Bolivian president’s plane forced to land in Austria in hunt for Snowden

MOSCOW — Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane, forced to land in Austria because of suspicions that American fugitive Edward Snowden was on board, was permitted to fly home Wednesday, Bolivian and European authorities said.

The search for Snowden turned into a major diplomatic fiasco, with Bolivia, Venezuela and several other Latin American countries lashing out at the United States and accusing it of having strong-armed European countries into redirecting the official Bolivian presidential plane.

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I wonder how the US would react if this were done to Air Force One.

Bolivia Nationalizes Spanish Owned Energy Company's Assets

Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered his military to seize the local assets of Spanish energy company Red Electrica, in the latest example of muscle-flexing by a South American leader.

Mr Morales said the expropriation of Transportadora de Electricidad (TDE), which runs most of Bolivia's power grid, was "in honour of all Bolivian people who have struggled to recuperate our natural resources and basic services". He timed the seizure for May Day.

TDE is 99.94pc owned by Spain's Red Electrica and, according to El Pais, accounts for about 1.5pc of the company's business. Accusing Red Electrica of underinvestment in TDE, Mr Morales said: "We do this... for the benefit of the Bolivian people."

The nationalisation comes just two weeks after Argentine President Cristina de Kirchner announced the expropriation of Spanish company Repsol's stake in oil group YPF, also citing underinvestment.

Mr Morales's move could further spook European investors already wary of resource nationalism in left-wing regimes in South America.

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