www.dw-world.de   There have been explosions in the Spanish Embassy and a Colombian consulate the Venezuelan capital Caracas, the Reuters news agency reports. There were no immediate reports of injuries and it was not clear what had caused the explosions. However, the incident comes soon after a scathing television attack by President Hugo Chavez on both Spain and Colombia, accusing them of interference after Venezuelan police arrested a prominent strike leader who had been campaining to have Mr. Chavez removed from office.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

The Caracas Stock Index (IBC) dropped 0.54% or 43.60 points to 8,095.00 in a relatively quiet days trading.

The Industrial Index fell 66.92 points to 7,186.03 and the Financial Index ended flat on 13,392.79.

A total of Bs.82.8 million worth of stocks were traded in 43 transactions as two stocks rose, three fell and six traded flat.

CANTV added Bs.44.00 to Bs.2,445.00 while Electricidad de Caracas lost Bs.5.00 to Bs.161.00 and Sivensa fell Bs.0.49 to Bs.3.61.

www.pressdemocrat.com February 25, 2003 By BOB PADECKY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- In his California office this winter, Giants assistant general manager Ned Colletti came to a necessary if not cold conclusion: The 2002 Giants came within five outs of winning the World Series but they were not perfect.

"If we had one weakness," Colletti said, "it's that we didn't have a strong right-handed bat coming off the bench."

Meanwhile, at his Florida home, Andres Galarraga also came to a conclusion.

"I am only 14 homers from having 400 for my career and only 19 RBIs from having 1,400," said Galarraga, also known as the Big Cat. "I have had a good career but maybe if I get 400 homers and 1,400 RBIs, I have a better chance to make the Hall of Fame."

And so a sort of marriage of convenience was born. The Giants needed right-handed power coming off the bench and Galarraga has that right-handed bat that produced 386 homers. So Galarraga, 41, was signed to a minor-league non-roster contract, one that offers no guarantees.

Galarraga will compete with Damon Minor, 29, to be J.T. Snow's backup at first base. The early buzz around spring training is that Galarraga is still fit and looks to have the inside track. Besides the 17-year career and all those homers and RBIs, Galarraga also has something going for him that Minor doesn't.

"When Andres was with us in 2001," Colletti said, "his presence in the clubhouse had a significant impact."

And if there is one constant in the Brian Sabean-Colletti era, it's clubhouse presence. From Kenny Lofton to Ellis Burks to Reggie Sanders to Shawon Dunston to Mark Gardner and others, the Giants have sought stabilizing influences. As anyone who has even had just a chance encounter with Galarraga has found out, he might as well as have "STABILIZING INFLUENCE" tattooed across his forehead.

"When I retire I want to be remembered as a nice guy," Galarraga said.

Of course, if you believe what the late Leo Durocher once said about nice guys -- they finish last -- then Galarraga should never have played in five All-Star Games, three division series and one National League Championship Series. Galarraga ranks in the top 100 in doubles (91st, 429), home runs (40th, 386), grand slams (40th, 8) and RBIs (59th, 1,381). He's won the Silver Slugger Award twice. He is a formidable presence, whether he smiles or not.

But Sabean and Colletti never have fancied themselves as gatherers of worn-out ballplayers who just want to pad their statistics and their pension. Galarraga is not here to be just a wise old soul holding court in the locker room.

"His enthusiasm for the game is still obvious," Colletti said. "He is still vibrant. He's a quality person and a quality player."

Galarraga is a man of social responsibility. He admits freely that he feels obligated to act in a civilized and decent way because the whole country of Venezuela is watching their native son. Among Venezuelan-born big leaguers, Galarraga has the most homers and RBIs.

"I'm probably the biggest (sports) hero, the biggest role model in my country," Galarraga said. "I know people are watching me."

His legend was enhanced considerably when he fought and won a battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1999. Galarraga missed the season and returned the next year with Atlanta to hit 28 homers and drive in 100 runs. He has hit 54 homers and driven in 209 runs since 1999. He inspires more than Venezuelan baseball fanatics.

"Andres has a view of life," Colletti said, "that many players do not have."

A big man at 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, Galarraga doesn't buckle under the weight of such expectations.

"It's why I play hard," Galarraga said. "It's important to respect the game. It's important (that) people see me as a nice guy."

If that's the test, Andres Galarraga can retire today. He's already made the Decent Human Being Hall of Fame.

Contact staff writer Bob Padecky at 521-5490 or bpadecky@pressdemocrat.com.

reuters.com Tue February 25, 2003 03:41 AM ET By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Explosions hit a Spanish Embassy building and the Colombian consulate in the Venezuelan capital Caracas early on Tuesday, buckling their metal gates and shattering windows in neighboring buildings, officials and witnesses said.

A guard was slightly injured at the Colombian consulate building, police said. There were no immediate reports of other casualties.

The explosions came just a day after President Hugo Chavez, whose self-styled "Bolivarian Revolution" aims to help the poor, accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies and warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations.

A Reuters reporter heard a loud explosion at a cooperation suboffice of the Spanish embassy in the east of the capital. The gate of the building had been blown off by the blast; across the street, windows of another building were smashed.

"It punched a hole in the wall surrounding the building," the reporter said.

Police and fire officials said there had also been an explosion outside the Colombian consulate building not far from the Spanish embassy site. The glass walls of the Colombian building were also shattered.

Officials could not immediately say what had caused the explosions. Leaflets scattered at the site of the Spanish embassy explosion referred to the "Bolivarian Liberation Front," a previously unheard of group.

Venezuela's political struggle between Chavez and his opponents often flares into violence and street clashes and media outlets critical of Chavez have been previously targeted by grenade attacks.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER ARREST

The Venezuelan leader's criticisms followed a flurry of international concern over the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opposition businessman who was charged with rebellion for leading a two-month strike to pressure Chavez into accepting elections.

