Pakistani military kills over 60 militants after school massacre

PAKISTANI jets and ground forces have killed 67 militants in a north-western tribal region near the Afghan border, officials say, days after Taliban fighters killed 148 people most of them children in a school massacre.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani prosecutor said the government will try to cancel the bail granted to the main suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks a decision that outraged neighbouring India and called into question Pakistan’s commitment to fighting militancy.
The violence at a school in Pakistan’s northwest earlier this week stunned the country and brought cries for retribution. In the wake of the mass killing the military has struck targets in the Khyber tribal region and approved the death penalty for six convicted terrorists.

PAKISTAN MOURNS AFTER SCHOOL MASSACRE

The military said its ground forces late on Thursday killed 10 militants while jets killed another 17, including an Uzbek commander. Another 32 alleged terrorists were killed by security forces in an ambush in Tirah valley in Khyber on Friday as they headed toward the Afghan border, the military said.

Khyber agency is one of two main areas in the northwest where the military has been trying to root out militants in recent months. Khyber borders Peshawar, where the school massacre happened, and militants have traditionally attacked the city before fleeing into the tribal region where police can’t chase them.

The other area is North Waziristan, where the military launched a massive operation in June.

In the southern province of Baluchistan, Pakistani security forces killed a senior Pakistani Taliban leader along with seven of his associates in three separate pre-dawn raids, said a tribal police officer, Ali Ahmed.

Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif late on Thursday signed death warrants of six “hard core terrorists” convicted and sentenced to death by military courts, the army said.

It was unclear when the military planned to hang the six men, but authorities generally move quickly once death warrants are signed. Such executions are usually carried out at prisons under the supervision of army officers and then the bodies are handed over to relatives for burial.

There was no information on the men or the crimes for which they were convicted.

The news comes after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday announced that he would lift a moratorium on executions in terrorism-related cases. The government has not yet carried out any executions.

The lifting of the moratorium was aimed at demonstrating the government’s resolve. But the decision by an anti-terrorism court Thursday to grant bail to the main suspect in the Mumbai attack, Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, called into question that commitment.

Lakhvi is one of seven people on trial in Pakistan for the assault, but the trial has produced no results so far. It has been closed to the media.

India reacted with outrage to news of Lakhvi’s pending release.

Special public prosecutor Abu Zar Peerzada said he would appeal to the High Court to cancel the bail and said Lakhvi had not yet been released.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/

Leading Venezuelan opposition figure charged over alleged plot to kill president

Maria Corina Machado told she will face criminal charges for her alleged involvement in a supposed plot to kill Nicolas Maduro.

A leading figure in the Venezuelan opposition has been told she will face criminal charges for alleged involvement in a purported plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro, a move she called an attempt to silence her and other critics of Venezuela’s government.

Maria Corina Machado, a former member of the National Assembly, left a private meeting with prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice after authorities informed her that she would be charged with conspiracy. The charge carries a maximum of 16 years in prison.

Her case will now be assigned to a judge so Machado can be formally charged.

“All the accusations and the supposed evidence are false,” she told reporters outside the ministry.

Machado has repeatedly said she has no knowledge of any plot against Maduro and portrays the allegations as political persecution.

“I have not committed any crime,” she said before the meeting with prosecutors. “This is the price I have to pay for speaking the truth in Venezuela.”

The attorney general’s office opened its investigation in March after officials claimed a plot was being formed against Maduro and others in the government involving Machado and several other opposition figures. Authorities have not provided any evidence publicly beyond some allegedly incriminating emails. The government has prohibited Machado from leaving the country since June.

Tomas Arias, one of her lead attorneys, said the defense had asked for more specific proof of any link between Machado and what he called the “supposed plot” against the president. Authorities have provided nothing in response, he said.

Prosecutors have issued arrest orders for several other opposition figures for their alleged roles in the supposed plot, several of whom have left Venezuela.

Since narrowly winning election last year to succeed his mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez, Maduro has claimed there have been five assassination attempts against him and more than a dozen acts of sabotage and conspiracy.

