Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez dies

 
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has died age-old 58, afterwards 14 years in power.

Mr Chavez had been actively ill with blight for added than a year, ability several operations in Cuba.

Crowds of supporters aggregate alfresco the Caracas hospital area he died, chanting "We are all Chavez!"

A self-proclaimed revolutionary, Hugo Chavez was a arguable amount in Venezuela and on the apple stage. A allegiant analyzer of the US, he aggressive a left-wing awakening beyond Latin America.

Following his death, Vice-President Nicolas Maduro will accept the admiral until an acclamation is captivated aural 30 days, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said.

"It is the authorization that Comandante President Hugo Chavez gave us," Mr Jaua told accompaniment television, abacus that Mr Maduro would aswell be the applicant of the administering United Socialist Party (PSUV).

It was not anon bright if the acclamation would yield place.

Mr Chavez's affliction prevented him from demography the adjuration of appointment afterwards he was re-elected for a fourth appellation in October.

    Timeline: Hugo Chavez

    

• 1954: Born 28 July in Sabaneta, Barinas state, the son of schoolteachers
• 1975: Graduated from Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences
• 1977: Becomes involved in revolutionary movements within the armed forces
• 1981: Returns to the military academy as a teacher
• 1992: Leads doomed attempt to overthrow government of President Carlos Andres Perez, jailed for two years
• 1994: Relaunches his party as the Movement of the Fifth Republic
• 1999: Takes office after winning 1998 election
• 2002: Abortive coup. Returns to power after two days
• 2011: Reveals he is being treated for cancer
• 2012 (October): Re-elected for another six-year term
• 2012 (December): Has fourth cancer operation in Cuba
• 2013 (February): Returns to Venezuela to continue treatment
• 2013 (March): Death is announced by Venezuelan government

The exact attributes of his blight was never clearly disclosed, arch to continuing belief about his health, and he had not been apparent in accessible for several months.

Seven canicule of civic aching accept been declared and his physique will lie in accompaniment until a burial on Friday.

Opposition baton Henrique Capriles, whom Mr Chavez defeated in October's election, alleged on the government to "act in austere accordance with its built-in duties".

Mr Capriles offered his condolences to Mr Chavez's family, adage "we were adversaries, but never enemies".

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Kenya election: Both parties hold final ralies

 

The two front-runners in Kenya's presidential acclamation acquire been captivation their final rallies in Nairobi, advanced of Monday's vote.

PM Raila Odinga and agent PM Uhuru Kenyatta are favourites to accomplish Admiral Kibaki, in the aboriginal poll back the post-2007 acclamation violence.

Thousands of supporters aggregate for the two rallies in axial Nairobi.

The admiral has apprenticed Kenyans to vote affably on Monday and for the losers to acquire defeat.

The acclamation is the aboriginal to be captivated beneath a new constitution, adopted in 2010 in an attack to abstain a echo of indigenous clashes which led to added than 1,200 humans getting dead and an estimated 600,000 others getting affected from their homes.

Uhuru Kenyatta addressed supporters at a assemblage at Uhuru park, about a mile arctic of Raila Odinga's capital attack accident at the Nyayo civic stadium.

'Hate speech'

The Kenya Civic Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) this anniversary appear a address account cases of violence, abhorrence accent and indigenous intimidation, admonishing that campaigns had "continued to accession affections and aggravate passions as they attack for votes".

Uhuru Kenyatta is adverse balloon at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in a few weeks' time on accuse of orchestrating some of the bloodshed. He denies the charges.

After the 2007 poll, Raila Odinga said he had been cheated of achievement by Mwai Kibaki's supporters. Ensuing protests spiralled into civic inter-ethnic attacks.

Mr Odinga's supporters say that if he loses this election, they will acquire the result, our contributor says.

His appointment denied a address in the Financial Times commendation him as adage that if he absent it would be "because of bribery and intimidation". In a statement, Mr Odinga said he acquainted "absolutely slandered".

The government says some 99,000 badge admiral are getting deployed about the country, at polling stations and vote counts, in adjustment to anticipate a echo of the violence.

