NEWS,01.01.2013

'Fiscal cliff' plan goes to Republican House

A legislative fix to patch up America's fiscal crisis will be taken up by lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday after passing the Senate overnight.The White House and top Republicans struck a deal after dramatic 11th-hour negotiations to avert huge New Year tax hikes and postpone automatic spending cuts that had threatened to send the US economy back into recession.If the legislation passes the House as expected, it will represent a win for President Barack Obama as it raises taxes on the richest Americans albeit above an income threshold higher than he and other Democrats had wanted.But the victory will be hollow as it fails to tackle the deep spending cuts needed to resolve America's austerity crisis, setting up the prospect of another bitter Washington battle at the start of Obama's second term.After months of agonising over the crisis, weeks of debate about a possible solution, and days of intense, closed-door bartering, the US Senate voted overwhelmingly 89-8 early Tuesday to pass a controversial bill that averts the so-called "fiscal cliff".Hiked tax ratesAlthough the midnight deadline was technically missed, any serious impact on the world's biggest economy will be avoided as long as legislation passes the House of Representatives in the coming days.Obama issued a statement shortly after the 02:00 (07:00 GMT) Senate vote, urging lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House to "pass it without delay." A vote could come as early as Tuesday.If the measure is agreed by both chambers of Congress, tax rates will be hiked on households earning over $450 000 a year but remain where they are for everyone else.While not matching Obama's campaign threshold of $250 000, it would represent a major concession from Republicans who have stuck solidly to a pledge of no higher taxes since then president George HW Bush failed to win re-election in 1992 after breaking a promise not to raise rates"While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay," Obama said in his statement.he deal puts off $109bn in budget cuts across the government for two months, setting the stage for a new showdown between Obama's Democrats and Republicans in dysfunctional Washington at the end of February, just weeks after the president is sworn in for his second term.Winning over RepublicansHad no deal been struck, experts warned that the fragile US economy could have been sent spinning back into recession due to the $500bn combined whack of spending cuts and tax hikes.It remains for Republican House Speaker John Boehner to rally his restive conservative coalition around the pact, which will likely need some Democratic votes in the House to pass.For two decades, Republicans have fought any attempt to raise taxes. So White House officials will see vindication in a deal that enshrines one of Obama's top pledges in his re-election campaign.In a terse statement, Boehner said his chamber would pick up the legislation if it passed the Senate."Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members and the American people have been able to review the legislation," he said.‘Deal better than the alternative’Democrats suggested that the deal, like many congressional bargains, was not perfect, but that it was preferable to the alternative."It's not that this proposal is regarded as great or is loved in any way. But it's a lot better than going over the cliff," Senator Chuck Schumer told reportersWorld stock markets, expected to be thrown into turmoil by a failure to beat the deadline, are closed New Year's Day, so lawmakers have a few extra hours of breathing room to get the deal concluded.The legislation will also extend tax credits for clean energy firms and unemployment insurance for two million people that had been due to expire.And it includes an end to a temporary two percent cut to payroll taxes for Social Security retirement savings - meaning all Americans will pay a little more - and changes to inheritance and investment taxes.Relief seemed to course through the Senate during and after the vote, but both sides were already gearing up for the next legislative showdown, over the need to lift the government's statutory borrowing limit of $16.4trillion, reached on Monday.The Treasury will take extraordinary measures to keep the government afloat for an undisclosed period of time until the ceiling is raised. Republicans are already demanding spending cuts in return.That fight will now be doubled as it is likely to coincide with the new deadline for the two-month sequester postponement set up by the fiscal cliff agreement.

Activists release anti-North Korea leaflets

South Korean activists launched balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border on Tuesday as North Korea joined a global party by greeting the New Year with fireworks.About 30 activists released seven balloons carrying 28 000 leaflets in the northern border town of Gwanjeonri in Cheorwon County, shouting "Down with North Korea's dynastic dictatorship!"The launch sparked scuffles with ten local residents who voiced fear of North Korean reprisals, but there were no injuries thanks to quick intervention by police.The launch went ahead despite repeated threats from Pyongyang of military strikes against such exercises.The leaflets launched on Tuesday urged North Koreans to rise up against their new leader Kim Jong-Un and included pictures of overthrown strongmen like Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.Kim, in his late 20s, came to power after his father and long-time leader Kim Jong-Il died in December 2011.In Pyongyang, the new leader started the New Year by watching a musical performance and fireworks, according to the official Korean Central News Agency."Fireworks were displayed to beautifully decorate the nocturnal sky above Pyongyang and bells rang on the New Year," it said.

