Global Markets Mixed Ahead of New Bailout Vote
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US Senate expected to vote on latest version of bailout bill Wednesday
World markets were mixed Wednesday amid efforts to revive a $700 billion US bailout package aimed at rescuing troubled American financial institutions and reversing tight credit that could strangle global economic growth. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, where the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the latest version of the bailout bill.Despite days of intensive negotiations between congressional leaders and the Bush administration, the previous version of the bill was defeated Monday in the House of Representatives. The U.S. stock market responded with its biggest-ever one-day point loss.Senator John Kerry speaks to reporters on the proposed economic bailout package, 30 Sep 2008Democratic Senator John Kerry says there must be no repeat of Monday's fiasco."We must get this financial package done, and I believe we will get it done," he said.Now the Senate will have its say. Senate negotiators took the framework of the House bill and added several provisions designed to broaden the measure's appeal, including tax breaks for some businesses and raising the limit of federally-insured bank accounts from $100,000 to $250,000 per person."We have come together here on a bipartisan basis, and structured a way forward on an important rescue package for our country," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama - both senators - are expected to return to Washington from the campaign trail to vote on the measure, as is Mr. Obama's running mate, Senator Joe Biden.Traders work on floor of the New York Stock Exchange, 30 Sep 2008For now, Wall Street seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach after several days of wild swings both negative and positive. U.S. stocks opened moderately lower Wednesday. Asian and European shares were mostly higher. The financial crisis began with a rash of US home foreclosures after a prolonged period of loose credit that saw millions of Americans acquire home mortgages they could not afford. The fallout prompted the failure of many of America's best-known financial institutions, and reluctance by lenders to extend credit. It has also led some Americans to question the safety of bank accounts, despite the fact that nearly all are federally guaranteed.Raising federal guarantee limits for bank accounts will ease concerns, according to Andrew Gray, a spokesman for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation."This would provide the dual benefits of providing additional liquidity for banks for lending, as well as provide some additional reassurance for depositors above the current [insurance] limits," Gray said. But not all economists support the bailout package, which calls for the federal government to relieve struggling financial institutions of up to $700 billion in bad debt. "This quasi-monetary policy involves the Treasury purchasing poor paper, securities that have turned sour, securities that no one else wants. That is not the way normal monetary policy works," noted University of Chicago economist Lawrence Officer. "Normal monetary policy works by having the central bank buy up good securities, not crummy paper."Even if the bailout package is ultimately approved and implemented, most economists believe the United States will endure a prolonged period of slow growth, if not a painful recession. In the face of a grim outlook, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is urging stoicism."We have a strong economic system, and frankly for Wall Street I would say, 'calm down, do not panic, do not be led to anxious behavior,'" she said. Should the Senate pass the rescue package, the measure would be taken up by the House as early as Thursday.
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US Senate Considers New Financial Rescue Plan
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Around the world, financial markets are drastically rising and falling on expectations about bailout plan
The Capitol is illuminated under stormy skies Sunday evening as Congress works on a bailout for the American economy, in Washington, 28 Sep 2008The U.S. Senate has scheduled a vote for Wednesday night on a new version of the $700 billion financial rescue plan. New measures in the bill are designed to win the support of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, who rejected the previous version. VOA's Gabe Joselow reports from Washington.The U.S. Senate is seeking to pass a new version of a financial rescue plan - with some modest changes.One of the new measures senators are tacking on is a provision that will raise the amount of money the federal government will insure on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000.American presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain both support the move. The two senators are expected to come back to Washington for Wednesday's vote, as is Obama's vice-presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he expects the rescue plan to receive broad support. "I am hopeful and I am confident that all sides - House and Senate, White House - will work together to achieve a goal that will be good for the American people," he said. Newspaper machines in Washington, DC, bear news about the economic crisis, 30 Sep 2008Senate Minority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell says both parties will work together in an effort to stop further financial turmoil."I, too, want to reassure the American people that we intend to pass this legislation this week. We will pass it on a broad, bipartisan basis - both sides cooperating to prevent this financial crisis from persisting," he said.The House of Representatives rejected the first version of the rescue plan, earlier this week, by a vote of 228 to 205, with more than two-thirds of Republicans against it.The senate leadership hopes the new bill will win Republican support. But, a group of fiscally conservative Democrats, who voted against the rescue plan, still object to the principle of using $700 billion in taxpayer money to buy bad investments from financial firms.Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio said, "The point is, the premise is faulty. And, as much as the Democratic leadership has tried to improve it, it still is likely to fail. Folks would like to come together on something that doesn't put the taxpayers at risk - that's a common theme among members both who voted for the bill and who voted against the bill."The Democratic group also objects to a measure in the Senate's version that would extend tax breaks for businesses.Financial markets, around the world, are drastically rising and falling on expectations about the U.S. financial bailout.World stocks plummeted, after the House of Representatives voted down the bill, Monday. But the markets recovered much of those losses on renewed optimism that lawmakers will approve a plan.
