<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA News 14 Jun 2003, 01:39 UTC

Venezuelan authorities have fired tear gas to disperse dozens of government supporters who tried to disrupt an opposition rally in a Caracas slum. At least 14 people were injured.

Riot police and national guard troops took action Friday as pro-government demonstrators pelted them with rocks, bottles and firecrackers in the Petare neighborhood. Ambulances evacuated patients from a nearby hospital amid thick clouds of white tear gas.

While authorities clashed with the supporters of President Hugo Chavez, a block away opponents demanded a referendum on his rule. The opposition center-right COPEI party organized Friday's protest to call for President Chavez to leave office.

The trouble comes less than one month after unknown gunmen fired on an opposition rally in another impoverished area, killing one person and leaving 17 people injured.

Political tensions over the Chavez government have troubled Venezuela for months. Scores of people have been killed in street clashes and violence since April of last year when the president survived a brief coup. In December, Mr. Chavez's opponents began a nationwide general strike in a failed bid to force him to resign and call new elections. The walkout ended in February.

Chavez critics accuse him of leading Venezuela toward economic ruin and trying to model the oil-rich country on communist-run Cuba. President Chavez blames the economic downturn on the failed strike. Venezuela's Central Bank says the economy fell 29 percent in the first three months of the year.

Associated Press

Caracas — Venezuelan troops fought pitched street battles Friday with supporters of President Hugo Chavez who tried to disrupt an opposition rally in an impoverished area of the capital considered a government stronghold.

At least 14 people were injured.

Troops in armoured vehicles arrived at the scene while Chavistas, as the president's supporters are known, fought back, throwing bottles, rocks and firecrackers at security forces.

They also looted a nearby police station after tearing down the walls with sledgehammers and metal rods.

Hundreds of national guard troops and police in riot gear launched tear-gas grenades to disperse more than 100 rowdy government backers.

Columns of black smoke rose from tires burning in the street and mingled with thick clouds of white tear gas.

Gunfire from unknown sources wounded one police officer and three civilians, said Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno.

At least 10 people were slightly hurt by flying objects, he added.

The tear gas forced the evacuation of 25 children from a nearby hospital.

Ignoring government warnings violence could erupt, opposition parties called the rally as part of a series of events in Caracas slums to make a case that Mr. Chavez's traditional support among the poor has evaporated.

Interior Minister Lucas Rincon pleaded with march organizers to take the protest to an area where there would be less potential for violence.

"We alert the population to the security risks that this act carries," Mr. Rincon said in an address to the nation late Thursday.

"This isn't about impeding a political act. It's about taking it to a less risky one."

Hours before the planned protest, dozens of Chavez sympathizers burned tires in a plaza on the only route to the opposition's chosen site - an eastern Caracas street beneath hills covered by red-brick shanties.

The protest came three weeks after unidentified gunmen killed one person and wounded 10 at an opposition march in a poor neighbourhood on the city's west side. No one was arrested.

"A truly dark story has repeated itself. We had said this was the least appropriate place to stage this demonstration," said Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel.

The opposition COPEI party refused to cancel the protest, insisting it wouldn't be intimidated by what it called government-sponsored violence to silence dissent.

Mr. Chavez denies those allegations.

He counters opponents constantly provoke chaos to justify the ouster of a democratically elected president.

The president was briefly ousted in an April 2002 coup and defied demands he step down during a ruinous two-month general strike that collapsed in February.

Early Friday, federal police sharpshooters stationed themselves on rooftops overlooking the protest site.

The city government dispatched another 3,000 officers to patrol the streets.

At the protest three weeks ago, police snipers fired at public-housing buildings where the shooting apparently originated.

Political violence has killed more than 50 people in Venezuela over the last year, mostly during clashes between pro- and anti-Chavez forces.

The country is deeply divided between those who adore Mr. Chavez as a champion of the poor and those who revile him as a power-monger trying to remodel Venezuela after Cuba's socialist system.

Mr. Chavez's foes are demanding an internationally backed referendum on his rule later this year, insisting it's the only way to restore stability to Venezuela, a key oil exporter to the United States.

First elected in 1998, Mr. Chavez pushed through a new constitution in 1999 that paved the way for his 2000 re-election to a new six-year term.

