www.austin360.com COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS Wednesday, March 19, 2003

PAKISTAN

Afghan refugees head home

Afghan refugee Saliha, 9, waits for her bus to leave the Kacha Garhi Refugee Camp in Peshawar. Saliha, who was born in the camp and whose family has lived there for more than 22 years, is on her way to Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

GERMANY

Bid to ban party is tossed

KARLSRUHE -- The German high court threw out a government bid to ban a far-right political party, declaring that the state's evidence was tainted. The decision marked the end of a two-year campaign by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's administration to outlaw the National Democratic Party, which the government accuses of inciting racial hatred and anti-Semitism.

EGYPT

Activist is acquitted

CAIRO-- Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a prominent prodemocracy activist, was acquitted by Egypt's highest court after a third trial on charges that he defamed the nation and embezzled funds. The court voided an earlier seven-year prison sentence.

ZIMBABWE

Nation strike turns violent

HARARE -- Angered by food shortages and alleged government repression, anti-government protesters called a national strike that disrupted business activity and public transportation. The protests turned violent in some areas, and more than 50 people were arrested, police said.

NIGERIA

8 die in ethnic clashes

LAGOS -- Ethnic clashes in an oil-rich area of Nigeria have left eight people dead, including an employee of ChevronTexaco, officials said. The clashes between ethnic Ijaws and Itsekiris came as the country prepared for presidential elections next month.

YEMEN

5 co-workers shot to death

SAN`A -- A Yemeni man shot four oil company co-workers -- killing an American, a Canadian and a Yemeni -- before shooting himself dead, the Interior Ministry said. The assailant may have suffered from depression, a ministry statement said.

washingtontimes.com March 19, 2003 • Combined dispatches and staff reports

     King says troops won't participate      RIYADH — Saudi Arabia will not participate "under any circumstances" in a war against Iraq, King Fahd said in a statement yesterday.      The statement, read by Crown Prince Abdullah on Saudi television, said Saudi armed forces would not enter "one inch" of Iraqi territories.      However, the king did not say whether U.S. forces would use Saudi Arabia as a base for an attack.            YEMEN      Disgruntled oil worker kills American boss      SAN'A — A Yemeni man shot four oil company co-workers yesterday — killing an American, a Canadian and a Yemeni — before fatally shooting himself, the Interior Ministry said.      A second Canadian was wounded.      The assailant might have suffered from depression, and witnesses reported that during the attack he yelled he was taking revenge "against those who were filing reports about him," a ministry statement said.      The attack occurred in an oil field in the oil-rich northern province of Marib, about 100 miles northeast of the Yemeni capital, San'a, a ministry statement said.            CUBA      Havana arrests dozens,      sees 'conspiracy'      HAVANA — Cuba has arrested "several dozen people" accused of involvement in a "conspiracy" led by James Cason, the head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the government said yesterday.      The Cuban government has imposed travel restrictions on Mr. Cason to limit his movements on the island, the communist government said in a statement.      "Several dozen people, tied directly to conspiratorial acts carried out by Mr. Cason, have been arrested by the relevant authorities and will be brought to justice," said the statement.            VENEZUELA      Former oil chiefs emerge from hiding      CARACAS — Seven former oil executives emerged from weeks of hiding yesterday after a judge struck down warrants for their arrest on charges stemming from a two-month strike that sought President Hugo Chavez's ouster.      The executives hugged one another in front of the Caracas offices of the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. Hundreds of supporters cheered and waved flags.      The seven were accused of interrupting and damaging the country's fuel supply.            JAPAN      Negotiators preserve Sri Lanka peace      HAKONE — Peace negotiators yesterday settled a dispute about a deadly clash at sea that threatened to derail efforts to end Sri Lanka's 19-year-old civil war, a government official said.      Negotiators meeting in this town in the foothills of Mount Fuji spent nearly four hours discussing the sinking of a rebel ship by the Sri Lankan navy, other violations of a cease-fire and improved security for minority Tamils in the northern part of the small island-nation in the Indian Ocean.      Peace talks began in September after the Norwegians brokered a cease-fire in February 2002.            CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC      Gangs loot, pillage after rebel takeover      BANGUI — Armed gangs roamed the capital of the Central African Republic yesterday, pillaging homes and looting shops just days after rebels occupied the city.      Former army Gen. Francois Bozize, who declared himself president after the takeover, said his forces were not involved in the destruction.      Gen. Bozize has installed himself in the city's presidential palace.      His troops captured Bangui after an assault Saturday while President Ange-Felix Patasse was visiting Niger.