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US Transfers Sunni Militias to Iraqi Control
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Beginning Wednesday so-called 'Awakening Councils' will receive salaries from Iraqi government, not US military
Armed member of anti-Qaeda Sahwa (Awakening) Council patrols central Baghdad, 01 Oct 2008The Iraqi government has assumed command of U.S.-backed Sunni Arab militia groups that have been fighting al-Qaida insurgents. As of Wednesday, members of "Awakening Councils," also called "Sons of Iraq," will receive their salaries from the Iraqi government, not the U.S. military. It is seen as a key test of reconciliation between Iraq's two main religious sects.Many of the 100,000 "Sons of Iraq" are former insurgents. Their help in battling al-Qaida in Iraq members has contributed to the fall in violence across the country. But many of the Sunni members fear that the Shi'ite-led government will arrest and possibly kill them. A Pentagon study released Tuesday expressed concern that the integration is happening too slowly and could rekindle violence if it fails.About 20 percent of the fighters are expected to be integrated into Iraq's security forces, while the rest will take other government jobs.In a separate development, Iraqi officials say 359 civilians were killed in the country in September. That is 23 fewer civilians than were killed in August.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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Political Stakes High for US VP Candidates in Upcoming Debate
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Voters eagerly awaiting Thursday's showdown between veteran Democrat Senator Joe Biden and newcomer to national political stage, Republican Sarah Palin
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated debate of the U.S. presidential campaign season takes place Thursday in St. Louis, Missouri. The two candidates for vice president, Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, will take part in their one and only debate. The political stakes are high for both candidates, but especially for Alaska Governor Palin, a newcomer to the national political stage. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has a preview from Washington. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin campaigns at a Capital University rally in Columbus, Ohio, 29 Sept. 2008Thursday's debate will be Governor Palin's toughest test to date.Palin energized social conservatives within the Republican Party after her surprise selection as Republican presidential nominee John McCain's vice presidential running mate. But in recent television interviews, Palin has seemed unsteady at times and given halting answers.Some conservative commentators have suggested she is not up to the job of being vice president.Palin responded to her critics during a recent interview with CBS News."Well, not only am I ready, but willing and able to serve as vice president with Senator McCain if Americans so bless us and privilege us with the opportunity of serving them," she said. Senator McCain continues to insist that the excitement she has generated among Republicans outweighs the concerns about her lack of national and foreign policy experience."I'm very proud of the excitement that Governor Palin has ignited with our party and around this country," he said. "It is a level of excitement and enthusiasm, frankly, that I have not seen before."Palin faces an experienced Washington hand in Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.Sen. Joe Biden speaks at a rally in front of the Detroit Public Library in Detroit, Michigan, 28 Sept. 2008Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and has years of experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in dealing with foreign policy issues. He is also a fierce partisan who has waged two losing campaigns for the White House and now serves as Democratic nominee Barack Obama's chief attack dog."So don't tell me who is on the side of middle class people trying to make it," he said. "It is not George Bush and it is not John McCain!"Biden is prone to verbal gaffes and has been criticized in the past for talking too much.But it is Governor Palin who may have the most to prove in Thursday's debate."She is really on the spot. Biden, of course, has to be watched for making gaffes and such," says Bruce Miroff, a political expert at the State University of New York at Albany. "But the focus of the debate is overwhelmingly in the eyes of the audience likely to be on Palin and whether she can show herself to be someone who is in her league, or whether she is out of her league."Curiosity about Palin is driving interest in Thursday's debate.But University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato notes that historically voters do not make a decision based on how they feel about the vice presidential candidates."But on the whole, when those final independents [voters] make up their minds as we approach Election Day, they are going to be choosing between two men, one of whom will be sitting in the Oval office," he says. "That is the focus of the election."After Thursday's debate, two more presidential debates remain between candidates Obama and McCain. One in Tennessee on October 7, the other in New York on October 15.
