Hugo Chavez says his recuperation from cancer will not affect his re-election bid
President Hugo Chavez said Monday he’s completely free of cancer and assured Venezuelans that physical limitations stemming from his recuperation will not affect his re-election campaign.
Speaking at a news conference, Chavez said he’s “totally free” of cancer and plans to begin actively campaigning soon following months of radiation treatment, physical rehabilitation and medical exams.
“I feel in better physical condition every day,” he said. Over the past 13 months, Chavez has undergone two surgeries that removed tumors from his pelvic region, most recently in February.
The socialist leader has not disclosed key details about his illness including the type of cancer that had been diagnosed.
Following his cancer treatment, Chavez has appeared in public less frequently, preferring to address Venezuelans during marathon speeches broadcast on television and radio.
Chavez called on his supporters to prepare for “an offensive,” when he plans to start attending campaign rallies.
Jamaican man among three killed in NY - 63 spent shells at the scene
Enraged gunmen — one of them packing an AK-47 — stalked and executed three men on a Queens street in a hail of bullets that friends say was sparked by a nightclub glance at the wrong woman.
The killers sprayed 63 shots around 5 a.m. Saturday as the victims sat in a double-parked Jeep Grand Cherokee — unaware the shooters were closing in, police said.
“Someone followed (them) from the club,” said an emotional Katie Bussereth, sister of the slain driver, Jaime Bussereth. “They didn’t want any money. They just wanted death.”
The three men died from multiple bullet wounds in a scene reminiscent of an old-school mob hit. The trio had stopped to drop off a friend, who somehow survived the gunfire on 144th St. at 85th Ave. in Jamaica.
The heavy firepower used has investigators looking at whether drugs motivated the gory killings.
One of the victims was shot right out of his shoes, with his barefoot body left on the street. A fourth man was wounded in the blizzard of assault rifle bullets. Investigators, who also found 9-mm. shell casings at the scene, believe there were at least two shooters.
One of the victims had not been identified by early Sunday. The other two victims were Bussereth, 33, a father of three, and Jamaican-born Jason Wood, 27, who has a 4-year-old son in his homeland.
Daily News
FBI issues reward for Fast and Furious murder
The FBI has offered a $1m (£644,000) reward for information on four suspects wanted over the killing of a US border patrol agent in December 2010.
In an indictment issued on Monday in Arizona, the men are accused of murdering Brian Terry.
Two firearms found at the crime scene went missing in the botched gun-running operation known as Fast and Furious.
A congressional inquiry into the matter led to a historic contempt vote against the US attorney general last month.
The FBI named the four fugitives as Mexicans Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza, whose nationality was not given.
'Cannabis smugglers'
A fifth suspect, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, has been in custody since the night of the shooting on 12 December 2010, said a statement by the Department of Justice.
He was shot during the gunfight that led to the death of Terry, a former marine and Michigan police officer.
"Agent Terry served his country honourably and made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to protect it from harm, and we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice," said Attorney General Eric Holder.
As well as murder, the suspects are charged with assaulting four federal agents.
The five men, plus another who faces lesser charges in the case, came to the US from Mexico in order to rob cannabis smugglers, according to the indictment.
The Department of Justice said last month that it would not prosecute the attorney general over his refusal to hand over to Congress documents on the bungled gun-running operation.
Their statement followed a vote by lawmakers in the House of Representatives to hold the US government's top justice official in contempt.
Launched in 2009 in Arizona by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fast and Furious was a sting operation designed to track weapons smuggled to Mexican drug cartels.
But hundreds of the illegal guns went missing.
--BBC
ILO warns eurozone risks losing 4.5 million more jobs
The eurozone could lose 4.5 million more jobs in the next four years unless the region shifts away from austerity, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned.
That rise would take unemployment in the 17-nation bloc to 22 million.
The ILO said a concerted policy shift away from austerity towards job creation was needed.
"It's not only the eurozone that's in trouble, the entire global economy is at risk of contagion," it said.
The report said that all 17 countries in the eurozone would suffer, both those currently under stress and their healthier counterparts.
"Unless targeted measures are taken to increase real economy investments, the economic crisis will deepen and the employment recovery will never take off," said ILO director-general Juan Somavia.
The report added that the consequences of a longer period of austerity would be particularly severe for young people.
It said that unemployment had not been as bad so far in the downturn as it might have been because some companies were hanging onto staff in the hope of an imminent recovery.
"If their expectations don't come true, worker retention may become unsustainable, leading to significant jobs losses," it warned.