www.thestar.com Mar. 18, 2003. 07:57 AM

NEW YORK—World oil prices eased further yesterday as dealers wagered that the looming war in Iraq would be short and inflict only limited damage on Middle East oil flows.

The possibility that the United States could release oil from its 600-million-barrel emergency oil stockpile further weighed on prices, which have fallen more than 8 per cent over the last three trading sessions.

"The market believes the war will be short and quick, so there should be a relatively soft landing for crude prices," said Charlie Luke at Aberdeen Asset Management.

U.S. light crude futures dropped 45 cents (U.S.) to $34.93 per barrel, down from a 12-year high of $39.99 late last month. The current price is $6 short of a $41.15 all-time peak during the 1990-91 Gulf War crisis.

Brent crude oil fell 65 cents to $29.48 per barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, which was forced to close for two hours when anti-war protesters raided the London market waving banners saying "Oil fuels war."

Prices fell as the United States and its allies ended diplomatic efforts to win U.N. approval for an ultimatum to Iraq, clearing the way to launch war without Security Council authority.

Speculative investors who fuelled a 60 per cent rise in oil prices in just over three months are now selling to avoid being caught out by a sudden price slide if Middle East oil flows escape severe disruption.

In the first Gulf War, prices sank from over $30 to barely $20 when the United States launched its January, 1991, offensive as it became clear that Iraq would not harm oil fields in Saudi Arabia.

But prices could go back up quickly if Iraq inflicted substantial damage on its own oil fields, or the war was prolonged, analysts said. Iraq and its Gulf neighbours together pump about 40 per cent of global crude exports.

U.S. plans to secure Iraq's northern Kirkuk oil fields quickly in the event of war have been undercut by Turkey's refusal to let U.S. troops through its territory.

"The market is betting on a short, straightforward campaign that would be over fairly quickly," said Steve Turner of Commerzbank in London.

"But there is definitely upside if the war is long and difficult and there are repercussions across the Middle East."

A cold winter and prolonged supply hitch from Venezuela simultaneously drained commercial stockpiles to historic lows, and the OPEC oil cartel has little spare production capacity to cover further supply disruption.

U.S. gasoline pump prices already have hit a new all-time high of $1.719 a gallon for an average price of regular unleaded, the American Automobile Association said yesterday. A sustained increase in energy costs could weaken an already soft economy, analysts say.

Iraq's U.N.-supervised oil exports, which recently averaged almost 2 million barrels daily, will slow to a trickle this week as dealers have stopped buying for fear of an imminent attack.

Iraq's two authorized export terminals in Turkey and the Gulf were both idle yesterday.

Further pressuring prices, the chairman of the U.S. House energy and commerce committee said the energy department told him the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, is ready to release oil to counter a disruption in crude supplies, if necessary.

"The SPR has, for some time now, transitioned from the fill' mode to the flow' mode and is prepared to flow upon orders from the president," Republican Billy Tauzin said in a letter to fellow lawmakers.

The United States and other members of the International Energy Agency has said it will allow OPEC oil producers to try to cover any shortages in war, releasing inventories from emergency stockpiles only as a last resort.