Presidential candidates have to defended abutment from beyond the country in adjustment to be declared the victor, so they cannot just await on abutment from their indigenous groups, as has been the case in antecedent elections.

If no applicant obtains added than 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off on 11 April.

In the antecedent election, Mr Odinga said he had been cheated of achievement by allies of Mr Kibaki. Protests by his supporters angry agitated and this spiralled into civic tit-for-tat attacks on associates of indigenous groups apparent as acknowledging one or added candidate.

This time there are eight presidential candidates.

Elections are aswell getting captivated for associates of parliament, new posts of bounded governors and associates of canton assemblies.

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Obama signs across-the-board US account cuts into effect

US Admiral Barack Obama

US Admiral Barack Obama has active into aftereffect a beachcomber of abrupt spending cuts which he has warned could accident the US economy. 

The cuts - accepted as the cloister and fatigued up two years ago - will yield $85bn (ВЈ56bn) from the US federal account this year.

Last-ditch talks at the White House to abstain the reductions afore Friday's borderline bankrupt up after agreement.

The IMF has warned the cuts could apathetic all-around bread-and-butter growth.
However, as the midnight borderline loomed on Friday, Mr Obama and Republican aldermanic leaders still bootless to accede on a way to abstain them.

After the White House talks bankrupt up, Mr Obama abhorrent Republicans for the impasse.
"They've accustomed these cuts to appear because they debris to budge on closing a individual careless artifice to advice abate the deficit," he said.

He warned the cuts - if absolutely realised - would apathetic US bread-and-butter advance by bisected of 1% and amount 750,000 jobs.

Unpaid leave
The cloister was fatigued up in mid-2011 as Congress and the White House feuded over adopting the debt beam and how to carve the huge US deficit.

Republicans capital abysmal cuts in spending while Democrats insisted on adopting taxes.
At the end of 2012 Congress and the White House addled a affecting accord to abstain what was dubbed the "fiscal cliff", that included expiring tax break and the sequester.


Republicans agreed to Mr Obama's appeal to accession taxes for the affluent and Congress adjourned the borderline for the account cuts until 1 March.

Defence admiral say 800,000 noncombatant advisers will accept their alive anniversary reduced. They say they will aswell accept to calibration aback flight hours for warplanes and adjourn some accessories maintenance.

The deployment of a additional aircraft carrier to the Gulf has aswell been cancelled.
On Friday, Republican House Speaker John Boehner common his party's abnegation to acquiesce taxes to acceleration and challenged the chock-full US Senate to canyon a bill aboriginal afore the House acted on a plan.

"Let's accomplish it bright that the admiral got his tax hikes on 1 January," he said as he larboard the White House. "The altercation about revenue, in my view, is over. It's about demography on the spending problem."
Correspondents say absorption will now about-face to the next aldermanic claiming - a accessible abeyance of the US government if no allotment bill is anesthetized in the next month.
On 27 March a acting federal account that has kept the federal government active back 2012 is due to expire.

House Republicans accept said they will vote on a bill next anniversary to armamentarium the government through the end of the budgetary year, on 30 September, but accumulate in abode some automated cuts demography aftereffect on Friday.

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Italy election: Deadlock after protest vote

 

Italy's aldermanic elections accept concluded in stalemate and the achievability of a afraid parliament.

With all calm votes counted, Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left affiliation has almost baffled ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi in the lower abode but has bootless to defended a majority in the Senate.

Mr Berlusconi conceded the lower abode vote, but ascendancy of both houses is bare to govern.

A beef movement led by actor Beppe Grillo won a division of the vote.

Meanwhile a affiliation led by accepted Prime Minister Mario Monti came a poor fourth, with about 10%.

The aftereffect of the election, which comes amidst a abysmal recession and boxy acerbity measures, was so abutting that the allowance of achievement accustomed in autogenous admiral abstracts was beneath than 1% in both houses of parliament.

Mr Berlusconi conceded to his opponents in the lower house. He said that anybody should now reflect on what to do next, but beginning elections should be avoided. He would not do a accord with Mr Monti's centrist bloc, he added, adage that the prime minister's poor assuming was down to accepted depression with his acerbity measures.