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Rival Somali Clans Holding Ukrainian Ship
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Pirates denying reports that disagreement among gunmen about what to do with ship has led to fatal shootout
Somali pirates holding a Ukrainian ship carrying military hardware are denying reports that a disagreement among the gunmen about what to do with the ship has led to a fatal shootout. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the pirates on board are made up of militiamen from two rival clans, who have little in common. Pirates holding the merchant vessel MV Faina receive supplies while under observation by a US Navy ship, 30 Sep 2008Pirate spokesman Sugule Ali tells VOA that reports that a deadly firefight two days ago killed three pirates is a lie, being spread by people who do not know the situation aboard the hijacked ship.Ali says the group remains unified and focused on talks with the ship's owners to secure the release of the MV Faina and her 20 crew members in exchange for a $20 million ransom. He says there has been no shooting whatsoever on the ship and there are no disagreements that would cause anyone to fire in anger.The pirates say they had no idea that the freighter was carrying 33 Russian-built tanks and other military equipment when they seized it off the eastern coast of Somalia last Thursday. Since then, several U.S. Navy warships and a Russian frigate have been deployed to the area to prevent the pirates from trying to offload the cargo and bring it ashore to a country already awash in arms and torn apart by civil war since 1991. The United States believes at least one Islamist group operating in Somalia has ties to the al-Qaida terror network and is eager to keep tanks and heavy weapons out of its reach. On Monday, a maritime official based in Mombasa, Kenya, Andrew Mwangura, told reporters that the presence of warships had raised tensions among some 60 factional fighters that make up the pirate group and the shooting took place after an argument over whether to free the cargo and the crew. Mwangura says that report comes from relatives of the pirates and is reliable. He says there was another shooting incident on board the ship on Tuesday, but no one was hurt."It is true," he said. "There was a shootout yesterday and the day before yesterday, there was a shootout aboard the ship, whereupon three gunmen were shot dead by their own comrades because this ship is being held captive by two different clans." VOA sources in Somalia say some of the pirates on the ship belong to the Majarteen sub-clan of the Darod tribe. Prominent Majarteen members include Somalia's interim government President Abdullahi Yusuf and the president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland Adde Muse, who has been accused of profiting from pirate activities taking place off the coast of Puntland. Other pirates in the group belong to sub-clans of the Habre Gedir, which is itself a sub-clan of the larger Hawiye tribe. The Hawiye and the Darod have a long history of rivalry in Somalia, and some of their top members in government have been locked in a bitter power struggle since they took power in late 2006 on the back of an Ethiopia-led military intervention.Andrew Mwangura says the enormous ransoms being paid to free captured vessels have prompted many Somali clans to set aside their differences and cooperate in pirate activities.
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US Envoy Arrives in North Korea, Hoping to Break Stalemate
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Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has been point man in six-nation negotiations aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities
Washington's main envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue is in Pyongyang, aiming to convince leaders there not to reverse promises they made last year. As VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin reports, if the talks fail, the stage could be set for the North to produce more material that can be used for nuclear weapons.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher HillU.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill made the short drive Wednesday from Seoul to South Korea's heavily armed border with North Korea, headed for a rare visit to Pyongyang.Hill has been the point man in six-nation negotiations aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities. He says Pyongyang's recent moves to eject international inspectors and resume activity at its main nuclear reactor have dealt a serious blow to the process."What they've been doing obviously goes counter the spirit of what we've been trying to accomplish... so I would say we're in a very difficult, very tough phase of the negotiation," he said.Before leaving the South, Hill told reporters he wants to persuade North Korea to fulfill its promise to set up verification for the nuclear declaration it made earlier this year. American and South Korean officials say the North offered clear verbal assurances at Beijing talks, last year, it would agree to a verification system in line with usual international practices - such as surprise visits by international inspectors to nuclear sites.Hill says he understands the North is reluctant to follow through, but says the process cannot move forward without a verification agreement."It's not to say that we're going to have anything verified. The verification will actually take place later on," he said. "But we need to know what the rules of the road are for verification."In August, President Bush cited the North's delay on a verification agreement when he decided not to remove North Korea from a State Department list of nations suspected of sponsoring terrorism. North Korea has maintained the verification issue is separate from the American promise to remove it from the terror list. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quotes an unnamed South Korean government source as saying there are signs of activity near the site of North Korea's 2006 underground nuclear test. The source in the report speculates North Korea may be trying to repair the site - possibly for a followup test - and says the South is monitoring the activity closely.
