Venezuela accuses US of
discrediting, isolating Chavez
The Venezuelan government on
Monday accused the United States
of waging a "dirty war" of
propaganda to discredit and
isolate President Hugo Chavez,
and said it would report the
case to the Organization of
American States (OAS) this week.
US officials and some media are
trying to isolate Chavez in the
international community,
Information Minister Andres
Izarra told a press conference,
in response to recent harsh
anti-Chavez statements from
Washington.
The statements branded the
Venezuelan leader a threat to
regional stability and
criticized his government.
"All these statements together
are part of a clear policy,"
Izarra said. "This is a campaign
from the United States to
isolate and discredit the
Venezuelan government."
He said Foreign Minister Ali
Rodriguez would travel to the
United States this week to
present Venezuela's case before
the OAS.
However, he said, "Venezuela is
not pursuing or considering any
measure to cut oil supplies to
the United States."
Chavez accused the US government
on Sunday of plotting to kill
him, and warned Washington that
Venezuelan oil shipments would
be threatened if he suffered any
injuries.
Journalist killed by militants
in Colombia
A veteran press-photographer was
shot dead by illegal militants
in the southwestern Colombian
city of Tulua on Sunday night,
becoming the second journalist
killed this year in one of the
most dangerous countries for
journalists, police said on
Monday.
Hernando Marne Sanchez, a
press-photographer with local
newspaper El Pais, got two shots
in the head and chest while
walking home alone after work,
said police.
He was killed instantly and the
two murderers escaped on their
motorbikes right away after the
incident.
The 62-year-old Sanchez has been
working as a press-photographer
for more than 40 years. He won
many awards in Colombia and
other Latin-American countries
for his in-depth coverage on
Colombian society.
Terror attacks against
journalists happen frequently in
violence-striken Colombia. A
total of 114 reporters have been
killed in the past 14 years in
the South American country,
according to official
statistics.
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More than 20 Million Mexican
Youths Unemployed
More than 20 million Mexican
youths are without a job now
in Mexico, and the number
might be doubled over the
next 15 years, alerted the
Mexican Republic Management
Confederation (COPARMEX)
here Monday.
This way, the unemployment
rate increased in this age
group in the last two years,
from 4.9 to 8 percent, since
around a million citizens
enter the working market
every year, without creation
of new jobs.
The situation gets more
critical if one considers
that of those young people
who get a job -hardly 30
percent has a contract-
relatively a small part
reaches stability in their
jobs.
Only 17.7 percent of those
who get a job, are working
in an activity related with
their studies, and 37.6
percent has no working
assistance, COPARMEX said.
Mexican youth, just as the
rest of the population,
suffer precariousness in
working conditions, low
salary levels, and less
social assistance, besides
no credits for
self-employment, the source
concluded.
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