Venezuelans pray as Chavez health worsens

Backers of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez prayed and called off New Year's Eve festivities on Monday as the cancer-stricken leftist leader took a turn for the worse, fuelling doubts about his political future.Venezuelans prayed in church and a downtown square after the government announced that Chavez suffered "new complications" from a respiratory infection following his fourth cancer-related surgery on 11 December in Cuba.His vice president and political heir, Nicolas Maduro, broke the news from Havana on Sunday night, saying the condition of the 58-year-old leader was delicate and that he faced an uphill battle.Maduro decided to stay in Cuba for "the next few hours" to check on the ubiquitous "Comandante," the face of the Latin American left and fierce critic of the United States who has led the oil-rich nation for 14 years.RumoursJorge Arreaza, Venezuela's science and technology minister as well as the president's son in law, took to Twitter to try to tamp down rampant social media speculation that the end might be near, or had already come."My fellow countrymen: do not believe ill-intentioned rumours. President Chavez has spent the day calmly and stable, with his children at his side," said Arreaza who is in Cuba with other family members.Back in Caracas, crews took down the stage of a downtown concert site while Information Minister Ernesto Villegas invited Venezuelans to gather at Plaza Bolivar to "pray with joy and optimism" for Chavez."I deeply love him and would give my life for him. There should be millions like Chavez," Haydee Dominguez, a 50-year-old secretary, said at the gathering led by Villegas.Others teared up at the San Francisco church while several ministers attended a special mass for Chavez at the Miraflores presidential palace at midday.At a meeting point for Chavez followers in Plaza Bolivar, "Chavistas" choked up as they contemplated the health of their leader."We are all praying for the health of our comandante," said Miriam, one of the people gathered at the square. "There can't be any party here."Election Chavez had declared himself cancer free in July, more than a year after being diagnosed with the disease in the pelvic region. The exact nature of the cancer has never been made public.He was re-elected in October but announced a relapse earlier this month and rushed to Cuba for another operation.On Monday on Twitter, hashtags translating into expressions such as "Chavez will live and conquer" and "I love Chavez" were numerous, while others speculated about his health.One of the people discussing Chavez's health was Jose Rafael Marquina, a Venezuelan doctor who lives in the United States and has claimed in the past to have reliable sources informing him about the president."The respiratory failure continues without any improvement and the kidney function continues to deteriorate," he wrote on Twitter.The government has denied such rumours.OppositionChavez is scheduled to be sworn in on January 10 but the government has indicated that the ceremony could be postponed if the president is not fit by then.Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the 7 October election, predicted on Monday that there would be "big changes" in 2013.The opposition coalition, Democratic Unity Table, called for dialogue with the government to deal with what it called an "emergency".Veppex, a Miami-based association of 25 000 Venezuelans living outside their country as refugees or political exiles, insisted the constitution must be respected verbatim and new elections held if Chavez is indisposed.Under Venezuela's constitution, a presidential election must be held within 30 days if the head of state is incapacitated or dies before his inauguration or within the first four years of his term.Swearing inThe government is trying to work out how to "resolve that obstacle", said Luis Vicente Leon, head of pollsters Datanalisis, who said it was clear now that Chavez was in a critical condition.As the constitution says he must be sworn in on 10 January, "anything else will be hard to sell without it being construed as an institutional coup", Leon said.But Maduro and parliament speaker Diosdado Cabello have left the door open for Chavez to be sworn in at a later date by the Supreme Court.Cabello has even said that new elections will not be convened on 10 Januar, nor will he himself take over temporarily, as the constitution stipulates, if Chavez is out of the picture.

