Ecuador: EEUU gestiona base militar en Brasil

POR GONZALO SOLANO

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

QUITO -- El subsecretario estadounidense para Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental, Arturo Valenzuela, confirmó el lunes que como parte de un acuerdo de seguridad con Brasil, Estados Unidos analiza la posibilidad de instalar una base militar en Río de Janeiro.

En declaraciones a periodistas, fue consultado acerca de la posible instalación de una base en Río de Janiero, a lo que respondió en español: "Estados Unidos está tramitando (eso), como siempre lo hace ... es parte de la política ordinaria y de todos los días de un país".

"Eso no se ha terminado todavía, no quiero comentar más de eso porque no se ha terminado", señaló.

No descartó acercamientos con la misma finalidad con otros países, que no mencionó, aduciendo que "si hay cooperación con otros países es un tema que siempre se busca ... son modalidades de trabajo conjunto".

Acerca del tema del narcotráfico, Valenzuela dijo que "asumimos como país la corresponsabilidad que tiene Estados Unidos en la demanda (de droga) y quisiéramos enfatizar el hecho de que la solución de este problema no va necesariamente por la mano dura o por la acción netamente policial, eso es importantísimo ... pero tenemos que tener en mente que también es tema de salud pública".

"No es cierto que la demanda solo se da en un lado del mundo y no se da en otro lado del mundo", añadió.

El mandatario ecuatoriano Rafael Correa recibirá a Valenzuela el martes a fin de impulsar el diálogo con Estados Unidos y de lograr un encuentro con el presidente Barak Obama, informó la agencia oficial Andes.

La cita está fijada para el martes, luego que el funcionario estadounidense se entreviste con el canciller Ricardo Patiño.

Correa en su calidad de presidente de la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur), "expresará el interés de los países del ente regional para sostener un encuentro con el presidente estadounidense", aseguró.

Añadió que Correa y Valenzuela abordarán temas relacionados con seguridad, cooperación, movilidad humana, económico-comerciales y las relaciones Unasur-Estados Unidos.

Correa, que se define como seguidor del socialismo del siglo XXI, mantiene distancia del gobierno de Estados Unidos, y se ha mostrado cercano a los gobiernos de Venezuela, Bolivia e Irán, también alejados de Washington.

Valenzuela que llegó el domingo a esta capital, viajará el martes a Colombia y posteriormente a Perú.

El Nuevo Herald

Seven killed in West Virginia mine blast

(CNN) -- Seven miners were dead and 28 others were unaccounted for after an explosion in an underground mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, the mine's parent company said. 

Another 21 miners were injured in the blast at the Upper Big Branch Mine, according to Michael Mayhorn, emergency dispatcher for Boone County, which was called in to assist in the response.

At least 20 ambulances and three helicopters were dispatched from surrounding counties, and the state medical examiner was heading to the scene, Mayhorn said. At least one miner was evacuated by helicopter, according to Mayhorn.

The explosion happened about 4:30 p.m. at Massey Energy's Performance Coal Co. mine in Whitesville, West Virginia, 30 miles south of Charleston, West Virginia, CNN affiliate WCHS reported.

Don Blankenship, the chief executive officer of Massey Energy Co., which oversees the mine, said in a statement that the company is "working diligently on rescue efforts".

"Our prayers go out to the families of the miners," he said. "We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing".

Miners paced outside the mine shaft, trying to help emergency responders treating their injured colleagues, said Shawn Kline, a reporter for CNN affiliate WVVA.

"The look of worry is on just about everyone's faces," Kline said as dozens of fire trucks, ambulances and police cars streamed into and out of the site.

CAMC spokeswoman Elizabeth Pellegrin said the hospital received one person from the mine via a helicopter at 6 p.m. That patient is getting treatment in the hospital's intensive care unit, she said, declining to elaborate on the person's injuries.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, said in a statement Monday that he is "working with state and federal officials to get as much information as possible and ... doing all I can to help make sure all resources are made available for this rescue effort".

