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| Casino Gambling: Russia's Export to Latin America Bolivia may be the poorest nation on the continent, but that doesn't deter Russian gambling companies, their operations curbed at home, from setting up shop feedproxy.google.com |
Obama cites apparent al-Qaida link in bomb plot HONOLULU (AP) -- An al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen apparently ordered the Christmas Day plot against a U.S. airliner, training and arming the 23-year-old Nigerian man accused in the failed bombing, President Barack Obama said Saturday.... hosted.ap.org |
Yemen's conflicts flare amid al-Qaida fight SAN'A, Yemen (AP) -- While ramping up the fight against al-Qaida with U.S. help, the Yemeni government has also escalated its own internal conflicts in the north and south that threaten to throw the fractured country into greater chaos and even nourish the terror group's growth.... hosted.ap.org |
Sharif: Somalia Needs More Help The president of Somalia warned that his country lacks the international support it needs to thwart insurgents who are trying to overthrow his government, as al Qaeda attempts to secure its foothold in the horn of Africa. online.wsj.com |
Chile's new president under fire Stocks in holdings owned by billionaire leader surge by more than 100% in first three days after his electionLess than a week after a narrow victory in Chile's presidential elections, Sebastian Piñera is engulfed in controversy over the sudden rise on the Chilean stock market of his substantial business holdings.Piñera, ranked among the 700 wealthiest people on earth, maintains a controlling interest in LanChile, Latin America's largest airline. His stock is predominantly in a holding company named Axxion, which has seen its shares surge more than 100% in value in the first three trading days after his election.While no official calculations have been released about the rise of the president's overall fortune, stockbrokers estimate that, on paper, the Axxiom stock rises translate into a gain of at least $400m for the new president and have spurred Chilean stock exchange authorities to twice suspend trade in the shares of Axxion.Because the Axxion shares are not heavily traded, Pinera would not be able to liquidate his majority position in Axxion and there is no evidence that he is personally buying or selling shares during the recent surge.The SVS, Chile's equivalent of the Securities and Exchange Commission, launched an investigation into the sudden surge as Axxiom shares rose 12% on Monday, 21% on Tuesday and a further 52% on Wednesday during a session in which the stock was again suspended.Growing outrage over Piñera's sudden windfall threatens to undermine his attempts to convince voters that a billionaire can represent ordinary Chileans. Guido Girardi, a progressive senator, urged the president elect to donate his recent profits to charity. "These profits ought to be donated to institutions [NGOs], so they won't be the spoils of winning the nation's highest office," said Girardi, a doctor."It can't be that by converting oneself into president of the republic from now on it is just about business profits." Outgoing finance minister Andes Velasco said it would have been "much better" if Piñera had sold his assets before, rather than after, the 17 January election."My opinion as a citizen," said Velasco, who is finance minister and speechwriter for outgoing president Michelle Bachelet, "is that I wish the then-candidate would have got rid of his stocks at the right time."Pinera has had several previous run-ins with financial authorities. In the 1980s he was investigated in the collapse of a regional bank. In 2007 the country's stock exchange regulator, known as the SVS, fined Piñera $600,000 for using "privileged information" in stock trades involving LanChile."Why did he refuse so flatly refuse to sell his stocks before being elected president?" asked opposition congresswomen Maria Antonieta Saa. "We suspect the must have known that his stocks would rise when he was elected president … because he's a man that knows the financial market so well."Further controversy erupted as journalists were banned from asking Piñera questions about his stock holdings with one Chilean reporter walking out of an interview with Piñera upon hearing of the conditions."He should give all the profits to Haiti," said Alejandro Navarro, a socialist senator.ChileSharesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |