February 24, 2003
New UN Resolution from US
The US and Britain were expected to introduce another UN resolution today which would give Iraq what President Bush calls “one last chance” to disarm or face a US-led attack. The US and UK are acting in spite of fierce opposition from the 114 non-aligned nations, and from some key members of the UN Security Council. Josh Chaffin reports from DC.
Bolivians Demand Answers
The International Monetary Fund announced this weekend that it had reached an agreement with Bolivia on an economic program for 2003. The IMF said the deal paves the way for financial aid to the troubled nation, though provided little detail of the deal. This on the heels of weeks of street protests in which 33 people were killed and 200 wounded as the military turned on protestors who were demanding the president repeal the steep new IMF imposed tax. Then last week President Sanchez de Lozada was forced to back down on the salary taxes and the president also reduced the number of government ministries from 18 to 13. The U.S. educated Sanchez de Lozada is a key ally of the United States, the IMF’s most powerful shareholder. And with a mass popular forum planned for tomorrow in La Paz, Sebastian Hatcher and Tomas Elichaev report that Bolivian’s are demanding real answers from their government.
Leaked Pentagon Documents on Nukes
Efforts to renovate the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal have been snowballing in recent days. Leaked Pentagon documents and reports from lawmakers show plans for weapons development kicking into high gear, as well as efforts to make the public think such development is necessary. Joe Gardner Wessely has been following the story and brings us this report.
Chavez Defends Arrests
Last week one of the leaders of the Venezuelan opposition, Carlos Fernandez, who is the head of the country’s largest Chamber of Commerce was arrested. While the opposition says the arrest proves that the Chavez government is dictatorial, President Chavez argues that Fernandez and other leaders broke numerous laws in their efforts to oust him. Greg Wilpert and Carol Delgado report from Caracas, Venezuela.
Oil Series: Turkey
As we continue our February Special series examining oil around the world, as war against Iraq looks more likely, today we look at Turkey’s relatively unknown role as an oil conduit in the middle east. Oil from northern Iraq is shipped to Turkey via an underground pipeline from where it travels by tanker to Europe and North America. Although oil workers on the border region stand to gain financially from a successful war with Iraq, like over 90 percent of the Turkish population they are overwhelmingly opposed to the conflict. Pratap Chatterjee has this report.
