Bomb attacks on police patrols in northeastern Colombia, killing at least seven policemen and caused eight others missing

Bogota Bomb attacks on police patrols in northeastern Colombia, killing at least seven policemen and caused eight others missing. The incident took place when Colombia held a second round presidential election.

“We face an unfortunate incident  an attack with explosives against the police patrols which resulted in seven policemen were killed,” said Margarita Silva, an important official in the state of Norte de Santander, Colombia, which borders Venezuela.

He added: “There are eight other people who disappeared and whose fate is known outs.” According to Silva, the attack occurred at around 11:00 local time  when the police patrol tibu traveling from town to the border with Venezuela.Officials did not link the attack with left-wing rebels who have made unstable Colombia for more than four decades.

President Barack Obama's major priorities dropped from the agenda of an election-year Congress facing voter disillusionment

WASHINGTON Immigration reform has become the first of President Barack Obama’s major priorities dropped from the agenda of an election-year Congress facing voter disillusionment. Sounding the death knell was Obama himself.The president noted that lawmakers may lack the “appetite” to take on immigration while many of them are up for re-election and while another big legislative issue – climate change – is already on their plate.

“I don’t want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn’t solve the problem,” Obama told reporters Wednesday night aboard Air Force One.Immigration reform was an issue Obama promised Latino groups that he would take up in his first year in office. But several hard realities – a tanked economy, a crowded agenda, election-year politics and lack of political will – led to so much foot-dragging in Congress that, ultimately, Obama decided to set the issue aside.

With that move, the president calculated that an immigration bill would not prove as costly to his party two years from now, when he seeks re-election, than it would today, even though some immigration reformers warned that a delay could so discourage Democratic-leaning Latino voters that they would stay home from the polls in November.Some Democrats thought pushing a bill through now might help their party. If it failed, they could blame Republican resistance, though in reality many Democrats didn’t want to deal with an immigration bill this year either.

Perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall, top Senate Democrats released a legislative framework for immigration reforms anyway. The draft proposal, obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, called for, among other things, meeting border security benchmarks before anyone in the country illegally can become a legal permanent U.S. resident.By Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered little hope that the issue was still alive on Capitol Hill.”If there is going to be any movement in this regard, it will require presidential leadership, as well as an appetite, is that the word? … as well as a willingness to move forward in the Congress,” she said.House Republican leader John Boehner was more blunt. “There is not a chance that immigration is going to move through the Congress,” he said Tuesday.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the Democrats’ leading advocate for immigration reform, has said he voted for health care reform on the understanding that Obama and congressional Democrats would move a major immigration bill.Even though he would like to see Latinos turn out to vote for Democrats in 2010, Gutierrez said “many will probably decide to stay home.” However, he added, a strict, new immigration law in Arizona may change that dynamic. The law requires law enforcement officers to question anyone they suspect is in the country illegally.”On one hand you are not going to vote because you don’t believe people you voted for are doing a good enough job,” Gutierrez said. “Then you say, ‘I got to vote, because the enemy is so mean and vindictive, I got to get out there.'”The Hispanic vote is growing, largely because of Latinos’ increasing population. The 9.7 million Latinos who cast ballots in 2008 made up about 7.4 percent of the electorate, according to a 2009 Pew Research Center study.

Hispanic voters helped flip the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico from Republican to Democratic in the 2008 presidential election.But even though Latinos’ numbers have been increasing, in some parts of the country their portions of voting populations are not large enough to affect election outcomes.

Democrats hold a 254-177 majority in the House, with four vacancies. But 48 are in districts where Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain did better than Obama in the 2008 elections.Matt Angle, a Democratic political strategist focused on Texas, said it would be worse for Democrats to propose a bill that has no hope of passing or getting Republican support. Doing so would allow Republicans to cherry-pick parts of the bill to use against Democratic candidates, he said.

The Senate also has a number of competitive races, some in states with significant numbers of Hispanic voters, such as in Nevada, the home state of Majority Leader Harry Reid. Latinos are about 12-15 percent of likely voters there.”For Democrats it is critical they can deliver if they want to continue nurturing the support they want from this community,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, National Council of La Raza immigration and national campaigns director.(AP)

Venezuela will commemorate 200 years of independence with a military parade Monday local time

Caracas- Venezuela will commemorate 200 years of independence with a military parade Monday local time, while opposition groups complain that the country’s state of democracy under the leadership of leftist Hugo Chavez. Parade of military hardware and troops through the streets of Caracas will signify the 200th anniversary of the first steps toward independence from Spain 19 April 1810 when the leaders of Venezuela’s move to overthrow the colonial regime. Chavez ally, Cuban President, Raul Castro, and other regional leaders, including leaders of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, also will attend the parade.

