<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, May 02, 2003 By: David Coleman

Irresponsible accusations are flying through the air after the death of 46-year-old Richard Herrera in a shooting incident at Plaza O'Leary in Caracas during an opposition Confederation of Venezuelan Trade Unions (CTV) May 1 demonstration.  Paramedics who were quickly on the scene say several others were injured but that Herrera had been killed from several bullets to the chest.  Felix Lungar (32), also wounded in the shooting, was rushed to the University Hospital Clinic as CICPC detectives began a thorough investigation.

Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez says the demo was progressing peacefully when a verbal altercation broke out and he heard five distinct gunshots.  "Everything happened very quickly, I was about 15 meters from where it happened ... then there were people running away ... unfortunately, there were no policemen close at hand ... the killer got away but there were witnesses who saw him and they described him as wearing a white shirt and camouflage trousers."

National Assembly (AN) deputy, Gerardo Blyde told reporters in the El Silencio district of Caracas that the suspect has been identified as a local criminal aliased "The Chicken" whose last known residence was in Block 1G and that he escaped capture through the parking area.  Other versions of what happened claim two people shooting from a motorcycle.

Proyecto Venezuela deputy Maria Gabriela Mataudon says she saw the alleged killer fire off the shots and then being taken away in a police car ... a witness adds that it was a State Political & Security (DISIP) police patrol car and that the arresting officer was identified by badge number 21.534.

More than 2,000 officers from the Metropolitan Police (PM), National Guard (GN), PoliCaracas and Fire Emergency crews had covered the demonstration but PM deputy director Lazaro Forero says it was impossible to foresee the tragedy.  "We did not expect it ... it was a surprise to everyone and we are trying to get to the bottom of what really happened."

Opposition Globovision TV News channel did not delay much in bringing live pictures from the scene, highlighting unsubstantiated accusations that the shooting had taken place on direct orders from the Chavez Frias government.  Official Ombudsman German Mundarain says, however, that the shooting resulted from a one-on-one verbal dispute between two people in Plaza O'Leary, and that one of the two pulled out a gun and fired.  "We can not at this stage attach any political motive to the shooting ... the gunman escaped into one of the buildings close by but we have clear signals as to his identity and he will be captured sooner or later."

Mundarain says he regrets that there have been so much irresponsible public speculation as to who, what or why lies behind the Plaza O'Leary shooting ... "we have no evidence that this crime has any political motive and there is no evidence to substantiate any such claim ... it appears to me to be highly irresponsible to make such statements as have been attributed to elements of the opposition since it doesn't contribute anything to the maintenance of peace and general order."

In update news, Metropolitan Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena says five were injured and 9 have been detained following Thursday's, Mat 1 demonstrations across the capital.  The injured have been named as Alfonso Ochoa, Jorge Espinosa, Luis Tovar and Junior Contreras who were treated at hospital emergency rooms while Jaime Leon is in intensive care at the Military Hospital although expected to be off the danger list shortly.

Metropolitan Police (PM) officers have reportedly detained Rafael Urbina (19), Jackson Aborrea (22), Felix Moreno (19), Carlos Borrero (35), Franklin Ortiz (19), Carlos Alberto Montero (33), Alberto Fernandez (44), Erika Contreras (22) and Jose Pulido on an assortment of weapons-related charges.

Pena says he regrets the latest acts of political violence and adds "it will not be possible to return peace to the streets unless we can disarm these violent groups and if proper elections are not supervised by international inspection organizations."

news24.com 02/05/2003 12:56  - (SA)  

London - Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group saw its profits nearly double in the first three months of the year when it benefited from rising oil prices before the war in Iraq, the company said on Friday.

Net earnings, based on the current cost of supplies and excluding special items, rose to $3.914bn, an increase of 96% from the equivalent figure last year, Shell said.

"The earnings reflected significantly higher hydrocarbon prices," among other factors, the company said in a statement.

According to Shell's own statistics, the price of Brent crude oil averaged $31.50 a barrel over the quarter as against $21.15 in the same period last year.

World oil prices rocketed at the start of the year as tensions in the Middle East mounted ahead of the US-led war to unseat Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Prices were also forced up by strike action in Venezuela and unrest in Nigeria which saw around a third of the country's crude exports halted.