BY MARIA VICTORIA VALDES-RODDA -Granma International staff writer-

According to the Folha Agency, there was great support in San Paolo for Lula’s recent contribution to the 8th National Congress of the National Union of Brazilian Workers (CUT). This information corroborates the latest results of a poll regarding widespread popularity throughout the country for its leader five months after his investiture and despite initial hints of concern.

Lula stated at the last G-8 meeting that his Zero Hunger Program should be considered at worldwide level with the active participation of the rich countries.

During the meeting, the president – who is particularly identified with work-related problems – outlined an inventory of economic and financial topics, without leaving out the difficulties that he has encountered up to now. These include, he said, the complexities of achieving pre-election promises, although he was adamant that Brazil would once again prosper.

"You cannot judge how a child will grow up when she is still at her mother’s breast, and this is what is happening to us just a few months after the new government took power," he stated, frankly alluding to his counterparts and other political adversaries.

However, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva once again urged increased efforts and admitted that attaining the dream of a better nation will take time, "something that should not and cannot scare anyone."

Shortly after participating in the above-mentioned meeting with workers and the business sector, Lula took part in a debate with intellectuals who demonstrated similar concerns and also asked where the country was headed.

María Vitoria Benevides, a distinguished political expert, stated: "the soul of the nation will return when Lula assures us all that the economic policy is ready to change."

One of the principal doubts surrounds the materialization of the Zero Hunger Program that, while showing signs of appearing, is still insufficient.

"When Lula talks of projects, we know that he’s on the side of the people and this instils us with optimism, " the specialist emphasized.

The latest national survey reveals that 78% of Brazilians approve of the president’s undertakings during April and May although, Prensa Latina revealed.

Amongst the concerns that need to be resolved, economic growth, stimulating exports, job creation, and wage increases appear as priorities. Without a doubt, another of the most questioned challenges for the executive is the definitive approval by Congress (which already has support from the governors of the 26 states) of making pensions and retirement funds subject to taxation.

"The pension funds policy cannot change to prejudice people, but to improve the lives of pensioners. We are reaching a moment for discussion and rightly so, in order to bring about a pension funds policy that will guarantee the rational use of those monies," Lula highlighted when outlining his intentions last April 30 in parliament.

Housing Minister Antonio Patocci, author of the controversial measure, maintained that it was inevitable as, according to him and as reported by ANSA, there is no tangible possibility of reducing tax burdens.

Brazil has an anticipated social provision deficit of $30,000 million USD, implying that intended reforms cannot be put off, so as to avoid an eventual collapse in this sense. Nevertheless, certain renowned parliamentary voices within the ruling Workers Party are resisting the proposal to tax retirement funds and pensions. Once again Lula will have to explain, convince and do his sums.

More oil discovered in Brazil

PETROBRAS, the major state-owned oil company, announced on June 5 that the country now has a new crude reserve estimated at 500 million barrels, after the discovery of three deposits in the northern oil zone of Cuenca de Campos, off the southern coast of Espíritu Santo state, the BBC revealed.

At depths of 1,473 meters and 1,535 meters these underwater wells were detected following exploratory expeditions along the continental shelf of the above-mentioned region.

From now on, according to a Petrobas report, this discovery, together with other areas currently being prospected (Jubarte and Cachalote), ensures that the so-called South American Giant can count on a potential reserve of 2.1 billion barrels of crude, meaning that it now comes second to Venezuela in terms of oil volume.

<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA News - AP 13 Jun 2003, 22:07 UTC

Pedestrian asks for help after being shot by a rubber bullet during clashes between supporters of President Chavez and metropolitan police in CaracasVenezuelan authorities have fired tear gas to disperse dozens of government supporters who tried to disrupt an opposition rally in a Caracas slum. At least three people were injured.

Riot police and national guard troops took action Friday as pro-government demonstrators pelted them with rocks, bottles and firecrackers in the Petare neighborhood. Ambulances evacuated patients from a nearby hospital amid thick clouds of white tear gas.

While authorities clashed with the supporters of President Hugo Chavez, a block away opponents demanded a referendum on his rule. The opposition center-right COPEI party called Friday's protest the latest call for President Chavez to leave office.