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Ivory Coast Officials Say Delayed Election Preparations Can Be Completed On Time
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Officials working toward Nov. 30 deadline despite persistent reports that much-delayed national vote aimed at ending Ivorian crisis will be postponed once again
In the Ivory Coast officials have begun registering voters for national elections due in two months. Officials say they are working toward that deadline despite persistent reports that the much-delayed vote aimed at ending the Ivorian crisis will be postponed once again. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.Election officials in Ivory Coast say they are planning to complete preparations in time for the country to go to the polls as planned on November 30. Independent Electoral Commission Vice President Fatoumata Traore Diop says voter registration is expanding since it began two weeks ago and has now reached the entire Abidjan area. She says by the end of the week, registration will be extended to other regions and will be completed in all of the country's 11,000 voting centers by the end of October.Organizers say 50,000 officials are being trained to register the estimated nine million eligible voters. They are concentrating on younger voters, who were not eligible during the previous elections, as well as voters living abroad.Ivorians hope the elections will help ease years of political, ethnic and regional tensions that deteriorated into civil war in 2002. Although the fighting did not last long, the country remained divided until a peace agreement last year brought northern-based rebels into the government and allowed the return of many exiled opposition leaders.A major cause of the violence was a dispute over whether immigrants who had settled in the country decades before were entitled to Ivorian nationality.A identification commission employee registers a voter during a ceremony launching new general census in Yamoussoukro to update country's electoral registers, 15 Sept. 2008 Diop says the biggest challenge is to make sure all those who are eligible are registered to vote. She says the only way to end the Ivorian crisis is to hold elections that are transparent and open to all. And this will require accurate voter registration lists and proper training for voting officials.Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's term expired three years ago but he has remained in power because the elections were postponed several times.Organizational delays and a lack of funds have led some leaders to call for yet another postponement. But the opposition says any further delays would require renegotiation of the peace accord.Leaders in the international community, including France and the United Nations which provided peacekeeping troops, have said the polling should go ahead in order to restore democracy.
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Fuel Shortage in Parts of US Caused by Shut Down of Refineries During Hurricanes
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But analyst says problem will not last more than another couple of weeks, as crews get refineries back up and running at full capacity
Consumers in the southeastern United States are facing gasoline
shortages and high prices for fuel at a time when the price of crude
oil on the world market has fallen. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from
Houston, the recent hurricanes that struck the Gulf of Mexico coastline
are the main reason for the shortages.Oil refineryAs recovery from
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike continues in Houston and in other parts of
the South, people trying to get back to work and normal routines are
being hampered by a shortage of gasoline. The problem is most acute in
the Atlanta, Georgia area, but also includes some other important
southern cities like Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Charlotte in North
Carolina.Ken Medlock, an energy specialist at Rice University
in Houston says the closing of refineries prior to the two hurricanes
created a shortage in the gasoline distribution system for many areas.
"We had sort of a double whammy [hit]. Gustav resulted in about 15
percent of our nation's refining capacity being shut down, and Ike
added another 19 percent. So, the fact that those storms were back to
back means that for about three weeks, you had very limited refining
capacity in this country."A sign on the pump at an Exxon Station asks for a limit of $50 per purchase on regular grade gas in Columbia, South Carolina, 26 Sep 2008Medlock says the Department of Energy
is reporting the lowest gasoline inventories in the United States since
1967. But he says the problem will not last more than another couple of
weeks, as crews get refineries back up and running at full capacity. Another
factor that will help lower fuel prices is the decline in crude oil
prices on the world market. The price for the most common benchmark
crude fell below $100 earlier this week, but it rose back over $100
after President Bush announced a renewed effort to get a financial
bailout package through Congress by the end of this week. The U.S.
stock market, which fell more than 770 points on Monday, regained some
ground Tuesday on the expectation that a deal will be approved.Ken
Medlock says international crude oil prices follow these swings in the
market because they are influenced by expectations of demand for
energy.
"If the market really senses a full-blown financial meltdown,
you will see crude oil prices dip, because, if that does occur, then
the demand for crude oil should be a lot lower for some time to come,"
he said.Medlock says an economic recovery would produce higher
demand for energy and could result in rising oil prices. But, he notes,
there are many factors influencing the price of petroleum, including
strong demand in China, possible disruptions in supply and the value of
the U.S. dollar.Crude oil prices rose to over $140 a barrel
earlier this year, but dropped dramatically in the past couple of
months. Economists say a slowdown in demand was one factor. Some say
the market has also responded to moves by President Bush and the U.S.
Congress to open more U.S. coastal areas for exploration and
development, since that could potentially boost supply in the years
ahead.