NEWS,19.09.2012

Russia expels 'meddling' USAid

Russia on Wednesday said it had given USAid until 1 October to halt its work as the US aid agency was meddling in domestic politics, a move that risks sparking a new diplomatic crisis with Washington.The termination of the US Agency for International Development's activities may also harm the operations of a string of NGOs that rely on its funding, including the vote monitor Golos that showed up irregularities in recent polls.The unexpected move appears part of an increasing crackdown in Russia on civil society after President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin for a third term in May amid an outburst of street protests"The decision was taken mainly because the work of the agency's officials far from always responded to the stated goals of development and humanitarian co-operation," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement."We are talking about attempts to influence political processes - including elections at different levels - through its distribution of grants," it added.USAid's activities "must be halted from October 1", it added, giving a short deadline that had not been revealed by the Americans when the decision was first made public in Washington on Tuesday.'Heavy blow'Anxious Russian NGOs expressed fears for their future financing - more than half of USAid's annual budget in Russia had been spent on democracy and civil society programmes as well as a substantial chunk on health projects."I am very sorry that the USAid office is closing," said Arseny Roginsky, the chairperson of Memorial, Russia's best-known campaigner for human rights and the preservation of historical memory across the country."It is impossible not to see here the continuation of the isolationist policy" of the Russian authorities, he added. Without giving further details, he described the material help of USAid as "significant".Lilia Shibanova, the director of Golos, described the halt in USAid's operations as a "heavy blow".She said there was now serious concern for the funding of its monitoring of local elections on 14 October, two weeks after the deadline for the closure of the USAid office."The problem is that as soon as Russian business starts giving funds to monitor elections it comes under pressure," she said.No need of 'external leadership'Viktor Kremenyuk, analyst with the USA-Canada Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that while the move was not an outright U-turn in foreign policy, it was a Kremlin "gesture aimed at worsening relations between Russia and the US"."Russia wants to say 'we do not need your help, we can stand on our own feet'," he said.The foreign ministry statement said that Russian civil society was "quite mature" and the country - now itself a foreign donor - was in no need of "external leadership".The expulsion of USAid comes after Putin signed a law forcing NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents". He has even compared organisations like Golos to the disciple Judas who betrayed Jesus.A senior US administration official said that Washington regretted the decision, which according to a US government source also affects the future of 13 US staff in Moscow and 60 Russian staff."This is a difficult day for USAid," said the official, who asked not to be named.Similar incidents It is unclear whether some if any US funding of the organisations can continue but the official said that President Barack Obama's administration was committed to promoting civil society in Russia."Over the coming weeks and months the Obama administration will be looking at ways to advance our old foreign policy objectives using new means," said the official.The United States had first learned of the measure when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the Apec summit in Vladivostok earlier this month, the official said.The departure of USAid echoes the 2007 clampdown on the activities of the British Council cultural agency which poisoned relations between Moscow and London. The US Peace Corps had also been asked to leave Russia in 2002.

Japan cabinet approves plan to exit nuclear energy

Japan's cabinet has approved a new energy plan to cut the country's reliance on nuclear power in the wake of last year's Fukushima disaster, but dropped a reference to meet a nuclear- free target by the 2030s, ministers said on Wednesday.Since the plan was announced on Friday, Japan's powerful industry lobbies have urged the government rethink the nuclear-free commitment, arguing it could damage the economy and would mean spending more on pricey fuel imports.Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who also oversees the energy portfolio, said the cabinet had approved the new energy plan."But whether we can become nuclear free by the 2030s is not something to be achieved only with a decision by policy makers. It also depends on the will of (electricity) users, technological innovation and the environment for energy internationally in the next decade or two," he said.In abandoning atomic power, Japan aims to triple the share of renewable power to 30 percent of its energy mix by the 2030s, but will remain a top importer of oil, coal and gas for the foreseeable future.Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a separate news conference that there needed to be flexibility in the policy to avoid putting a burden on the public in a country where nuclear supplied 30% of electricity before Fukushima.All but two of Japan's nuclear 50 reactors are idled for safety checks after an earthquake and tsunami in March 2 011 devastated the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.Under the new energy plan, there should be strict implementation of a 40-year lifetime for reactors. It also said existing reactors shut after Fukushima should be restarted only if a new nuclear regulator confirms their safety and there should be no construction of new reactors.The newly established Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) will decide whether reactors currently under construction are safe enough to start commercial operations, Edano said.Asked if newly built reactors could run beyond the 2030s, Edano said a decision on this would be decided later.Reactors currently under construction include the 1,373-megawatt Shimane No.3 unit of Chugoku Electric Power Co's and the 1,383-megawatt Ohma unit of Electric Power Development Co's.

