Politics+This+Week+2.12.09

= Politics this week 2/12/09 = Feb 12th 2009

US Domestic Tim Geithner unveiled a long-awaited ** rescue plan for America’s financial system **. The treasury secretary said banks would get more government cash if they need it, the Federal Reserve would expand its lending programme and private investors would be given incentives to buy toxic assets, among other ideas. Stockmarkets reacted by falling sharply, however, as Mr Geithner provided little detail about how the $2.5 trillion plan, much of which was guessed at in advance, would actually work. Congress reached agreement on the Obama administration’s ** stimulus package **. The plan was supported by just three Republican senators, giving it enough votes to avoid a filibuster. The Republicans maintained their criticism that the plan is too costly. Barack Obama went to Indiana and Florida to drum up support from voters in towns hit hard by the recession. Meg Whitman took her first official step towards running for governor of ** California ** by creating an exploratory campaign committee. The former chief executive of eBay, a Republican, has promised to take a strong fiscally conservative position on the Golden State’s perennial budget woes. South and Central America ** Colombia: ** In ** Colombia ** FARC guerrillas were reported to have murdered 17 Amerindians, whom they accused of collaborating with the army near the Ecuadorean border. ** Drugs ** : A Latin American study group, including three former presidents and leading writers, called for a debate on ** world drug policy **. It said that prohibition had failed, that drug use should be seen as a public-health problem, and that marijuana should be legalised. ** Venezuela ** Days before a referendum in which he is seeking to abolish term limits, ** Venezuela’s ** president, Hugo Chávez, reined in some of his more radical supporters. He ordered officials to arrest the leader of a group that has staged attacks against opposition journalists. And seven policemen were arrested on suspicion of attacking a synagogue. Mr Chávez denied opposition claims that he had encouraged anti-Semitism by breaking relations with Israel last month. ** Mexico: ** Gun battles between drug-gang members and troops left 21 people dead in northern ** Mexico **. Meanwhile, the municipal police chief in Cancún and several other people were arrested over the murder of a retired army general, who had been hired to reform the force.

Middle East
** Afghanistan ** : At least 27 people died in attacks on three government buildings in Kabul, capital of ** Afghanistan **. The Taliban claimed responsibility. The attacks came shortly before a visit by Richard Holbrooke, Barack Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. ** Israel: **** Israel’s ** centrist Kadima party, led by Tzipi Livni, seemed to have won the most seats in a general election, getting 28 in the 120-seat Knesset. That pipped Binyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, which got 27. But Mr Netanyahu may still get a majority with a block of allies on the right, whereas Ms Livni, who would be the first female prime minister since Golda Meir, will struggle to form a coalition. The late arrival of soldiers’ votes may alter the final tally. A far-right party, Yisrael Beitenu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, won 15 seats, beating the once-dominant Labour Party, which got only 13. ** Pakistan: **** Pakistan’s ** interior minister admitted that “some part of the conspiracy” leading to last year’s terror attack on Mumbai had taken place in Pakistan. Tensions rose between India and Pakistan after the assault; since then, Pakistan has arrested 71 people allegedly linked to the plot. Africa ** South Africa **** ’s ** stopgap president set a date of April 22nd for a general election. ** Zimbabwe ** : Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of ** Zimbabwe’s ** main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, was sworn in as the country’s prime minister. Under a power-sharing deal, Robert Mugabe remains president, but more than half the cabinet posts are shared among opposition parties. America and Britain will not fully resume aid or lift travel bans and financial curbs on Mr Mugabe and his close colleagues until there is evidence that the new government is functioning properly and that Mr Tsvangirai is being allowed to govern. ** Europe  ** ** Germany **** ’s ** economy minister, Michael Glos, resigned. In the first big ministerial shuffle of Angela Merkel’s grand-coalition government, he was replaced by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, another member of Mr Glos’s Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union. [|See article] ** Latvia ** became the worst-performing economy in the European Union when it announced a fall in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2008 of 10.5% over a year earlier. Asia: ** Azerbaijan ** (borders Georgia, Russia, Armenia) The commander of ** Azerbaijan’s **air force, Lieutenant-General Rail Rzayev, was shot dead by an unknown gunman as he was getting into his car outside his home in Baku. ** China: ** Light rainfall did little to ease the worst drought to affect ** northern China ** in 50 years. Six provinces are badly affected, as is more than 40% of the country’s wheat land. ** Russia: ** A Russian ** communications satellite ** collided with an American one over Siberia, spraying debris through space. It is the first time that two intact spacecraft have accidentally run into each other, according to NASA. ** Taiwan: ** Wu Shu-chen, the wife of Chen Shui-bian,** Taiwan’s ** president until last year, pleaded guilty to charges of money-laundering and forgery. She denied charges of embezzlement. Mr Chen is in jail, also awaiting trial on corruption charges, which he has said are politically motivated. ** Sri Lanka: ** Several thousand civilians fled fighting in the shrinking patch of northern ** Sri Lanka ** controlled by the rebel Tamil Tigers. There were continued concerns for an estimated 200,000 civilians believed to be trapped by the fighting. A female suicide-bomber killed at least 29 people close to a refugee area. Pacific ** Australia ** : More than 180 people died in ** Australia’s ** worst-ever wildfires. Exceptional heat and prolonged drought provided conditions for fires to spread quickly, but some were set deliberately, or relit after being extinguished by firefighters. Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, said those responsible were guilty of “mass murder”.