Venezuela's gross domestic product (GDP) is to drop 35 percent due to a two-month-long nationwide strike, a drop in consumption and a foreign exchange control scheme, according to a forecast of Central Bank experts.

This forecast will be presented this week to the bank's board of directors, experts said in a statement released on Tuesday.

After the opposition-led strike that hit the world's fifth largest oil exporter from early December, the petroleum sector contracted between 45 and 48 percent, while the non-oil sector shrank 25 percent, they added.

The experts attributed the poor performance of the economy to a drop in production caused by the 63-day strike, a drop in consumption levels and government control over the foreign exchange, which was put into place more than three months ago.

It is estimated that the strike, the longest in Venezuela's history, produced an economic loss of 7.367 billion US dollars.

New York police boost security amid higher national terror alert

The New York Police Department (NYPD) on Tuesday stepped up security in sensitive areas around the city in response to an increased threat of terrorism that led the US government to raise the national terror alert level to orange.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said they will deploy more undercover officers and heavily-armed "Hercules Units" and set up additional vehicle checkpoints. Extra officers armed with high-powered rifles were seen patrolling outside One Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters.

No specific threats against the city were reported, but the warning issued Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (following a terrorist blast in Morocco which killed 41 people was enough for police to increase security, Kelly said at a press briefing at the City Hall on Tuesday.

Kelly said looking at the totality of the events that are going on, "we think it's prudent, after consultation with the intelligence community, for us to put some additional protections in place."

The briefing also announced the appointment of Michael Sheehan as the department's new counter-terrorism chief. Sheehan, a special forces and peacekeeping expert, replaces Frank Libutti, who has been tapped for a Homeland Security post in Washington.

Meanwhile, Bush administration officials announced Tuesday afternoon that the national threat level has been raised to orange, its second highest level. The officials did not cite specific reasons for the change, but earlier in the day the White House said intelligence agencies were picking up increased "chatter."

The FBI also warned that recent terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco indicate the possibility of new attacks on American soil.

The higher alert triggers a series of security measures throughout the federal government and prompts states, cities and businesses to take extra security precautions.

The threat level in the city had been at orange, or "heightened" risk of attack, since the Sept. 11 terror attack in 2001. The national threat level was at orange for the length of the war in Iraq, but had been lowered to yellow since.

Bush calls Palestinian, Israeli PMs to promote "road map" peace plan

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday spoke separately with new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to stress the need for both sides to create conditions for the "road map" peace plan, the White House said.

In his first telephone conversation with Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, Bush reiterated his vision for "two states living side by side in peace," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

"The president stressed the need for all parties to take concrete steps and called for cooperative efforts between all Arab parties and Israel to create the conditions for peace and security in the Middle East," Fleischer said.

"Abu Mazen told the president he was committed to reform, to peace, and to ending all acts of terror," Fleischer said.

The 15-minute telephone conversation followed five suicide bombings in Israel and the Palestinian territories in a 48-hour period. It also came on the day that Sharon originally had been scheduled to visit Bush at the White House.

The Israeli leader's trip was postponed because of the bombings, and the White House said it was unlikely that Sharon would make it to Washington before Bush travels overseas at the end of next week on stops that include Poland, Russia and France.

Later in the day, Bush also spoke with Sharon to talk about the importance of remaining committed to the peace process in the Middle East, to working forward on the "road map" peace plan, Fleischer said.

"The president informed the prime minister of his call with AbuMazen and told the prime minister that he believes Abu Mazen is a reformer who will work for peace," Fleischer told reporters.

Bush also told Sharon that "the United States is committed to the security of Israel and the prime minister thanked President Bush for his courage and his leadership," Fleischer added.

Sharon said that he is determined to move forward with the peace process, but that the only way to do so is for terror to be beaten, according to the prime minister's office in Jerusalem.

The "road map," created by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, lays out steps for the two sides to take, with the aim of establishing a secure Israel and independent Palestinian state by 2005.

Sharon has said he wants to see some changes to the "road map," while Abbas has said he has reservations but will accept it as is.

During Tuesday's conversation with Bush, Abbas asked Bush to push Israel to begin implementing the "road map" and Bush promised he would do all he could to advance the plan, a Palestinian official said.

Fleischer said Bush considered Tuesday's phone conversation with Abbas as "friendly and hopeful" and looked forward to more telephone conversations with the Palestinian prime minister, but he gave no date.

SARS boosts sales of soft drink labeled Sars

Believe it or not, sales of the soft drink Sars have increased since the publicity over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus hit the headlines, The East & Bays Courier news paper reported Wednesday.

The caramel-flavored drink, produced by Australian company Golden Circle, has the same name as the acronym for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

New Zealand manager of Golden Circle, Brian Winter, said sales of the drink labeled Sars had increased over the last month.

The report said that dairy owners have also noticed an increase in sales of the drink. Panmure Mini Mart owner Bashar Ahmed sold out of the drink a couple of days ago and said there has been an increase in sales over the last few months.

The Westminster Dairy in St Heliers has also noticed the drink's popularity.

"People laugh at it. Many people point it out. Jokingly they ask:' Is this a medicine for SARS or protection against SARS ?'," one dairy owner said.

Mr. Winter said that the company was not thinking about changing the name of the drink and was unlikely to do so if current sales trends continue.