www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Shadowy Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) political adviser, Eliezer Otaiza says the planting of car bombs had no other purpose than to create a climate of war in Venezuela and therefore, the government should prepare the population.

The former State Political & Security (DISIP) Police director says he has no doubts that foreign intelligence agencies are mixed up to sell the spin that the government is linked to acts of terrorism … “I’m also convinced that a parallel DISIP is at work … only experts could have set off the bombs placed at the Spanish Embassy and Colombian consulates.”

Otaiza calls on State security agencies to move fast to avoid falling into the trap of when Peruvian spymaster, Vladimir Montesinos was in Venezuela.

When asked about the alleged presence of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander, Manuel Marulanda in Venezuelan territory, Otaiza replied that it is "not likely" and anyway, "the government does not support any group in particular in Colombia.”

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

The Venezuelan Prisons Inspectorate is lobbying National Assembly (AN) president Francisco Ameliach to appoint a special subcommittee to investigate the critical situation in Venezuela’s prisons brought into the spotlight by hunger strikes in several prisons.

Inspectorate coordinator, Humberto Prado says the strike is a protest against delayed legal processes, scarcity of food and infrahuman searches families are subject to when they visit inmates.

“Since this administration came to power there have been 6 Justice Ministers and nine changes of prison governors all with different plans and all with no results.”

The Observatory calls on the government, public powers, the business sector, churches and NGOs to collaborate in drawing up a prison program. “I think it should go from the President down to avoid change of plans and ministerial incompliance.”

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Oscar D’Leon. Venezuela’s Salsa King has been appointed King of the Miami Carnival Parade set for Saturday, March 9.

The parade will start off with D’Leon’s coronation and wind its way down 8th Street in downtown Miami.

The singer purchased an apartment in the El Doral residential complex two years ago, and says it’s a great satisfaction to lead the Parade after so many years of bringing his orchestra to Miami.

It seems that Miami’s anti-Castro Cubans have forgiven Oscar for his visit to Cuba in the 80s when he gave a memorable concert and improvised with Cuban salsa singers in Havana.

The ban on Oscar singing in Miami didn't last long after he held a press conference clarifying where he stood ideologically.

On March 7, Oscar will appear at the Miccosukee Casino with anti-Chavist sons of Chavist icon, Ali Primera and on Saturday he hopes to fill the Orange Bowl.

An effusive D’Leon, who has just released a new record called “Infinito,” says he belongs to the world … “I don’t belong to Venezuela or Miami … I don’t belong anywhere.”

sg.biz.yahoo.com Friday March 7, 5:49 AM By Gaston F. Ceron Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks retreated among concerns about the economy and with the shadow of Iraq still hanging over the market.

Worries about corporate results continued to weigh on investors, who were faced with poor retail-sales reports and an earnings warning from Raytheon. Shares of Raytheon fell 5.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 101.61, or 1.31%, to end at 7673.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 11.48, or 0.87%, to 1302.92. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 7.75, or 0.93%, to 822.10.

Retail-sales figures for the month of February weren't encouraging, as stores were hampered by the big blizzard that hit the East Coast last month. Shares of Sears Roebuck fell 3.5%, while shares of May Department Stores dropped 2.2%.

Regarding the overall market environment, "after all is said and done, what this is all about is the economy and earnings," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment strategist at First Albany in Albany, N.Y. "And the outlook for the economy and earnings is deteriorating. Oil prices remain so high, and as a result the outlook for the economy is getting gloomier."

A worse-than-expected report on weekly jobless claims also spooked investors, suggesting that employment conditions are weakening, Johnson added. But the economic picture remains muddy, as data on productivity and factory orders painted a more positive picture.

The strategist noted that all the attention that has been given to the Iraqi situation may be masking other problems for the market. "The buzz on Wall Street is that if Iraq gets put behind us the stock market . . . will do well," he said.

But even if the Iraqi standoff is resolved, "there is still North Korea and terrorism, there is still Venezuela," Johnson said.

On the New York Stock Exchange, there were 1,226 issues advancing, 2,027 declining and 189 unchanged.

NYSE volume totaled 1,287,877,770 shares, compared with 1,302,704,190 Wednesday.

The NYSE Composite Index was 4626.02, down 47.73. The average price per share fell 21 cents.

straitstimes.asia1.com.sg

NEW YORK - The most common cause of recessions - a surge in oil prices - is again afflicting the global economy.

Just as they have before every American downturn over the last 40 years, energy costs have risen significantly in the last year, capped by a sharp spike since December.

With more money being spent on petrol and heating fuel, economic growth has slowed in both the United States and Europe, and the uneven recovery that began in late 2001 is facing perhaps its biggest threat yet.

Most forecasters expect the US economy to avoid a new recession this year, saying that only an unexpectedly protracted war in Iraq would keep oil at its current price or higher.

But any war is an unknown, and the price increases for both oil and natural gas have already caused consumers to cut back on other spending.

The increases have also created a new problem for businesses trying to emerge from the hangover of the late-1990s boom.

'The economy is extremely fragile,' said Mr Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a research company in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 'We've got some real problems if this drags on for any length of time.'

Energy costs began rising more than a year ago, when the Organisation of Petroleum- Exporting Countries cut production in response to the weak global economy.

The potential war in the Persian Gulf, political chaos in Venezuela and a cold winter in the United States caused the price of a barrel of oil to soar to almost US$40 (S$70) last Thursday, the highest since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, before retreating to US$36.60 last Friday in New York. That is about 69 per cent higher than it was a year ago.

Every time the oil prices have risen by at least 60 per cent since World War II, a recession has occurred in the US, with the exception of a one-month blip in oil prices in 1987.

The current annual increase is similar in size to the jumps of late 1990, when a recession was starting, and the summer of 2000, nine months before another began.

Higher energy costs reduce economic growth by effectively forcing families and businesses to send more money to a small number of oil-producing countries, leaving less to be spent on goods and services that create jobs at home.

Energy prices affect Europe and Japan even more severely than the United States, which produces more of its own oil and natural gas.

Britain reported last week that its economy had grown at the most sluggish pace in 10 years during the last three months of last year. The German economy shrank at the end of last year for the first time in a year.

'The single best cyclical indicator for the world economy is the price of oil,' said economist Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick outside Coventry, England. 'Nothing moves in the world economy without oil in there somewhere.'

In 1990, oil prices fell almost as soon as the US attacked Iraq, and many economists think the same thing could happen this year.

Even if a war temporarily reduced the supply of energy, President George W. Bush could release oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down prices, analysts note.--New York Times