REUTERS news agency

www.latinbusinesschronicle.com BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Argentina and Nicaragua aren´t the only Latin American countries suffering from corruption. The latest survey from Transparency International shows reduced transparency scores in nine countries, while only three nations boosted their transparency.

"In parts of South America, the graft and misrule of political elites have drained confidence in the democratic structures that emerged after the end of military rule,” Peter Steigen, chairman of Transparency International, said in a statement when the results were released.

However, there is also good news: Businesspeople and politicians are increasingly opposing the tradition of corruption. In Nicaragua, President Enrique Bolanos has received widespread attention for his efforts to clean up the corruption of his predecessor Arnoldo Aleman.

But the private sector is also getting involved. In Guarulhos (the second-largest city in the State of Sao Paulo), businessman Luis Roberto Mesquita has succeeded in putting transparency on the agenda. His campaign to get public officials to commit to anti-corruption government had led to increased awareness of the issue and also led to the 1998 ouster of the city´s mayor, Nefí Tales.

Mesquita is now among three recipients of this year´s Integrity Award from Transparency. "Mesquita has taken on the most powerful and corrupt in his city again and again,” Cláudio Weber Abramo, General Secretary of Transparencia Brasil, said in a statement on the award.

Paraguay and Haiti were added to Transparency´s list from last year and managed to rise to the top of the list in terms of worst offenders. Paraguay scored 1.7 (out of ten) and got a global rank of 98 (of 102 nations). Haiti got a score of 2.2 and came in at 89, the same as Bolivia. However, Bolivia managed to show a slight improvement over last year´s score of 2.0.

Argentina and Panama saw the strongest declines in their scores, followed by Guatemala and Venezuela. While many see the growing economic chaos in Argentina as a factor behind increased corruption, the lower scores in Panama were likely caused by scandal tying the government to bribing legislators for their votes.

The Dominican Republic saw the best improvement, although small increases were also noted in Bolivia, Ecuador and - Nicaragua. The latter may be explained by the recent actions taken by Bolanos against Aleman and his cronies.

Chile continues to be the most transparent country in the region, followed by Uruguay and Costa Rica, the survey shows.

The index is based on different surveys from independent institutions looking at how corruption among public officials and politicians are perceived. Transparency International emphasizes that its index does not necessarily reflect the current status of corruption in a country, but rather the perception.

www.haitiantimes.com

It is a known fact that the price of gas has skyrocketed across the world in the last few months. The problems are many. Social turmoil in Venezuela, the now eminent war with Iraq, are some of the reasons for this spike. In the United States, the average price of regular unleaded is now roughly $1.75, up from $1.45 a few months ago. But in Haiti, the price increase has been dramatic. It rose some 75 percent. That, naturally, has created unrest in a country already mired in social and political impasse. The reason that the price went up so much in Haiti as opposed to other countries is that the Haitian government had lifted subsidies on the price of gas. All other governments subsidize the price of gas to allow industries a competitive edge. But in Haiti, the subsidies have been legendary for their amount.

Some of the amortization started to weigh under the René Préval administration but the former president refused to do so for political reasons. Préval, who was governing under an executive decree after dissolving Parliament, knew the political backlash would be too great if he eased up on the gas subsidies even as the price of gasoline was increasing worldwide. Now his “twin” Jean-Bertrand Aristide has to deal with the decision.

Facing financial woes, Aristide lifted the subsidies in one fell swoop, sending the country’s already wobbling economy into a tizzy. While we believe the increase was inevitable, Aristide should have administered the remedy in more palatable doses. Furthermore,this sort of decision should be explained to the public so that they can understand the situation. Remaining silent during such a crisis is not the right way to govern, particularly from an administration where transparency is at the core of its platform. We’ve seen this over and over where the leadership does not communicate with people.

Democracy demands that a leader talks to its people and make sure that they understand, at each step, what’s going on, specially during a time of crisis. While this administration is adept at creating crisis, it falters every time in managing it properly.