The ILO recommends:
- Making support for the financial system conditional on the resumption of lending to small businesses
- Making shareholders pay for the bailouts of banks
- Guaranteeing unemployed young people training, education or work placements
- Changing pay levels in different eurozone countries to address differences in productivity.
The unemployment rate in the eurozone hit 11.1% in May, according to official figures from Eurostat.
It took the total number of people out of work to 17.56 million, the highest level since records began in 1995.
In Spain, which has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone, one in four people is now out of work, .
The youth unemployment rate in the eurozone stood at 22.6% in May, meaning 3.4 million people under the age of 25 were jobless.
Anniversary of the Peg of the EC Dollar
July 7th marked 36 years since the EC dollar has been pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate of EC$2.70 to US$1.00.
Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Mr Trevor Brathwaite says the stability of the EC dollar provides the citizens of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) with a level of certainty where they can make financial decisions with confidence knowing that the value of the currency will not fluctuate.
According to Mr Brathwaite, over the years, the backing of the EC dollar has been maintained at over 90 per cent, which is well above the legal benchmark of 60 per cent.
He added that maintaining the peg has proven, over the years, to be a sound decision, which contributes to the economic stability and development of the eight ECCB member states.
China cuts retail fuel price by 5% as oil demand falls
China, the world's second biggest consumer of fuel, has cut retail oil prices by about 5% with immediate effect.
This is the third cut in two months, and some analysts say could be an attempt to increase fuel consumption.
Demand for oil fell for the first time in three years in April.
Domestic and global factors have weighed on the Chinese economy in recent months, which has shown signs of slowing.
Gasoline retail prices will be reduced by 420 yuan ($65.90; £42.50) a tonne and diesel prices by 400 yuan, the National Development and Reform Commission said.
It added that the move was made in response to lower international crude prices and changes in the "conditions of domestic and international economies, as well as the domestic refined oil market".
China introduced an oil pricing system in 2009 to reflect fluctuations in the price of crude oil on international markets.
The system kicks in when prices change by more than 4% within 22 working days, according to Xinhua news agency.
However, some analysts said that if there are further cuts, it could squeeze the profits of state-owned and private refineries.
Lower retail prices are also likely to further ease inflation which cooled in June to the lowest level in more than two years.
Consumer prices rose 2.2% from last year, data showed.
Apple brings new iPad to China after trademark dispute
Apple has said it will start selling the new iPad in China on 20 July, after it settled a dispute involving rights to the "iPad" name in the country.
Apple agreed to pay $60m (£38m) earlier this month to Chinese firm Proview, which claimed it had registered the name in 2000.
The dispute led to Apple's tablet computers being taken off the shelves in some parts of China.
China is one of the biggest growth markets for Apple.
The latest version of the iPad went on sale in the US and several other countries in March this year.
Apple products have proven very popular in China, its second biggest market after the US.
Last year, the release of the iPhone 4S resulted in public disorder after customers, who had been lining up for hours, threw eggs and scuffles broke out at a store in Beijing. Riot police were called in and the store was closed.
For the new iPad, Apple said it would be available for purchase by reservation at the Apple retail stores. It will also be available at authorised resellers and the Apple online store.
US brokerage PFG files for bankruptcy
US futures broker Peregrine Financial Group, which has been accused of fraud, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it will be liquidated.
Its accounts were frozen on Monday following the attempted suicide of its founder, Russell Wasendorf Sr.
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has alleged that PFG defrauded customers and lied to regulators.
It said PFG misused clients' funds to hide a $200m (£130m) shortfall.
Mr Wasendorf, 64, is reported to be in a coma at a University of Iowa hospital.
The bankruptcy filing showed that on 3 July, Mr Wasendorf had given power of attorney to his son, Russell Wasendorf Jr, who is the chief operating officer of PFG.
The CFTC said it did not know what had happened to the lost $200m of clients' money.
Media reports in Minnesota and Iowa since February have been suggesting links between PFG and a $200m Ponzi scheme run by Trevor Cook, who is now serving a prison sentence.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme, in which existing investors are paid returns from their own capital, or from the money of new investors.
There has been anger among investors that regulators did not spot the problems at PFG earlier, especially after the collapse of the much larger broker, MF Global.
Some clients moved their accounts from MF Global to PFG, following MF Global's demise in October.
Spanish PM Rajoy Mariano urges more cuts amid protests
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has announced a sales tax rise as part of austerity measures aimed at cutting the public budget by 65bn euros (£51bn; $80bn).
He said it would go up to 21% from 18% and there would be a 3.5bn euro cut in local authority budgets.
The measures are in return for a eurozone bank bailout and an extension to Spain's deficit reduction targets.
