Month: March 2010

Washington, March 26: The US Congress put the final touches on President Barack Obama’s historic health overhaul, passing a set of technical changes to the legislation that will define his political legacy.

Following a 56-43 Senate vote, the House of Representatives on Thursday voted 220-207 for the free-standing package of fixes, four days after approving the underlying bill by a 219-212 margin.

Madrid, March 26: Spain’s Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for the judge known for indicting Osama bin Laden and Augusto Pinochet to be charged with abuse of power in a probe of Spanish civil war atrocities.

The decision by a five-judge panel to continue the case is a stinging setback for Judge Baltasar Garzon, a deeply polarising figurem who is accused of knowingly overstepping the bounds of his job in 2008 by investigating the atrocities.

Garzon, 54, denied any wrongdoing, telling journalists in Seville that he would “continue to defend my absolute innocence”.

Tokyo, March 26: Japan’s key consumer price index (CPI) fell 1.2 percent in February year on year, making it the 12th consecutive month of decline, the ministry of internal affairs and communications said Friday.

The CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, stood at 99.2 against the base of 100 for 2005, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

The falling prices have been a major concern for the world’s second largest economy, suggesting persistent deflationary pressure in Japan.

Cancun, March 26: Cuba could host up to one million US tourists in the first year its northern neighbour lifted restrictions on travel to the Communist island, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero has said.

“We can guarantee what’s necessary for quality operations and our investments are increasing to improve comfort,” Marrero said at a two-day meeting between Cuban tourism officials and scores of US tour operators in Cancun, Mexico.

Cuba received around 2.5 million tourists last year, mainly from Canada, Europe and Asia, according to Marrero.

London, March 26: Union leaders in Britain have announced that rail workers will go on a four-day strike, threatening the worst national rail disruptions in 16 years.

Thousands of members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association employed by Network Rail will walk off their jobs from April 06 to April 09.

Although Easter holiday travellers will be spared, the walkout by signal workers, scheduled to include the weekdays’ morning rush hour, is expected to disrupt the commutes of scores of people.

Caracas, March 26: The owner of Venezuela’s only television channel that remains critical of President Hugo Chavez has been arrested, spurring concerns among rights activists of a widening government crackdown aimed at silencing critics.

Attorney General Luisa Ortega said a warrant was issued for the arrest of Guillermo Zuloaga, owner of the TV channel Globovision, for remarks that were deemed “offensive” to the president.

Zuloaga said that military intelligence agents detained him at an airport in the northwestern state of Falcon.

Recife, March 26: French authorities have announced the resumption of a search for the black box recorders of an Air France jetliner that crashed off Brazil last June, killing all 228 people on board.

The director of France’s Bureau of Investigations and Analyses, Jean-Paul Troadec, told a news conference that a new phase of the search would be launched on Sunday to try to establish the cause of the accident.

“I conveyed to Brazilian families in December our intention to resume the search. I have returned to Brazil to announce that it has been launched,” Troadec said.

Jerusalem, March 26: Israeli policy on Jerusalem remains unchanged, the prime minister’s office said on Friday, one day after the premier returned from Washington where he faced pressure to freeze settlements.

“The prime minister’s position is that there is no change in Israel’s policy on Jerusalem that has been pursued by all governments of Israel for the last 42 years,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu’s office said in a statement.

New York, March 26: Former US president Bill Clinton is urging the aid groups serving Haiti’s devastated communities to help rebuild the country’s government and ultimately put themselves out of business by fostering a self-sufficient nation.

Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, spoke to representatives of the aid groups yesterday, ahead of a critical United Nations donors conference next week at which Haitian officials are expected to ask for USD 11.5 billion to rebuild.

Seoul, March 26: North Korea’s military accused the United States and South Korea on Friday of trying to topple the Pyongyang regime and said it was ready to launch nuclear attacks to frustrate any provocations.

The military General Staff cited a South Korean newspaper report as evidence of “desperate moves of the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet warmongers” for regime change.

New York, March 26: Key nations want Myanmar’s government to give all people the opportunity to participate freely in upcoming elections, including political prisoners and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the UN chief has said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to reporters after a meeting of the Group of Friends of Myanmar to discuss the country’s new electoral laws, which have been widely criticised as designed to keep Suu Kyi out of the race.

London, March 26: Carla Bruni is wishing French President Nicolas Sarkozy does not run for a second term in 2012 because the pressure could take a toll on his health.

In a recent interview with Madame Figaro magazine, the French First Lady, 42, also said that she despised media that published unsubstantiated rumours this month about her marriage with the president.

The singer-cum-model said that the “media-political world” was brutal towards her husband.

Washington, March 26: As Osama bin Laden in his latest relayed message threatened to kill American captives if the US executes 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the White House has said al Qaeda has nothing to spread but hate.

“We see that al Qaeda has nothing to spread but hate, and that’s why the administration will continue to keep up the pressure to destroy the al Qaeda network,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters when asked about the latest threat from Osama bin Laden.

Mexico City, March 26: Mexico’s federal police have arrested a man reputed to be the country’s biggest trafficker of heroin to the US, the Public Safety Department said.

An organisation led by 36-year-old Jose Antonio Medina Arreguin, alias “Don Pepe”, was responsible for smuggling an average of 200 kg heroin per month, counter-narcotics chief Ramon Pequeno told the press on Thursday.

Popularly known as “king of heroin”, Medina was apprehended on Thursday in Michoacan state, he said.