Chavez and his foes have been locked in a fierce deadlock over his rule since April when he survived a short-lived coup by rebel military officers. The president has recently hardened his stance against critics he brands "terrorists" trying to topple him.

The opposition strike severely disrupted the vital oil exports and production that account for half of Venezuelan government revenues and battered its teetering economy.

But Chavez has so far resisted calls for elections from opponents who accuse him of ruling like a dictator and inspiring supporters to violence with his fiery speeches laced with threats and class warfare rhetoric.

Venezuela's crisis has drawn in the international community with leaders who fear the world's fifth largest supplier of oil could slide into civil war as Chavez allies and enemies battle over his government.

The U.S., Spain and four other countries have backed efforts by the Organization of American States to broker a deal on elections to defuse the crisis. But the talks have been mired in wrangling and Chavez on Sunday appeared to push away members of the six-nation group.

A grenade exploded in January at the Venezuelan residence of the ambassador from Algeria, which had offered to assist Chavez in his efforts to offset the impact of the strike.

That explosion followed bomb threats made against several foreign embassies in Caracas. The German, Canadian and Australian embassies were evacuated after receiving calls made in the name of a group claiming to be the Patriotic Committee for Venezuela.

www.sunspot.net

Originally published Feb 25, 2003 Laura Vecsey

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Sometimes when you talk to Melvin Mora, you wonder if he wasn't dropped on Earth to remind us all to take a chill, to have a good attitude, to establish a reservoir of unshakable faith that diffuses anger toward heaven, where some other force will help out.

This is the power of Melvin.

Sometimes you wonder if the Venezuelan utility man wasn't sent here to prove that a person can balance serenity with competitive fire, sensitivity with strength, respectful reserve with fetching personality.

Oh, the power of Melvin.

Please, if the Orioles don't do something silly like package the versatile Mora in a trade for that bigger bat they need, let Mora play every day, Mr. Hargrove. We can't get enough of the impish but sturdy player whose nature reassures us that humanity does indeed have tremendous upside.

No, Melvin Mora did not go to Venezuela this winter. He did not return home to be near his mother, Phillipa, who gave birth to 11 children but has only 10 left after last April, when son Jose was shot by thugs outside their house on Santiago Road and died in his mother's arms.

"These killers hang around outside," Mora said. "They think I have money so they are around there. I have a different house that I want my mother to go to, but she says, 'Fix this house up,' even though there are bad guys hanging around. I say, 'Mama, listen, we have to get out of here.' But she doesn't want to leave. This is the place where she watched her son die. She doesn't want to leave him."

No, Mora did not go home to the country where 25 years ago, when he was 6, he also lost his father to senseless violence. A gunshot dropped his father to the street, where he died in Mora's arms.

And, no, Melvin Mora could not return home to Venezuela, even though his winter league team, Magallanes, so badly wanted Mora to come play and he was willing to leave his wife and six children -- including those 18-month-old quintuplets -- in Bel Air for one month, enough perhaps to lift Magallanes to the playoffs.

"They called twice in November. I wanted to go. They were losing and they needed me to come, but there was talk about a strike. People didn't know what was going to happen. Then there was a strike. It happened Dec. 2," Mora said.

The paralyzing national strike led thousands of people, rich and poor, to the streets to protest the rule of President Hugo Chavez. By Dec. 22, as the unions and university professors continued to march, shutting down the oil industry and prompting international companies to leave the country, the president of the Venezuela Professional Baseball League shut down the country's beloved baseball.

"You'll hear 'Play ball!' only when we can guarantee the quality of the game and the safety of the players," said Ramon Guillermo Aveledo.

They never could guarantee safety.

"It's never been this bad," Mora said yesterday. "This is crazy. People were running out to get food before it ran out. A lot of people died, and then you don't know about those other people who disappear.

"One of those dead people is my brother. The police work with the bad guys. All they have to do is give the [police] some money and that's it. They let you go. There is so much corruption. If you have no power, nothing they want from you, you have no chance. You can't live like that.

"I think about this every day when I go to sleep. I just think I don't want to get a phone call and hear bad news. If your mother sees her son die in her own hands, this is too much. They pay $100 to kill someone. ... I cannot accept someone paying for murder. The police might take money to let you get away, but you never live in peace. I have God on my side. One thing he says, do not kill. I pray for me and my family. I believe in him."

And we also believe in Melvin.

This spring, with B.J. Surhoff rejoining the Orioles, the outfield is already crowded with Marty Cordova, Gary Matthews and Jay Gibbons. In the infield, where Mora plays second base and shortstop, veteran free agents Jeff Reboulet and John Valentin are in camp battling for roster spots. Jerry Hairston established himself at second last season and this spring. Brian Roberts is also getting a good look. It's pretty clear there's less wiggle room for manager Mike Hargrove to use Mora the way he did last season, when Mora wheeled the diamond, filling in for whoever was injured -- and that was almost everybody.

In 149 games, Mora played five different positions. Now, though, Hargrove is talking about starting Mora two or three times a week. Mora accepts this because he is dutifully diplomatic. Still, he wants to change that forecast.

"I had 19 homers last year, I walked 70 times, scored 86 runs and was third for on-base percentage on this team," he said. "I love to play this sport. I came out of nowhere [to help the New York Mets in the 1999 and 2000 playoffs] when I had no pressure on me. I cannot sit in the dugout when I think I can help the team win. I like to hit from any spot -- 6, 5, 9 or 1 -- wherever they want to put me. Of course, I would like to hit No. 2 and start in center field every day."

For him, you wish this could happen.