The changes come as hundreds of Spanish miners march in Madrid in protest against government cuts to subsidies.
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to provide 30bn euros (£24bn) for Spain's troubled banks by the end of the month and to give Madrid an ext
The prime minister, interrupted several times by opposition MPs, told parliament that the measures he was announcing had to be adopted without delay.
The package of tax rises and spending cuts would cut the budget by 65bn euros over two-and-a-half years, or 6.5% of GDP, he said.
"The excesses of the past are being paid for right now," he said, adding that Spaniards had never before experienced such a recession.
Without a cut in Spain's budget deficit, public services would be put at risk. Savings of 3.5bn euros would be made to government administration budgets: local authorities would not be able to offer services they could not afford and the number of councillors would be reduced by 30% in some areas.
The door had been opened to a new EU model, he said, and the summit agreements had committed everyone equally.
Spain's unemployment is running at more than 24% and analysts say European leaders want to see a credible Spanish plan for viability and deficit reduction.
"What animates us is the five million people out of work," Mr Rajoy told parliament.
Mass rally
As Mr Rajoy's speech came to an end, thousands of miners marched through the centre of Madrid towards the industry ministry to protest against big cuts in subsidies.
Many of the miners had walked hundreds of miles since 22 June from northern Spain where demonstrations outside coal mines have resulted in clashes with police.
They were greeted late on Tuesday night by thousands of supporters as they arrived on Madrid's Gran Via, wearing their miners' helmets.
Unions said they were hoping that the second mass rally would draw at least 25,000 people.
The miners are angry at plans to slash coal industry subsidies from 301m euros last year to 111m euros this year.
Unions say the cuts threaten 30,000 jobs and could destroy their industry.
The Spanish government argues that it pays disproportionately high subsidies to a small and unprofitable part of the economy.
Overnight the miners streamed down Madrid's streets with their helmet lamps shining in the dark.
Crowds lined the streets, chanting support.
"We didn't expect such a big welcome," said Roberto Quintas, a miner of 22 years from Villablino near Leon.
"The fact that people are coming into the street and mobilising is a good sign."
Manuel Cinoceda, a retired miner from the Aragon region, added: "The fight is for something just, we are just coming to claim what is ours."
Spain's 30bn-euro bank bailout will be the first instalment of a package worth up to 100bn euros agreed in June.
Eurozone ministers must get approval from their own parliaments and hope to make the payment by the end of July.
DR Congo conflict: UN 'to protect Goma from rebels'
UN peacekeepers are being redeployed to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect the city from mutineers, the country's UN envoy says.
Roger Meece said he was determined to protect population centres in the east from advancing rebels of the M23 group.
Meanwhile, a source has told the BBC the army has retaken the two towns recently captured by the fighters.
The M23 mutineers say they have no intention of taking Goma and want to negotiate with the government.
The Congolese government and the UN say Rwanda is backing the rebels, a claim Kigali vehemently denies.
'New uniforms'
The BBC has been told that Congolese soldiers have been seen entering the strategic town of Rutshuru, 70km (43 miles) north of Goma, captured by rebels over the weekend.
Kiwanja, 20km further north, has also reportedly been retaken by the army after the M23 fighter left the town.
The rebels - who took up arms in April - named themselves the M23 after a failed peace agreement signed on 23 March three years ago.
On Tuesday, a rebel commander told the BBC they intended to hide out in the mountains until they were able to renegotiate a new peace deal and did not intend to take further ground.
They are supporters of renegade General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Gen Ntaganda is an ethnic Tutsi - like the majority of Rwanda's leadership - and a recent UN report accused Rwanda of backing the rebels.
In a briefing to reporters in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, Mr Meece said it had been noted that the mutineers were wearing a new uniform, which indicated that they had the backing of a "foreign country".
He added that some M23 fighters who had defected had said that some of the rebels spoke English, indicating they were not from DR Congo.
"We are certainly absolutely determined to do everything possible to protect population centres against threats by the M23," Mr Meece said.
"We have since the beginning and we're continuing to make adjustments in deployment including bringing personnel that are available from elsewhere... and that certainly includes some from Kinshasa," the UN special representative to DR Congo said.
The M23 rebels defected from the army amid pressure on the government to arrest Gen Ntaganda.
An estimated 200,000 people have fled their homes since April, with about 20,000 crossing the border to Uganda and Rwanda.
Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by years of fighting.
In 1994, more than a million Rwandan ethnic Hutus crossed the border following the genocide in which some 800,000 people - mostly Tutsis - were slaughtered.
Rwanda has twice invaded its much-larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo. Uganda also sent troops into DR Congo during the 1997-2003 conflict.
--BBC