Wealth surge for richest Americans

The net worth of the richest Americans grew by 13% in the past year to $US1.7 trillion, Forbes magazine said today, and a familiar cast of characters once again populated the top of the magazine's annual list of the US uber-elite, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison and the Koch brothers.The average net worth of the 400 wealthiest Americans rose to a record $US4.2 billion, the magazine said.Collectively, this group's net worth is the equivalent of one-eighth of the entire US economy, which stood at $US13.56 trillion in real terms according to the latest government data.But the 13% growth in the wealth of the richest Americans far outpaced that of the economy overall, helping widen the chasm between rich and poor.Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corp, topped the list for the 19th year in a row with $US66 billion, up $US7 billion from a year earlier.Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of insurance conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, stood second with $US46 billion, followed by Larry Ellison, head of software maker Oracle Corp, with $US41 billion; and the Koch brothers, Charles and David, who run the energy and chemicals conglomerate that bears their name, Koch Industries, were tied for fourth with $US31 billion, Forbes said.The ranks of the top five were unchanged from a year earlier.Two notable names dropped from the top 10, however.Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, also active in conservative political causes, fell to the 12 spot from No. 8 last year, and financier George Soros dropped five spots to No. 12 from the No. 7 position one year ago.The disappointing stock market debut of Facebook also took a toll on the fortune of its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.His net worth fell by nearly half to $US9.4 billion, and he slid to the No. 36 slot from No. 14 a year ago, Forbes said.

NEWS,08.08.2012

Will Manufacturing Make China a Democracy?

 

The other day, I had lunch with an economist I respect and admire. I asked him, what would it take for China to become a modern democracy and build a strong middle class? OK. I didn't ask him that. I told him that China would need strong institutions of civil society, and a deeper sense of Social Contract to become a stable modern democracy with a dynamic middle class.In America's early history, we had strong institutions of civil society, such as free press, good education, and strong national identity. We wrote individual freedoms into our Constitution. We had respect for the rule of law, not much bribery, respect for science, and technical progress. We had social and economic mobility, opportunity and fairness. Well, at least for white males who owned property. But you see where I'm going with this. A robust civil society gives voice to workers, families and communities. It serves as a counter-balance to wealthy and powerful economic interests.China has a rich culture and strong national identity, but income inequality is growing in China, no free press, no unions, no environmental groups, and no real political system to make tough tradeoffs between wealthy powerful economic interests and the public good. Workers have no economic bargaining power. China's leaders have limited respect for the rule of law, and little willingness to enforce rule of law. China has done an exceptional job of acquiring the means of production. Not so much for human rights, labor rights, public health, or environmental protections. My economist friend told me, "No! Not buying it." China will modernize simply through economic transformation. I'm not sure what he meant, exactly. Maybe he meant that industrialization and democracy were the same thing, more or less. You get one with the other. My point was that you don't get one with the other. You might get a banana republic. You might get Egypt or something like Egypt, or Victorian England without a history of individual freedoms. Russians got plutocracy, corruption, murdered journalists, and a political system with zero credibility. You might get a lot of things, depending on what kind of civil society you have. National politics is really a contest between short-term investor interests and long-term public interests. Investors will act in their short-term interest. Public good often works in the long term. Market forces will not protect public good. For that, you need an effective political system. Colombia is a poster child for dysfunctional political and economic systems. Their culture and national identity are proud enough, but working Colombians are kidnapped, intimidated and killed routinely, as punishment for political involvement. Prosecutors, judges and justice ministers live in the shadow of violence. The last thing Colombia needed was a so-called Free Trade Agreement, which increases rights and powers for global businesses and weakens rights and powers for civil society. Now, Colombia faces worsening inequality and more social disruption. Japan, Germany, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and other modern democracies have strong social cohesion, strong institutions of civil society and strong middle classes. These outcomes are not accidental. They are the result of deliberate political choices these countries made. I asked my friend about China becoming a modern democracy. My real question wasn't about China, or Colombia, for that matter. I was really asking about America. What happens to our prosperity, our middle class, and our institutions of civil society? In the last 30 years, our civil society has weakened. Political and economic power are concentrating in the hands of the top 1%. Our respect for science has been replaced with ideology and denial. We disparage public education, and public employees. Our social cohesion is so weak that we envy our neighbors who still have pensions. Rule of law is becoming situational - it doesn'treally apply to big banks or foreclosure robo-signers. Political campaigns are so expensive that elected officials literally cannot afford to govern for the public good. They can only govern for the wealthy and powerful. Within this 30-year decline for civil society, our so-called free trade policy steadily lowers the bar for democratic political process, substituting global business interests for public interest.In his new book, Nobel laureate economist, Joseph Stiglitz, calls globalization, as we've managed it, "global governance without global government." In Western democracies, we solve tough social and political problems through a political process. However, in so-called free trade agreements, global businesses write the rules, then we send disputes to anonymous tribunals. Democratic problem-solving does not happen in the trade agreements. It won't happen in Colombia. I don't see how it will happen in China. It's becoming more difficult in America. This is really about political and economic power. In the conclusion to his book, Stiglitz offers two possibilities. One is that we in the 99%, can recognize our predicament and reclaim our political birthright. Alternatively, the 1% can recognize their "self-interest, properly understood," and lead the way back to a sustainable democracy. Stiglitz traces this back to Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835. Americans understood a basic fact: looking out for the other guy isn't just good for the soul - it's good for business. The top 1 percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money doesn't seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live. Throughout history, this is something that the top 1 percent eventually do learn.Yeah. That would be good.

