Latest Headlines from the United States
Obama’s Transition Team Restricts Lobbyists’ Role
By HELENE COOPER and JEFF ZELENY, NYTimes
Key Points:
- "President-elect Barack Obama will bar lobbyists from helping to pay the costs of his transition to power or working for it in any area in which they have represented clients in the last year, his transition team said Tuesday."
- "But the new rules do seem to leave some wiggle room. Aides to Mr. Obama, who declared during the campaign that lobbyists would not “find a job in my White House,” said the guidelines allowed for lobbyists to work on the transition in areas where they have not done any lobbying."
- "Mr. Podesta said he expected the transition to employ some 450 people and have a budget of about $12 million. Of that amount, $5.2 million will be paid by the government, with the remaining $6.8 million coming from private sources, he said. Contributions will be limited to $5,000, he said, and the transition will not accept money from political action committees."
- "While aides to Mr. Obama say they are keenly aware that a lavish celebration might not be well received given the faltering economy, they indicate that the historic nature of Mr. Obama’s inauguration and the expectations of high turnout all but guarantee that the occasion, on Jan. 20, will be a huge one."
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AIG Execs Hold Another Luxury Retreat
Democracy Now!
And executives at the government-rescued insurance giant AIG have been caught holding another secretive gathering at a luxury resort. Using hidden cameras, local ABC News reporters filmed AIG execs poolside at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. AIG has admitted to asking the hotel to ensure there were no AIG signs and to instruct staff not to mention its presence. It’s at least the second known resort getaway for AIG brass since their government rescue. In September, company executives held a week-long, nearly half-a-million-dollar retreat at a luxury resort just days after receiving an initial $85 billion in taxpayer money. On Monday, the Bush administration said it would give AIG an additional $40 billion, bringing its taxpayer tab to $150 billion so far.
Source: Democracy Now!
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Latest Headlines from the Middle East
Nasrallah: Israeli hands that attack Lebanon will be severed
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Key Points:
- "Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday accused Israel of operating multiple spy networks in Lebanon"
- "In his address, Nasrallah urged Arab nations to ban Israel's President Shimon Peres from an upcoming interfaith summit, sponsored by the United Nations, to be held in at the New York UN headquarters."
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Abbas says Israel has proposed Jerusalem concessions in the past
By DPA, Haaretz
Key Points:
- "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that during peace talks over the past year, Israel had proposed concessions to him regarding Jerusalem, but he rejected them because they were partial."
- "Israel has consistently insisted in recent months that the sides had not yet touched on the issue of Jerusalem, although it had agreed 'in principle' to include it in the negotiations."
- "Abbas strongly attacked the Islamic movement Hamas, at one point calling them 'traitors.'"
- "Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters flocked to the Ramallah compound, which contains Arafat's mausoleum and tomb, since the early hours of Tuesday, carrying yellow Fatah flags and portraits of their late leader."
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Media blackout? International journalists report being barred from entering, exiting Gaza
Bethleham/Gaza - Ma'an News Agency
Key Points:
- "Israel has limited food and fuel shipments into Gaza, and now appears to be preventing journalists from entering and even leaving the area."
- "Security officer for UNRWA Andrew Pollock said that there had indeed been some fluxuation in the number of journalists allowed in and out of Gaza"
- "Israeli journalists have been barred from Gaza for over two years."
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Biden told not to change Iran policy
PressTV
Key Points:
- "Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has warned the US vice president-elect against changing the Bush White House policies toward Iran."
- "Earlier on Thursday, Livni had said that dialogue with Tehran would be 'interpreted as weakness' for the Obama-Biden administration, urging the continuation of the Bush carrot-and-stick approach toward Iran."
- "Senator Obama, in his first post-election press conference on Friday, said 'Iran's development of a nuclear weapon' was unacceptable, calling for international efforts to mount pressure on the country."
Latest Headlines from Latin America
Vladimir Putin receives Cuban foreign minister
Granma International
Key Points:
- "Putin expressed his pleasure at being able to host a representative of the Cuban people in Moscow."
- "The official visit by the Cuban diplomat comes a few days after the visit to Havana of Igor Sechin, Russian deputy prime minister, who had meetings with senior government authorities with a view to developing relations between the two countries."
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Bolivia asks US to extradite ex-president
By Dan Keane, AP
Key Points:
- "Bolivian officials said Tuesday they have formally asked the United States to extradite former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who ordered a military crackdown on 2003 riots in which at least 60 people died."
- "The 2,700-page request charging the exiled leader with "genocide" was delivered Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Consuelo Ponce told The Associated Press."
- "The ex-president's lawyers say the extradition attempt is no more than political harassment by leftist President Evo Morales."
- "Chances that the extradition will be granted are slim. U.S.-Bolivia relations have soured dramatically in recent months."
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