But opposition groups – who joined the political coalition of Democratic Unity Table warned before the celebration was that power was 11 years old Chavez “has increased the division and confrontation” in Venezuelan society, and closing a long shadow for the ideals country. Chávez “is systematically reducing the democratic capabilities, and endanger our future and our progress,” the coalition said in a statement Sunday.

In the past ten years has continued to link the Chavez socialist projects with Venezuela’s independence war, particularly going back to warn the heroic actions of the independence leader Simon Bolivar to fight for the policies of his government. “We have to regain independence in 10 years. Here we are the sons of Simon Bolivar. We’re back. And I am sure, my heart was suggested to me that we now find it,” kataya.

Chavez earlier this year to commemorate his tenure with a pledge to lead 11 more years, and said he would clean up a century Venezuela is controlled by small groups and the United States, and even announced what he called the Bolivar Revolution “are here to rule over 900 years. ” Chavez promised to participate in the presidential election in 2012 for a term of three, after a constitutional reform in February to abolish term limits for elected officials.( AFP)

Afghanistan played down on Wednesday recent anti-Western remarks by President Hamid Karzai

Afghanistan played down on Wednesday recent anti-Western remarks by President Hamid Karzai, saying they were not aimed at specific countries and would not affect relations between Kabul and the international community.A war of words between Karzai and the White House escalated on Monday following accusations by the Afghan president last week that the West carried out election fraud in Afghanistan.

Karzai has not backed down from his remarks and appeared to sharpen the criticism further by singling out the United Statesfor blame. Washington said it was frustrated by the comments and attempts to settle the feud had so far failed.On Wednesday, Karzai’s chief spokesman, Waheed Omer, said the statements were aimed at individuals who had made fraud allegations and were “not necessarily” directed at any specific country.

“When it comes to fraud in elections, you know, there (were) lots of discussions over the past six or seven months … one-sided views mainly made by certain figures that I will not name here,” Omer told a news conference in Kabul.Those figures “do not necessarily represent the country or represent any international organization,” he said.

Karzai made his remarks, Omer said, to avoid a repeat of these fraud allegations in the upcoming parliamentary election.”So that’s why the president did that, and that was not necessarily targeting any specific country or any specific group of countries,” Omer said.

NO EFFECT ON RELATIONS WITH WEST

In his speech last week, Karzai said foreigners had bribed and threatened election workers to carry out fraud in last year’s presidential election, and singled out the former deputy head of the U.N. mission in Kabul — U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith — as well as the French head of a European Union monitoring team.

Omer played down the effects Karzai’s remarks could have on relations with the West.”It did not have any effect on the strategic relations with the United States and the international community. Our stance and position are the same,” he said.

“Issues that create conflict should be discussed and we hope that these relations get strengthened and reinforced.”U.S. President Barack Obama met Karzai in Kabul last month during a brief night-time visit to Afghanistan but that visit has largely been overshadowed by Karzai’s remarks.On Tuesday, the White House suggested it might cancel a meeting between the two leaders in Washington next month.

Omer said Washington needed to clarify whether the trip would be canceled.”Regarding its cancellation, we don’t have anything specific. This (the visit) is the proposal made by the United States, they should give clarification,” he said.

ELECTION OFFICIALS STEP DOWN

In a development that could help placate Western concerns over fraud ahead of a parliamentary poll in September, Omer said the head of the country’s government-appointed election body and his deputy were to be replaced.Last year’s presidential election damaged Karzai’s standing among Western countries with troops in Afghanistan after allegations of widespread fraud, including that carried out by officials in the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

It led to months of political limbo, with the IEC declaring Karzai the winner but a separate U.N.-backed body rejecting enough ballots to lower Karzai’s total below 50 percent and force a second round.”The working period of Mr. Azizullah Ludin, director of the Independent Election Commission, has finished and will not be extended,” Omer said.

“Daoud Ali Najafi has also resigned from his position which has been approved by the president,” he added, referring to the body’s chief electoral officer.There have been several calls for Ludin to step down since last year’s August 20 vote, and Western diplomats have said the international community would not be pleased if Karzai reappointed him.

Opponents accuse Ludin, a presidential appointee, of favoring Karzai.Omer said both IEC officials would be replaced soon, adding they would be offered high-ranking positions elsewhere. He did not give more details.Holding a free and fair parliamentary election is seen as a crucial test for Afghanistan, which faces a resurgent Taliban, despite the presence of tens of thousands of Western troops, more than eight years since the militants’ removal from power.(Reuters)

Iran's supreme leader accused the United States on Wednesday of war-mongering and of turning the Gulf into an "arms depot," hitting back at U.S.