The investigation of Machado comes as oil-dependent Venezuela comes under increasing financial strain because of plunging world oil prices, forcing the government to cut spending amid widespread shortages and the world’s highest inflation.

Source: Associated Press in Caracas
theguardian.com, Wednesday 3 December 2014 22.50 GMT

Venezuela's food shortage by the end of February at 47.7%

State-owned food corporation and oil company Mercal and Pdvsa face shortage at 50%, research firm Datanálisis informed

EL UNIVERSAL

Monday March 17, 2014  10:47 AM

General food shortage in Venezuela has consistently exacerbated for 16 months. Shortage in regulated goods averaged 37.2% in 2013, up 21.3 percentage points with respect to 2012 figures.

In January-February 2014, shortage in regulated products hit 47.7%, rising 31.8 points as against 2012, and 10.5 points compared to 2013, according to Mystery Shopping, a research conducted by Datanálisis in seven distribution routes.

In 2011-2012, none of the categories went through more than 50% of shortage, whereas this year 33% of the goods face more than 70% of shortage.

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Prices up in gov't food network to prevent smuggling

Venezuelan Minister of Food Félix Osorio thinks that keeping prices without any variation is "vulgar"

ANGIE CONTRERAS C. |  EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday March 20, 2014  09:52 AM

Prices of the foodstuffs sold through Mercal, a network of food vendors under the aegis of the Venezuelan government, have risen "step by step" in the last year, with no formal announcement from the Executive Office.

As alleged by Food Minister Félix Osorio, rising prices has been a measure to curb outgoing smuggling of subsidized commodities.

The last "formal" hike of prices in the foodstuffs traded through Mercal network occurred in 2009.

In the minister opinion, keeping prices without any variation is "vulgar."

Osorio downplayed the claims of production problems in Venezuela and attributed imports to a larger demand.

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Venezuela's Sicad 2 insufficient to meet public sector demand

JP Morgan does not rule out an adjustment in the forex rate of the National Center for Foreign Trade from VEB 6.30 to VEB 8.40 per US dollar

MAYELA ARMAS H. |  EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday March 20, 2014  10:02 AM

The Venezuelan Government started the New Year with a deficit in its fiscal accounts, which has led to a revision to the foreign exchange policy, including the incorporation of the Second Ancillary Foreign Currency System (Sicad 2), whose forex rate is set to fluctuate. Nonetheless, the effects of the new architecture would not satisfy demand if authorities fail to cut down on public spending.

Although authorities have not explained how much foreign currency supply would rise with the new supplementary mechanism, income would not be enough to meet the needs of public institutions.

The director of research economic firm Ecoanalítica, Asdrúbal Oliveros, has outlined that "although income deriving from Sicad 2 operations could be useful, a policy aimed at reducing public expenditure and a reform of the country monetary policy are needed."

In his view, Oliveros asserts that the impact of devaluation on the supplementary forex system is subject to other actions. Unless measures are adopted, the system would fail.

Meanwhile, JP Morgan deems Sicad 2 could gradually flow. The firm estimates oil giant Pdvsa would allocate USD 5-10 billion out of its oil revenues. Moreover, JP Morgan projects bonds stock held by public institutions would account for USD 5.8 billion.

In a report the firm also expresses the need for further policies. In this context, it does not rule out an adjustment in the forex rate of the National Center for Foreign Trade, from VEB 6.30 to VEB 8.40 per US dollar.

Venezuelan association rules out suspension of flights by other airlines

Deputy reaffirms Venezuelan Government's will to advance in foreign currency matters

EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday March 20, 2014  11:36 AM

In an interview with radio station Unión Radio, the executive president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines (ALAV), Humberto Figuera, ruled out that the suspension of Air Canada flights from and to Venezuela could lead to further suspensions by other airlines operating in the country.

Meanwhile, referring to the debt to international airlines, Congressman Claudio Farías (ruling PSUV) said during a session of the Venezuelan National Assembly that the Executive Office is willing to advance in foreign currency matters.

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