 

Blair concerned about UK exit from the EU

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a German newspaper he was "deeply worried" Britain might opt to leave the European Union in a referendum, particularly if too many powers were transferred to Brussels without democratic legitimacy.Talk of Britain leaving the EU was once far fetched, but the euro zone debt crisis and the prospect of the currency bloc forging a closer political union have convinced some senior UK politicians it is time to demand a new relationship with Brussels.Current Prime Minister David Cameron said last month it was a "perfectly honourable position" to call for an immediate referendum on Britain's EU membership - something polls show a majority of British people would vote to reject - but that he would never campaign for an "out" vote because leaving the EU would not serve British interests.Blair told Die Zeit it was clear that the euro zone crisis would lead to a "powerful political change of the EU", adding: "And on this point, I am deeply worried that Britain could decide by referendum to leave the whole process.""If more competences are transferred to the EU, then its democratic legitimacy must be built up too," he said, according to a German transcript of the interview which is due to be published on Thursday. "Britain must play a strong role in this. Because we need a balance between European institutions and the nation states.""If this is done wrongly, we could create a political crisis that could become just as a big as the euro crisis. People will not go along with the abolishment of the nation state."Cameron has tried to stave off demands for an immediate vote on Britain's EU membership by holding out the prospect of a referendum some time in the future and by promising a new relationship with the EU.He vetoed a new EU fiscal treaty in December, forcing euro zone states to set their new rules outside the formal EU structure, while using its institutions.Sceptics say EU regulations shackle Britain's $2.5 trillion economy and that leaving the 27-nation bloc would allow London to restore its sovereignty while saving billions of dollars in membership dues.However, supporters of membership argue Britain would lose influence if it left the EU, its biggest trading partner, and that its economy would still be influenced by rules made in Brussels anyway.

HK Airlines to quit London service

 

Hong Kong Airlines will end its service between Hong Kong and London due to poor demand, reports said on Wednesday, another blow to the carrier after authorities banned its expansion. "The last flight from London to Hong Kong will be on September 10," Hong Kong Airlines General Manager Albert Chan told Dow Jones Newswires, meaning the service will have run for just seven months. The airline uses three Airbus 330-200 planes for the flights which are fitted exclusively with business-class seats. The service costs around HK$10m ($1.3m) a month to run, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. The airline did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The move followed an unprecedented aviation authority ban last month on the airline's expansion, limiting the types of aircraft the company can operate until the airline meets all safety requirements for operating a larger fleet.The airline said it supported the conditions, adding they were sensible for a company at their stage of growth."Given the profitability of our regional routes, we believe that we now have the optimal fleet to continue to build a business... focused on Asia Pacific," an HKA spokesperson told AFP on Monday.Hong Kong Airlines was established in 2006 and operates 21 aircraft flying to locations in mainland China and international destinations ranging from Tokyo to Bangkok.HKA flights were severely delayed and cancelled when a typhoon lashed Hong Kong last month, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

NEWS,14.04.2012.

North Korea's rocket launch failure an embarassment

 

North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength.