On Tuesday, British oil giant BP reported a record first-quarter profit of $3.73bn, up 136%, which it also put down to strong oil prices.

ContraCostaTimes.com Posted on Fri, May. 02, 2003 By Brian Kluepfel CORRESPONDENT

Although writing is often a solitary activity, many authors feel the need to bounce ideas off each other; to become involved in a larger peer group.

Sometimes, they just want to sit around, drink coffee and complain about how editors aren't returning their phone calls or e-mails.

A collective of East Bay women has provided that setting and more for the past decade, and this month celebrate the publication of their anthology, "Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives."

Each Wednesday at 10 a.m., a group of 10 to 15 writers gather at the Rockridge home of Elizabeth Fishel, who edited the anthology along with Terri Hinte. There, surrounded by a collection of folk art and fortified by trays of snacks, the group takes on the collective and individual task of writing.

Fishel, who also teaches writing classes at UC Berkeley Extension, talked about what makes this group unique.

"It's a nice range of people in terms of ages and backgrounds," said Fishel. "Some are just having children, and some have grandchildren. The real pleasure of group is that writers get to know each other deeply through conversation and work."

Varied inspiration

Befitting the East Bay, it's a multicultural group, with writers from Venezuela, India, England and Denmark included in the anthology. The 57 stories run the gamut, too, from a night spent dancing in Brazil to the slaughter of a goat in India. But Fishel delights in finding the magic in a less exotic surroundings.

"Some of my favorite writing is about ordinary surprises of daily life -- not a trek through the Himalayas or open heart surgery, but about the women who found a dog on Ashby Avenue or one who is sending a daughter to high school for the first time."

Fishel said because the workshop is in her home, rather than a classroom, there is a more intimate feel to the group. "It's a bit like a literary salon," she said. "It feels cozy and private."

It is in this atmosphere of immediacy that these women begin to reveal themselves, first through an open discussion of the business of writing, then through "workshopping" two pieces, and finally, through the exercise of "free writing," during which the authors are given a random topic and let fly for 10 minutes. Each section of the two-hour-and-15-minute meeting has a purpose.

The conversation allows Fishel, who's published four nonfiction books, to share some of the secrets of the trade: writing the perfect query letter, for instance. The group leader noted that the dynamic toward professionalism has changed over the years.

"The group has matured," she said. "It used to be for sheer pleasure of (writing), but we are bringing in more and more serious writers."

Berkeley writer Suzanne LaFetra is one who has benefited from the collective vibe. She joined the group last October --there are spring and fall sessions, each lasting about 10 weeks -- and has since been published in half a dozen local and national publications.

"It's a great group for workshopping and community," said LaFetra. "All writers need some kind of emotional and professional support system."

Editing is key

LaFetra met Fishel through a writing course at UC Extension. In fact, like UC, there is a fee involved in joining Fishel's home-based workshop, which perhaps makes the level of commitment more serious.

The "workshop" portion of the meeting helps to bring developing pieces into sharper focus. In fact, many of the works in the anthology are the result of intense discussion, criticism and revision.

"Willingness to be a rewriter is a hallmark of the Wednesday writers," said Fishel.

LaFetra noted the value of constructive criticism. "You learn how to critique," she said. "That's a skill unto itself." She and Fishel both emphasized that the positive points of a work are first discussed, and then suggestions are made for possible improvement.

The result of a decade's discussions is the elegant anthology printed this year. Although the group always produces one at the end of each semester, "Wednesday Writers" is the first that's been professionally designed and printed. It is available in local bookstores, through Amazon.com and directly from Fishel (erfishel@hotmail.com) for $12.

It's all for a good cause. Proceeds from the book go to the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. Fishel lost her own mother to breast cancer, and several women in the group have battled it over the years. Much of that struggle is documented in the anthology section entitled "Healing Words."

"A lot of people in the workshop are going through transitions," Fishel said. "Childbirth, death of a loved one, some kind of upheaval. Writing is a way to process it and understand it, and maybe lighten their load a bit."