Massey Energy Co., based in Richmond, Virginia, has operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. It is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia, it said in a statement.

Three other deaths have happened in the Upper Big Branch Mine in the past 12 years, according to federal records.

In 1998, a man was killed when a beam he was constructing collapsed; in 2001, a worker died after a rock fell on him; and in 2003, an electrician who was repairing a shuttle car was found dead, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

CNN

Hatoyama Cabinet support rate at 33%

More than half now negative; Masuzoe shines

Kyodo News

The approval rate for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet has fallen to 33 percent and the disapproval rating topped the 50 percent mark for the first time since its launch last September at 53.3 percent, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday.

The support rate fell 3.3 points from a similar nationwide telephone poll conducted in March and hit a new low for the Cabinet, while the disapproval rate rose 4.4 points.

Only 27.1 percent of the respondents said they expect much from a new political party being planned by former Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, who is set to leave the Liberal Democratic Party, and by independent Takeo Hiranuma, a former trade minister, and 65.9 percent said they do not.

In the survey, conducted Saturday and Sunday, 1,470 households with eligible voters were called and valid responses were received from 1,024 individuals.

Asked whether Hatoyama should resign if he fails to settle the issue of relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa by the end of May as pledged, 47.1 percent said yes, versus 45.3 percent who said there is no need for him to step down.

As for the July Upper House election, 21.2 percent said they would vote for the LDP in the proportional-representation section, down 5.1 percent from the month before, and 26.3 percent preferred Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, down 0.6 point.

When asked who would be best suited to be prime minister, 22.4 percent of the respondents, the highest proportion, picked former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe of the LDP. He was followed by Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan at 8.9 percent and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada at 7.8 percent.

Hatoyama tumbled from second to fifth at 7.1 percent.

The Japan Times

Ingush president sees link in latest bombings

Ingush President Yunus Bek-Yevkurov said on Monday the latest spate of bomb attacks in Russia were links in the same chain.

At least 13 people were injured in two explosions in Russia's volatile southern province of Ingushetia.

"The hallmarks of these terrorist acts... suggest that the same organizers are standing behind these crimes," Yevkurov was quoted by his press secretary as saying.

The first blast was carried out by a suicide bomber, who set off an explosive device when he was stopped by security guards at the gates of a police station, killing two police officers and injuring another four.

The second bomb, which was in a VAZ 2112 car stolen in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk and parked opposite the police station in Karabulak, was activated by an unidentified person from a distance. The blast, equivalent to 50 kg TNT, occurred when an investigative group was inspecting the scene.

On March 29, two deadly blasts occurred in two Moscow subway stations claiming some 40 lives and injuring dozens more. The attackers struck the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations during the morning rush hour.

Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the metro attacks, saying in a video message they were revenge for a special operation carried out by federal security forces on February 11, 2010, when 18 militants and four civilians were killed in Ingushetia. He threatened further attacks.

Two days after the Moscow subway blasts another two explosions occurred in the town of Kizlyar, in Dagestan near the border with Chechnya, killing 12 people and leaving 29 injured.

The Russian counter-terrorism committee said the organizers of the recent terrorist attacks in Moscow and Kizlyar and some of the suicide bombers have been identified.

President Dmitry Medvedev said the bombings were all links in the same chain, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said a single terrorist group carried out the attacks.

Russia has been fighting militants in the North Caucasus for almost two decades, including two brutal wars against separatists in Chechnya. 

MAGAS, April 5

RIA Novosti

Gordon Brown to call May 6 general election

By Matt Falloon and Keith Weir

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown was set to announce on Tuesday a May 6 parliamentary election which could bring down the curtain on 13 years of rule by his Labour Party.

Brown will meet the Queen on Tuesday to request a dissolution of parliament, a Labour party source said, a formality which will mark the start of a month-long campaign for one of the most unpredictable elections for almost two decades.

