The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Venezuela mulls moving reserves to China, other nations
- Mekong dolphins on brink of extinction - WWF
- On bus tour, Obama shifts blame to Republicans
| Venezuela mulls moving reserves to China, other nations Posted: 16 Aug 2011 09:15 PM PDT CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may transfer billions of international reserves from Europe and the United States into banks in nations like China, Russia and Brazil, an opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday. Julio Montoya said in an interview with Globovision television that he had obtained documents signed by Venezuela's finance minister and central bank chief revealing plans to move about $6 billion in cash into the emerging market countries, which are more friendly to Chavez's socialist policies.
The initiative would also transfer $11 billion worth of gold reserves from various banks abroad to the Venezuelan central bank, Montoya said. Chavez has not authorized the plan, he said, and demanded an explanation for what critics and analysts called a foolhardy idea. "He isn't the owner of the international reserves, nor of Venezuela's gold or dollars," Montoya said. In recent comments, Chavez has talked about ending the "dictatorship of the dollar" and the need for an alternative monetary system. Despite strained global confidence in the U.S. economy, most countries still see the dollar as the safest reserve currency. Montoya said the opposition suspects that China and others had requested the reserves transfer to guarantee massive loans they have granted to Chavez over the years. The Venezuelan government has not commented on Montoya's allegations. (Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Chris Wilson) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. | ||
| Mekong dolphins on brink of extinction - WWF Posted: 16 Aug 2011 09:15 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - The Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong River numbers roughly 85, with the survival of new calves very low, suggesting they are at high risk of extinction, environmental group WWF said on Wednesday. The Irrawaddy dolphins live in a 190 km (118 mile) section of the Mekong between Kratie, Cambodia and the Khone Falls, which are on the border with Laos.
Fishing gear, especially gill nets, and illegal fishing methods involving explosions, poison and electricity all appear to be taking a toll, with surveys conducted from 2007 to 2010 showing the dolphin population slowly declining, the WWF added. "Evidence is strong that very few young animals survive to adulthood, as older dolphins die off and are not replaced," said Li Lifeng, director of WWR's Freshwater Programme, in a statement. "This tiny population is at risk by its small size alone. With the added pressure of gill net entanglement and high calf mortality, we are really worried for the future of dolphins." Research also shows that the population of dolphins in a small transboundary pool on the Cambodia-Laos border may be as few as 7 or 8, the WWF added, despite the fact that Irrawaddy dolphins are protected by law in both nations. The group called on Cambodia to establish a clear legal framework to protect dolphins, including steps such as banning gill nets if needed. "Our best chance of saving this iconic species from extinction in the Mekong River is through joint conservation action," Li said. Dolphins once ranged from the Mekong delta in Vietnam up through the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, and then up tributaries into Laos, but shot by soldiers and harvested for oil in the past. Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Mekong, the Ayeyarwady in Myanmar, and the Mahakam in Indonesian Borneo. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Miral Fahmy) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. | ||
| On bus tour, Obama shifts blame to Republicans Posted: 16 Aug 2011 07:44 PM PDT PEOSTA, Iowa (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to turn voter anger over the economy toward Republicans in the U.S. Congress as he courted rural Americans in a campaign-style bus tour through a key election state.
Obama announced steps -- including a $350 million plan for rural businesses -- to boost hiring in farm communities, his latest effort to fight an unemployment rate stuck at over 9 percent despite earlier White House job initiatives. The Democratic president portrayed Republicans as blocking measures that could help mend the economy. "We could do even more if Congress is willing to get in the game," he said, referring to job-creation measures he is pushing for in free trade, payroll taxes and road construction. "The only thing that is holding us back is our politics. The only thing that is preventing us from passing the bills I just mentioned is the refusal of a faction in Congress to put country ahead of party, and that has to stop," Obama said. "Our economy can't afford it." As he spoke, Texas Governor Rick Perry was a few miles to the north in Dubuque, Iowa, campaigning for the Republican nomination to run against Obama next year. Together with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Perry has emerged as one of the leading candidates to challenge Obama in 2012. Obama's re-election, seen by commentators as highly probable several months ago, now faces a tougher climb because of the persistently high U.S. unemployment rate despite his big spending and stimulus programs. Public approval of Congress has also sunk to record lows in recent polls. The president is taking every chance to distance himself from anger about political gridlock in Washington, where Republicans and Democrats fought bitterly about raising the debt ceiling and narrowly averted default this month. BACK ROADS Obama began his three-day road trip in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois -- states he won in the 2008 election -- on Monday to press his case for the need to stoke job creation nationwide. He has since traveled more than 300 miles (500 km) through backroads of the rural Midwest on a $1.1 million, jet-black bus with blacked-out windows and flashing police lights that stood out sharply against bucolic towns and expansive farmlands. The slow-rolling journey exposed the president to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about the Washington impasse that prompted a U.S. credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's. Although he was challenged by Tea Party supporters on Monday, the crowds Obama has faced so far have been mainly friendly. Many have urged him to take a tougher line against the Republicans and push forward policies to help the economy. Obama acknowledged on Tuesday the government had a limited role to play in the economy, and in some cases did things that were "boneheaded," but stressed there were steps Washington could take to help businesses regain confidence and momentum. "The prime driver of economic growth and jobs is going to be our people and the private sector and our businesses. But you know what? Government can help. Government can make a difference," he said. Obama intends to put forward a specific plan for economic growth when Congress returns from recess in September. But his options may be limited by a divided Congress, where Republicans control the House of Representatives and oppose any significant spending measures to stimulate growth. Democrats control the Senate. He spent much of Tuesday at a rural economic forum in Iowa where he unveiled $350 million in funding for small businesses over 5 years -- not the big plan to be presented to Congress. After taking part in brainstorming sessions with farmers, small business owners and local officials, Obama said he was glad to discuss policy options in a venue where "I had no idea who was Democrat, who was Republican, who was independent." "In Washington, you'd think that the only two ways of thinking about our problems is either government is terrible and it has to be basically eliminated, or government is the answer to every problem," he said. (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Laura MacInnis in Washington; editing by Philip Barbara) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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