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Muslims Around the World Celebrate Eid al-Fitr
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Holiday marks end of holy fasting month, Ramadan
Muslims, around the world, are marking the end of the holy fasting month, Ramadan, by celebrating Eid al-Fitr. In Indonesia - which has the world's largest population of Muslims - the holiday's deeper meaning centers around family, food, gifts and time-honored traditions. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins has more from Jakarta.Indonesian Muslims take part in a special morning prayer near Bajrah Sandhi Hindu's temple in Denpasar on Bali island, 01 Oct 2008During the past week, around 26 million Indonesians have flooded airports, seaports, bus and railway stations in an annual exodus to return to their birthplaces to celebrate the end of the fasting month, known as Idul Fitri here.To the beat of drums and the sounds of firecrackers, Indonesians joyfully celebrated Idul Fitri, Wednesday, after religious leaders sited the new moon the previous night, marking the end of Ramadan.Many other Muslims, including across much of the Arab world, began the three-day celebration Tuesday, after Muslim scholars there sited the crescent moon on Monday.Rizal, like millions of Indonesians, was rushing from Jakarta to return to his home province, Batam."Idul Fitri means for me - it's a gathering together with my family - all my family, brother, sister - we eat together, we pray together, we have family time together," he said. "That's very, very important."Going home for Eid al-Fitr is seen as an obligation for Muslims. In Indonesia, the sheer number of people moving about the vast archipelago required the police to mobilize an extra 100,000 people to supportthe already existing 150,000 police posts set up along the main traveling routes.Despite the traffic jams, the long queues and the crowded transportation systems, Rizal will put up with any inconvenience, to get home."I have to go back to my other province - Batam. My flight, it's this afternoon," he said. "I'm so excited! I have to go because, for me, my Mom, it's very important - my family."Idul Fitri is also a time for forgiveness. As Rizal explains, it is tradition to ask family and friends for forgiveness for wrongs committed during the past year."In the year, somehow we have very bad words to our family, to friends, and Idul Fitri means like a holy thing. So, with friends, family and other relatives, you have like forgiveness," he said. "Forgive to your family, friends, and all of the colleagues and everyone. So, after Idul Fitri, you're back to zero again. Back to zero meaning you don't have any sins."Families and friends gather for lavish meals, cook traditional food and exchange gifts, mostly in the form of money and new clothes.
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Snow Falling From Martian Atmosphere
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NASA's Mars probe 'Phoenix' also discovers material in planet's soil that is leading scientists a step closer in their conclusion that life probably existed at one time on Red Planet
The U.S. space agency NASA's Mars probe Phoenix has detected icy snow falling through the Martian atmosphere. The spacecraft has also discovered material in the planet's soil that is leading scientists a step closer in their conclusion that life probably existed at one time on the red planet. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.Soil sample taken from informally named 'Snow White' trench at NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander work site produced minerals that indicate evidence of past interaction between the minerals and liquid waterIcy snow falls through the atmosphere of Mars. That finding was beamed back to Earth by the space probe Phoenix, which has been continuously monitoring the weather on the red planet since it landed four months ago.Jim Whiteway is lead scientist for NASA's Phoenix meteorologist mission. "The ice crystals would be starting out at about a height of about four kilometers. And by the end of the measurement, in this case, they have fallen all the way down to about to 2.5 kilometers," he said. "So that is snow is falling from the clouds and we are going to be watching very closely over the next month for evidence that snow is actually landing on the surface."Snow, which began falling about a month ago, is not the only surprising finding announced this week by managers of NASA's Phoenix mission. The space probe discovered materials in the Martian soil that can only be produced through the interaction with water. These include a silicate mineral and calcium carbonate, according to senior project scientist William Boynton."Carbonates are very common minerals on Earth," he said. "They commonly form by the interaction of liquid water with carbon dioxide gas. And that is just what we think is going on in the surface of Mars. Another form in which people are familiar is just common chalk that you use for writing on black boards." The Phoenix mission was undertaken because scientists believed there was ice just below the surface of the northern planes of Mars, something that was confirmed by the space probe shortly after it landed. NASA principal investigator Peter Smith says the evidence points more and more to the conclusion that there was once life on Mars. Smith notes that Mars was probably a much warmer planet millions of years ago because an unstable spin placed Mars' northern pole more directly toward the Sun. A warmer climate suggests the presence of liquid water and the existence of life, according to Smith. "Is this a habitable zone on Mars? Well, I think we are approaching that hypothesis," he said. "We understand though that Mars has many surprises for us and we have not finished our investigation and so it is too soon to be sure of this, but we are certainly finding a lot of the indicators that we proposed to find at the beginning of this mission."With the approaching winter and freezing temperatures, Phoenix is not expected to continue its research mission for many more weeks to learn, among other things, whether snow crystals reach the ground. But NASA investigators hope to jump start the space probe once Martian daylight returns.
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