Political tensions over the Chavez government have troubled Venezuela for months. Scores of people have been killed in street clashes and violence since April of last year when the president survived a brief coup.

In December, Mr. Chavez's opponents began a nationwide general strike in a failed bid to force him to resign and call new elections. The walkout ended in February.

Chavez critics accuse him of leading Venezuela toward economic ruin and trying to model the oil-rich country on communist-run Cuba. President Chavez blames the economic downturn on the failed strike. Venezuela's Central Bank says the economy fell 29 percent in the first three months of the year.

Times OnlineJune 14, 2003

MY FAITH in a few rare shares as a means to increase capital over the long term remains undiminished, which is why I have not previously recommended bonds, whether gilts or corporate debt. But the collapse of prices in shares of even the best companies in the past three years has brutally demonstrated the need for diversification in any investment portfolio.

Hence the case for owning shares in the Ashmore SICAV Emerging Markets Debt Fund. The fund’s managers aim to provide long-term capital growth through investment in emerging market bonds, debt securities and other investments (primarily those issued or guaranteed by the governments of the countries concerned, and also those issued by public sector and private sector companies).

The investments within the fund are denominated in US dollars, euros, Swiss francs and other major currencies; and, to a lesser extent, the currencies of emerging market countries themselves.

Ashmore, which runs $3 billion (£1.82 billion) in its various funds, is well regarded by institutional investors as a specialist in the debt securities of emerging economies, which may or may not be below “investment grade”.

Russia, for example, with $70 billion in reserves and oil riches, is now perceived as nearly investment grade. Mexico has reached investment grade, while Brazil, Venezuela, Nigeria and Equador remain high risk.

We already have exposure to emerging economies via shares in such multinational companies as HSBC, AIG, Shell, ENI and L’Oréal. But those are only side bets that the underlying businesses will capitalise on future reforms and growing prosperity in various developing countries.

Ashmore is a direct bet on that progress in emerging countries. Its biggest bets are currently concentrated on Mexico, Brazil and Russia, where it has allocated 15 per cent, 18 per cent and 19 per cent respectively of its fund. This concentration is unusual and reflects current opportunities. Ashmore normally has 3 per cent to 5 per cent spread over each of 20 different countries at any given time.

After three years of “submerging” valuations in shares in developed markets, sophisticated investors are not so wary of emerging markets. The smart money is betting on sovereign debt, which, being more difficult to analyse than corporate risks, trades at lower (more attractive) prices.

So investment in emerging market debt within a blue chip share portfolio can increase returns while the economies of the US, UK, Europe and Japan remain anaemic.

Buying shares in Ashmore is a little more complicated than investing directly in specific company shares. But a good stockbroker, private bank or independent financial adviser can open the door. Given that Ashmore’s flagship fund has produced a net annual return of

19 per cent over the past ten years, I reckon it is worth the effort.

Minimum investment is $5,000 or ?5,000, and it cannot be bought in sterling. But, hey, this is a good time to cash in on the lower dollar with sterling still relatively strong.

An initial sales charge of up to 5 per cent may be added, although this is reduced or waived for big-hitters. There is no charge when you sell. The annual management charge is 1.5 per cent and if the shares grow at more than a “hurdle rate” of 10 per cent in net asset value per annum, the investment manager takes a further 20 per cent above the hurdle.

But if Ashmore’s investment managers jump that high, who am I to begrudge them their share of the spoils. For general inquiries and a prospectus, e-mail ashmail@ashmoregroup.com. I am buying Ashmore SICAV at $115.89.

• Since starting Share of the Month in April 1998, I have recommended 66 different companies, albeit concentrated within a handful of sectors: oils, pharmaceuticals, financials, speciality retailers and brands and technology, media and telecoms.

I have sold 27, but as my remit is to propose a different prospect each month, the number of shares still held in the portfolio is too great. Ideally, a growth portfolio should embrace between 12 and

15 shares, spread over four to five different sectors.

Therefore, I am pruning the portfolio of defensive shares, which I believe could underperform the rest as stock markets recover. Accordingly, I am selling Tesco, Walgreen’s, Weight Watchers and Exxon Mobil. This is purely a lightening up exercise and does not reflect deteriorating fundamentals in any of those excellent businesses.