	15	32	61	25	32	34	57	22	39
Liberia	52	41	35	57	50	14	38	21	28	38
Chad	38	18	31	68	25	15	34	57	50	37
Djibouti	46	13	32	65	33	36	38	57	8	37
Sierra Leone	58	7	18	62	45	10	34	21	24	32
Sudan	46	21	36	65	0	28	38	29	7	31
Yemen	52	22	31	19	33	40	31	36	0	31
Afghanistan	76	7	20	54	8	0	31	0	61	31
Somalia	62	0	28	55	12	7	35	36	16	30
Iraq	100	20	10	32	0	20	15	0	38	29