TEHRAN  Iran’s supreme leader accused the United States on Wednesday of war-mongering and of turning the Gulf into an “arms depot,” hitting back at U.S. accusations that the Islamic state was moving toward a military dictatorship.The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were the latest sign of growing tensions between Tehran and Washington, which are embroiled in a long-running and escalating row over Iranian nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.The United States is leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, which says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity so it can export more of its oil and gas.

Last month, U.S. officials said the United States had expanded land- and sea-based missile defense systems in and around the Gulf — a waterway crucial for global oil supplies — to counter what it sees as Iran’s growing missile threat.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday the United States believed Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were driving the country toward military dictatorship and should be targeted in any new U.N. sanctions.In an apparent reference to Clinton’s visit to the Middle East earlier this week, Khamenei said the Americans had dispatched “their agent” to the region to accuse Iran’s Islamic system of government.

“But no one believes these lies because they know that America is the real war-mongering state. They have turned the Persian Gulf into an arms depot,” Khamenei said.”They invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and are now accusing the Islamic Republic. Everybody knows that the Islamic Republic is for peace and brotherhood among all Islamic states in the world,” Khamenei said, state television reported.PUNCH IN THE MOUTHIran faces growing Western calls for a new round of targeted U.N. sanctions against it after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week ordered the start of higher-grade uranium production.

During her three-day visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Clinton denied the United States planned to attack Iran and said Washington wanted dialogue with Tehran but could not “stand idly by” while Iran pursued a suspected nuclear weapons program.The West accuses Iran of covertly trying to build nuclear bombs. Iran, the world’s fifth-largest crude oil exporter, says its nuclear facilities are part of a peaceful energy program and it would retaliate for any attack on them.
Khamenei, Iran’s top authority, said the Iranian people had punched its enemies “in the mouth” by turning out in large numbers to rallies last week marking the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

On Thursday, Iranian state television said “tens of millions of people” rallied to support the revolution across the country of 70 million, which is facing its worst domestic crisis in three decades after a disputed presidential election last June.An opposition website said security forces fired teargas at opposition supporters staging a Tehran counter-rally on the February 11 anniversary of the revolution that toppled the shah.Khamenei, who like other Iranian leaders accused the West of stoking post-election unrest and meddling in Iran’s internal affairs, accused “arrogant powers” of opposing the Islamic Republic because of its call for justice in the world.(Reuters)

30,000 police officers and soldiers set to be deployed across Honduras

Tegucigalpa, Honduras About 30,000 police officers and soldiers were set to be deployed across Honduras on Sunday for a presidential election that is being viewed in starkly different terms inside the country.Those who support ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who was forced from office in a coup in June, are urging citizens to stay home.They say that participating in the polls is tantamount to legitimizing the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, who replaced Zelaya.The current government, on the other hand, sees the election as a means to end months of international isolation. The coup, widely condemned worldwide, cut off foreign aid to the Central American nation and dealt a blow to its economy.Micheletti’s administration is hoping the international community will recognize whoever emerges the winner of the race.The United States has already said that it will, adding that elections will reset the clock. But Argentina and Brazil have said they will not.

“I believe that tomorrow a lack of voter participation and rejection of dictatorship will prevail,” Zelaya said Saturday. “It will speak by itself. Do not go with the results given by the dictator Micheletti.”Fearing violence, police and military have stockpiled 10,000 tear gas canisters and other crowd-control equipment.This, in turn, has alarmed many residents, “triggering fears of an increased risk of excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces around the presidential elections,” said the human rights group Amnesty International.The political crisis started June 28, when a military-backed coup removed Zelaya from power, shuttling him off in his pajamas to nearby Costa Rica. A few hours later, Congress swore in Micheletti, the legislature’s president, as Zelaya’s replacement.

The United Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union and most nations — including the United States — condemned the coup and demanded that Zelaya be reinstated immediately.Five months later, Zelaya is still not in power, holed up instead in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital. The ousted president sought refuge there after secretly returning to his country September 21.It appeared that a solution had been reached October 29, when Zelaya and Micheletti agreed to a deal brokered by the United States. The pact said Congress would vote on Zelaya’s return to power after consultation with the nation’s Supreme Court and other bodies. The vote was to have been held within a week but is now scheduled for next week, after the elections.

The Supreme Court ruled 14-1 this week that Zelaya cannot return to office without first facing trial on charges that he acted unconstitutionally when he tried to hold a vote that could have led to the lifting of presidential term limits. The Supreme Court had ruled that the vote was illegal and Congress had forbidden it.The coup came on the day the vote was to have been held.Micheletti stepped down temporarily this week to try to distance himself from Sunday’s elections. He said he will resume office Wednesday. The new president is scheduled to be sworn in January 27.In addition to the presidency, voters will cast ballots on Sunday for three vice presidents, 128 members of congress, and mayors and other municipal leaders throughout the nation