READING WHAT: Women's Writing Workshop of Oakland reads from "Wednesday Writers." Proceeds of book sales benefit UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. WHEN: Sunday May 4, 2 p.m. WHERE: Diesel Bookstore, 5433 College Avenue, Oakland INFORMATION: 510-653-9965

Brian Kluepfel is a freelance journalist who has lived in the 'burbs, the Bronx, Bolivia and Berkeley. He can be reached at bkluepfel@hotmail.com.

Fri May 2, 2003 06:24 AM ET By Andrew Callus

LONDON (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Royal Dutch/Shell joined its giant oil industry rivals in reporting record quarterly profits on Friday after war in Iraq, civil unrest in Nigeria and strikes in Venezuela stoked crude oil prices.

The world's second largest oil company said net profit adjusted to reflect the current cost of supply and other one-off items soared 96 percent year-on-year to $3.914 billion in the first quarter of 2003.

The result was above a range of analysts' expectations and the biggest profit Shell has ever turned in. Excluded from the adjusted figure was the impact of a $1.7 billion gain from the sale of 14.75 percent stake in German gas distributor Ruhrgas to German utility E.ON.

The news had little impact on its shares. Investors had come to expect a forecast-beating figure after results from the company's two main rivals earlier in the week, and their minds are now focused on the fall that has taken place in crude oil prices since the quarter's end, to below $25 a barrel from an average of over $30.

"If they hadn't been at the top of the range that would have been a disappointment," said analyst Peter Hitchens of French broker Cheuvreux.

Shares in Dutch arm Royal Dutch and London-listed Shell were slightly higher, up 0.7 percent and one percent respectively at 6:16 a.m. EDT, slightly outperforming the DJ Stoxx energy index, which was up 0.3 percent.

H1 BUYBACK STILL "UNLIKELY"

Analysts said its downstream gas and power result was a little better than expected, but one said the absence of any comment on the possible restart of share buybacks was "disappointing." Officials said the company's February position that a buyback was "unlikely in the first half" remained the case. Earlier this week, world oil numbers one and three Exxon Mobil and BP each delivered record first-quarter earnings. Exxon's more than tripled from a year ago (though its figures included the sale of its Ruhrgas stake) while BP's were up 132 percent.

War in Iraq and civil unrest in Nigeria threatened supplies of crude oil and took the average price of crude to a 12 year high in the quarter. Some of Shell's production was shut in Nigeria and still is, but the effect of the oil price far outweighed this.

Strikes in another oil producing nation, Venezuela, helped the crude price too and shut in fuel exports to the United States, sending the price of gasoline and other products soaring. Of the top three Shell is the leader in squeezing profits from refining and marketing.

Strong U.S. natural gas prices completed the rosy picture for the industry, producing some of the biggest quarterly corporate earnings hauls in history. The results were made all the more striking by tumbling earnings across other industries as economies slow around the world.

UNDERLYING GROWTH FLAT

Shell also produced six percent growth in oil and gas production in the quarter from a year earlier to 4.2 million barrels a day. However this included the acquisition of Enterprise Oil last year.

Underlying growth was flat, in line with recent forecasts from the company, and Shell officials told Reuters that the forecast of 4.1 million barrels a day for 2003 as a whole this year remained intact along with its three percent a year longer term output growth target.

sky.com

The world's second largest oil company said net profit adjusted to reflect the current cost of supply and other one-off items soared 96% year-on-year to £2.46bn.

The result was above a range of analysts' expectations and the biggest profit Shell has ever turned in.

Earlier this week, world oil numbers one and three - Exxon Mobil and BP - each delivered record first quarter earnings.

Oil strife

Exxon's more than tripled from a year ago while BP's were up 132%.

War in Iraq and civil unrest in Nigeria threatened supplies of crude oil and took the average price of crude to a 12 year high.

Some of Shell's production was shut in in Nigeria but the effect of the oil price outweighed this.

Strikes in another oil producing nation, Venezuela, helped the crude price too and shut in fuel exports to the US, sending the price of gasoline and other products soaring.

Rosy picture

Strong US natural gas prices completed the rosy picture for the industry, producing some of the biggest quarterly corporate earnings hauls in history.

The results were made all the more striking by tumbling earnings across other industries as economies slow around the world.

Shell also produced 6% growth in oil and gas production in the quarter from a year earlier to 4.2m barrels a day.

Last Updated: 11:02 UK, Friday May 02, 2003