The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- U.S. says Russia 'reset' to last, Putin fuels doubts
- Cain upsets Perry in Florida Republican straw poll
- Power blackout stuns Chile, halts copper mines
| U.S. says Russia 'reset' to last, Putin fuels doubts Posted: 24 Sep 2011 09:40 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Saturday the "reset" in relations it has pursued with Russia would remain on track despite a looming leadership reshuffle in Moscow widely expected to return Vladimir Putin to the presidency next year.
The White House made clear that President Barack Obama would press ahead with efforts to repair relations regardless of who takes over in the Kremlin. Analysts said Putin's comeback could complicate -- and possibly slow -- the process of reconciliation between the former Cold War foes. Putin declared on Saturday that he planned to reclaim the Russian presidency in an election next March that could open the way for the former KGB spy to rule until 2024. The announcement ended months of speculation over whether he or his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev -- who has forged a close working relationship with Obama -- would run. It also makes it all but certain that Putin will return to office because of his United Russia party's grip on power. With Putin considered by Washington to be the "Alpha dog" of the ruling "tandem" since yielding the presidency in 2008 and becoming prime minister, his decision did not come as a surprise to the U.S. foreign policy establishment. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said Obama's diplomatic outreach to Russia -- which the president declared from the outset to be a centerpiece of his global agenda -- did not depend on "individual personalities" at the top. "We will continue to build on the progress of the reset whoever serves as the next president of Russia because we believe that it is in the mutual interests of the United States and Russia and the world," Vietor said in statement. Since taking office in 2009, Obama has made it a foreign policy priority to fix relations with Moscow, which frayed in the final stretch of Putin's presidency when George W. Bush was also nearing the end of his eight-year tenure as U.S. leader. The "reset" -- as the Obama administration dubbed it -- has yielded a new U.S.-Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty and what Washington sees as improved diplomatic cooperation, including help in pressuring Iran over its nuclear program and logistical support for U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan. But U.S. missile defense plans and fallout from the 2008 Russia-Georgia war have remained major irritants. 'DON'T MESS WITH RUSSIA' Matthew Rojansky, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while the reset could not have proceeded without Putin's blessing, his stridently nationalistic tone -- compared to Medvedev's technocratic approach -- would bring new uncertainty to the relationship. "Putin's way is security, stability and power -- and 'don't mess with Russia,'" he said. "That doesn't mean the reset disappears the day he takes office. There's too much at stake." Though the White House sought to play down such concerns, Rojansky predicted that any major diplomatic initiatives could be stalled while the power shift in Moscow is sorted out. James Goldgeier, a Russia expert at American University in Washington, said the United States and Russia have too much common interest on issues such as global economic recovery and containing China to keep things on hold for long. "There will be a businesslike relationship, but not a warm one," he said. As prime minister, Putin has occasionally been stridently critical of U.S. policies. He raised eyebrows in Washington last month when he accused the United States of living beyond its means "like a parasite" on the global economy. Obama has cultivated a relationship with Medvedev -- they are of similar age and temperament and are both lawyers -- but has less-direct dealings with Putin. "While we have had a very strong working relationship with President Medvedev, it's worth noting that Vladimir Putin was prime minister throughout the reset," Vietor said. U.S.-Russia relations warmed at first under Putin's presidency. He telephoned Bush to offer condolences -- followed by support for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan -- after the Sept. 11 attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001. The two developed a close rapport but ties gradually deteriorated. Relations hit what many saw as a post-Cold War low three months after the end of Putin's presidency, when Russia fought a war with pro-Western Georgia. (Editing by Will Dunham) Copyright © 2011 Reuters | ||
| Cain upsets Perry in Florida Republican straw poll Posted: 24 Sep 2011 08:39 PM PDT ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Former pizza executive Herman Cain surprised rival Rick Perry with an upset victory on Saturday in a Republican presidential straw poll in Florida, dealing a disappointing loss to the Texas governor two days after a shaky debate performance.