"The possibility of an additional long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to strengthen internal solidarity is very high," a senior South Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.The two Koreas are divided by the world's most militarised border and remain technically at war after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953.The United States and Japan said the rocket, which they claimed was a disguised missile test and the North said was to put a satellite into orbit, crashed into the sea after travelling a much shorter distance than a previous North Korean launch.Its failure raises questions over the impoverished North's reclusive leadership which has one of the world's largest standing armies but cannot feed its people without outside aid, largely from its only powerful backer, China."(There is) no question that the failed launch turns speculation toward the ramifications for the leadership in Pyongyang: a fireworks display gone bad on the biggest day of the year," said Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations.In a highly unusual move, the North, which still claims success with a 2009 satellite that others say failed, admitted in a state television broadcast seen by its 23 million people that the latest satellite had not made it into orbit.The failure is the first major and very public challenge for the third of the Kim dynasty to rule North Korea just months into the leadership of a man believed to be in his late 20s."It could be indication of subtle change in the North Korean leadership in how they handle these things, something that may be different from the past," said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses a thinktank affiliated with South Korean Defence Ministry."I mean it would have been unthinkable for them to admit this kind of failure in the past, something that could be seen as an international humiliation. The decision to have come out with the admission had to come from Kim Jong-un."Embarrassingly, the rocket flew for just a few minutes covering a little over 100km to explode over a sea separating the Korean peninsula and China, far less than the last rocket in 2009 that travelled 3,800km, alarming Japan which it over-flew.The launch is in breach of United Nations Security Council sanctions and drew condemnation from the United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan.But North Korea looks to have avoided the threat of fresh UN sanctions - which neighbor Japan is pushing for - after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that at talks with his Chinese and Indian counterparts they had agreed new sanctions would do nothing to help resolve the situation.Regional powers are worried that the North is using launches to perfect technology to enable it to build a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States.North Korea has repeatedly defended its right to launch rockets for what it says are peaceful purposes and may have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the failed launch.China, the North's main backer, again appealed for "calm", although its failure to dissuade Pyongyang from undertaking the launch despite propping up the ailing and impoverished state, showed the limitations of its diplomacy, analysts said."North Korea's provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.The North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, said the first stage fell into the sea west of South Korea and the remainder was deemed to have failed."No debris fell on land," NORAD said. "At no time were the missile or the resultant debris a threat."

Chavez vows to knock out rivals despite tiring treatment

 

Feisty Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez acknowledged today that radiation treatment for cancer was wearing him down, but he vowed to squash his opponents in October's presidential election.Ramping up the political rhetoric at a huge rally to mark the 10th anniversary of his return to power after a brief coup, Chavez said three sessions of radiation therapy in Cuba had taken their toll.But he was more combative than usual, vowing to win the October 7 "by a knock-out," repeatedly denouncing his opponents as upper-class "bourgeoisie losers," and launching a new anti-coup force that would prevent any repeat of the events of 2002."I continue to recover from the surgery. The radiation has an impact on my body, it has some impact on my physical strength, but I am doing well. We will be alright, thank God," he told tens of thousands of supporters clad in red T-shirts in honor of his ruling Socialist Party.Chavez, 57, said his doctors had not decided whether he was fit to attend a summit of the hemisphere's leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, this weekend in Colombia.If he did attend, it would only be for a few hours before continuing on to Havana for a fourth session of radiation treatment. This time, he told the rally from the balcony of the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, he would spend the whole week in Cuba - longer than his recent trips.The president said he wanted to avoid "coming and going."His frequent visits to a tightly guarded hospital on the Communist-led island means he is taking himself off the political stage for much of the time, just as the opposition's candidate Henrique Capriles pushes on with a national campaign.The political temperature has heated up with the coup anniversary. All week, state TV has played video of the dramatic events of April 11-13, when big marches by both sides clashed in the streets around Miraflores and about 20 people died.Chavez was ousted from power for two days until giant demonstrations by his supporters, and allies in the military, returned him to power in a saga that has taken on almost religious overtones for some passionate "Chavistas."A decade later, they still fume at the illegality of how he was ousted from office. It is also an emotional date for some in the opposition who had a brief taste of long-sought power and a sense of what a post-Chavez Venezuela might feel like.Others in the opposition were happy to see him replaced, if only temporarily, but remain upset by how it happened.Chavez routinely accuses his political foes of plotting another attempt to seize power by force."Prepare yourselves to receive the biggest and most crushing defeat," he said as the crowd cheered.He gave very few details of the new anti-coup force he launched today, but his fiery comments set the stage for a bitterly contested election.They follow threats he made recently to nationalize private banks and any other local businesses that he said were supporting the opposition in its "violent plan" to topple him."We will make them repent forever," he said last month.While he has a solid 13 percentage point lead over Capriles in the most recent poll published last month, many Venezuelans remain undecided and Chavez faces his toughest electoral challenge.His illness has cast further doubt over the future of the man who has dominated politics in South America's biggest oil exporter during his 13 years in office.Very little is known about Chavez's health, including the type of cancer he is battling. He has undergone three operations in Cuba in less than a year and rumors persist that he is more ill than he has admitted.