The Conservatives lead Labour in opinion polls but the gap has been narrowing. An ICM poll in Tuesday's Guardian newspaper showed Labour only four points behind the Conservatives and on course to remain the largest party, albeit without an overall majority.

Support for the Conservatives is unevenly distributed in the 650 parliamentary constituencies, meaning Labour can win the most seats even if it does not capture the largest share of the vote nationally.

An inconclusive election result is rare and is the nightmare scenario for financial markets, which want a clear outcome and the promise of meaningful action to tackle a budget deficit running at almost 12 percent of GDP.

Failure by either of the main parties to win a majority could hand a pivotal role to the Liberal Democrats, who will be trying to maintain a bloc of around 60 MPs in parliament.

ECONOMY TAKES CENTRE STAGE

How best to run an economy slowly emerging from the worst recession since World War Two is likely to be the central theme in the campaign, entwined with issues such as how best to manage public services in straitened times.

Labour argues that Brown has steered the country through turbulent economic times and to hand over now to an inexperienced opposition would jeopardise recovery.

"The people of this country have fought too hard to get Britain on the road to recovery to allow anybody to take us back on the road to recession," Brown said in a statement previewing his campaign themes.

The Conservatives, led by former public relations executive David Cameron, have long said they would cut the deficit harder and faster than Labour but have now promised to exempt most workers from a rise in payroll tax that Labour plans from 2011.

That has won applause from the party's traditional business supporters but Labour has cried foul, saying the Conservatives' plans do not add up.

"We're fighting this election for the Great Ignored. Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight," Cameron said in a statement, showing how he has tried to make his party more inclusive.

The outgoing parliament, which has served a full five years, has been tarnished by a scandal over lawmakers' expenses that angered Britons. As many as 150 members of parliament are stepping down, many with reputations harmed by the scandal.

All three main parties have suffered and some analysts expect fringe parties and independent candidates to pick up extra votes at the polls.

Adding spice to the campaign will be an innovation in British politics -- live television debates between Brown, Cameron and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg.

Additional reporting Caroline Copley; editing Tim Pearce

Reuters UK

Indian men get their daily fix of soap operas

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - When 42-year-old business executive Sam Joy gets home from a hard day's work, he turns to television for some relaxation.

But it's not a sports channel or reality TV show that finds his favour. Instead, he watches "Uttaran", a popular prime-time soap opera about two women in love with the same man.

Joy is just one of many Indian men hooked to soap operas, breaking a stereotype that these were reserved for women and forcing entertainment channels to tweak programming for the menfolk.

"When reality TV became a part of the programming, we managed to pull in a lot of male viewers from news channels," says Ashvini Yardi, Head of Programming for the Colors channel, which airs "Uttaran".

"But they stayed back for the daily soaps because the content of the daily soaps has undergone a change in the last couple of years".

In recent years, Indian television has moved on from family dramas revolving around wicked mothers-in-law to social themes like female infanticide, child marriage and poverty.

These topics appeal as much to the male viewer as they do to women, with the average Indian spending around 150 minutes huddled around the television each day.

Television ratings indicate that nearly 43 percent of the audience for general entertainment channels over the last two years is male.

At an industry conference in March, the CEO of Star India said the amount of time men spent on entertainment channels had gone up by 25 percent in the last couple of years.

"We have to innovate and create new programming to appeal to the changing general entertainment channel audience," Uday Shankar told the conference.

That innovation is coming in the form of more and more reality TV shows, moving away from the safe haven of singing competitions and venturing into realms like past-life therapy and television weddings.

"We find that men like strong women characters and there is a high recall value for them, so that is something else we keep in mind when we design our programming," says Yardi.

As for Joy, he prefers his daily dose of soaps but would watch more news if he had more control over the remote.

"But I would also check to see what's happening in Uttaran. So far, I like it. I hope they don't turn it into the regular soap story".

Reuters India