Perry, leading in the polls for the 2012 U.S. Republican presidential nomination to run against Democratic President Barack Obama, had needed a victory in what was an early test of strength to salve the wounds left over from a debate with his rivals on Thursday in which he struggled. Instead, former Godfather's Pizza executive Cain, who is far behind the two top-tier candidates Perry and Mitt Romney in national polls, won with 37 percent of 2,657 votes cast. Perry was a distant second at 15 percent, just ahead of Romney, who won 14 percent despite not participating in the poll. Further back were Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann. Florida's straw poll is nonbinding and significant only in terms of showing a candidate's strength in the state. State contests to pick the nominee do not start until next year. The Perry camp shrugged off the results. "Cain won, we still have work to do," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. "It's his day. The conservative message won today. We've been in this race for five weeks. We're going to continue campaigning hard." Miner put the focus on Romney's third-place finish, saying Perry's chief rival has been running for president for years and is still not breaking through. "It's more of what happened to Mitt Romney. He's not going to be crowned president of the United States. He's going to have to work for it. And after five and a half years he once again got rejected in a key state in the Republican primary process," Miner said. Perry created doubts among some conservatives at a Republican candidates debate on Thursday, which he admitted on Friday was not his best performance. He was criticized by his rivals for a Texas policy that allows children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at Texas colleges. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION "Perry doesn't stand for our constitutional values," said delegate Kris Anne Hall, who voted for Cain. "Perry doesn't stand up against illegal immigration." Perry surrogate Michael Williams, addressing the straw poll delegates on Saturday before the vote, sought to do some damage control for the Texas governor, who had addressed an Orlando breakfast earlier before campaigning in Michigan. "We're not electing a debater-in-chief, we're electing a commander-in-chief," said Williams, adding that no Texas illegal immigrant had received a handout for a free education. Cain, who promotes himself as a pragmatic problem-solver with a clear tax reform plan, eagerly welcomed the victory. "This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored," Cain said after his win. Most political analysts give him no chance of winning the nomination. But Florida's Republican Party noted that, since 1979, every winner of the Florida straw poll has gone on to become the nominee. Senator John McCain won it in the 2008 cycle and defeated Romney to become the nominee. Florida, the most populous of the presidential swing states, is a critical test for both Republicans and Democrats. The Florida vote was so close in the 2000 election that it led to a ballot recount battle between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, who was ruled the winner. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Bachmann chose not to compete in the straw poll but their names were put on the ballot since they took part in the debate and spoke to delegates in Orlando. Perry issued a statement after the straw poll results were revealed that was clearly aimed at Romney. "Floridians and voters nationally want a candidate who is clear on the issues and talks honestly about the future, not someone who takes multiple sides of an issue and changes views every election season," Perry said. Romney also held off from directly targeting Perry in a speech later on Saturday in Michigan. Instead, he took aim at Obama and made his case against Perry indirectly. Romney called for strict measures to stop illegal immigrants, and echoed his contention that the country needs a businessman like himself, not a career politician like Obama or Perry, to solve U.S. economic problems. "Those skills are what are needed in America today," said Romney, the multimillionaire founder of private equity firm Bain Capital. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; editing by Todd Eastham) Copyright © 2011 Reuters | ||
| Power blackout stuns Chile, halts copper mines Posted: 24 Sep 2011 08:39 PM PDT SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A massive power blackout paralyzed crucial copper mines in Chile on Saturday and darkened vast swaths of the country including the capital Santiago before energy started to be restored, officials said.
The outage acutely exposed the fragility of the energy grid in the world's top copper producer, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2010. Critics have blamed Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for under-investment in infrastructure and his popularity ratings have dropped since taking office last year. Prior to the power failure, he has already struggling with massive protests by university students demanding deep educational reforms. Engineers scrambling to restore power were able to get the lights turned on in at least some districts of Santiago and at the sprawling El Teniente copper mine of state-owned Codelco, officials and Reuters witnesses said. Chilean Energy Minister Rodrigo Alvarez said the cause of the failure was unknown but that computers that help run the energy grid had also malfunctioned. "This affects the fourth and seventh region, or much of the country's most populous area," he said on state TV. Those regions include about 10 million people in the center of the country. Angloamerican said operations at its Los Bronces mine was halted by the blackout and state-run Codelco said its Andina division was also paralyzed. Authorities said the Collahuasi and Chuquicamata mines in the far north of Chile were not affected and that the power outage did not extend to them. (Reporting by Moises Avila; editing by Todd Eastham) Copyright © 2011 Reuters |
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