With allotment from all polling stations processed, the autogenous admiral abstracts gave Mr Bersani's centre-left affiliation 29.54% of the vote for the lower abode (Chamber of Deputies), almost advanced of the 29.18% polled by Mr Berlusconi's bloc.

Votes casting alfresco Italy are still to be collected.

Mr Bersani aswell won the civic vote for the Senate, but was clumsy to defended the 158 seats appropriate for a majority.

As benefit seats are broadcast in the high abode according to bounded votes, Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right affiliation was accepted to appear with a college amount of seats.

'War of generations'

Initial avenue acclamation on Monday afternoon gave Mr Bersani's affiliation a bright victory, bidding the Milan banal bazaar to arise by about 4%.

But as the abutting aftereffect became bright the markets fell back. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.55% and Asian markets absent amid 0.7% and 2.2%.

The credible breach amid larboard and appropriate in the eurozone's third bigger abridgement is acceptable to could cause abundant all-overs a part of leaders in added EU affiliate states.

Mr Berlusconi, 76, larboard appointment in November 2011, adverse claims of bread-and-butter corruption as the eurozone struggled to accommodate Italy's debt crisis.

Italians accept had added than a year of technocratic government beneath Mario Monti. But his attempts to abate spending acquired boundless accessible acerbity and his accommodation to arch a centrist account in the aldermanic elections admiring little added than 10% of the vote.

"Some declared we'd get a hardly bigger aftereffect but I am actual satisfied, we are actual satisfied," he said.

In a billow in support, Beppe Grillo's anti-austerity Five Star Movement admiring 25.54% of the vote, authoritative it the a lot of accepted individual affair in the lower chamber.

Correspondents say this was an amazing success for the Genoese comic, whose tours about the country throughout the acclamation attack - casting blame adjoin a discredited political chic - resulted in his affair assuming able-bodied in both chambers.

"We've started a war of generations," Mr Grillo said in an audio account on his website which taunted the leaders of the boilerplate parties.

"They are all losers, they've been there for 25 to 30 years and they've led this country to catastrophe."

As the admeasurement of his success became bright on Monday night, Mr Grillo's supporters in his home boondocks of Genoa acclaimed aboriginal into Tuesday morning.

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Early vote count points to impasse election in Italy

 

Early after-effects from Italy's acclamation advance the houses of assembly may breach amidst larboard and right, causing new all-overs in the eurozone.
According to aboriginal figures, Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left affiliation is assertive to yield the lower abode while Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right appears to be arch in the able Senate.

A beef movement led by actor Beppe Grillo has surged into third.

The acclamation comes amidst a abysmal recession and boxy acerbity measures.

Milan's banal bazaar soared about 4% if avenue acclamation appropriate a bright Bersani achievement - but absent about all of its assets if projections began to appearance Mr Berlusconi acceptable a abundant vote. Italy's 10-year borrowing amount fell but afresh rose afresh to abutting hardly college at 4.49%.

It was bazaar pressure, with a borrowing amount of able-bodied over 6%, that affected Mr Berlusconi to abandon as prime abbot in backward 2011.

Correspondents say Italy's EU ally and the banking markets wish to see a abiding aftereffect to the election, with a charge to ameliorate and debt-reduction.

'No abiding government'

As the official calculation got beneath way, avenue acclamation anticipation 34.5% for Mr Bersani's centre-left affiliation in the lower abode (Chamber of Deputies).

Mr Berlusconi's affiliation was getting accustomed 29%, Mr Grillo's Five Star Movement 19% and the centrist account led by Mario Monti 9.5%.

At that stage, Mr Bersani was aswell projected to win a majority in the Senate, area seats are absitively arena by region.

However, a consecutive bump for the accompaniment anchorperson Rai put Mr Berlusconi's affiliation advanced in the Senate with 31.6% to 29.4% for the centre-left, 24.9% to Five Star and 9.2% to the Monti list.

A bump for bartering anchorperson Sky corrective a agnate picture.

Control of both the lower and high houses of assembly is bare in adjustment to govern.

Mr Bersani has apprenticed to abide with Mr Monti's reforms but suggests accepted European action needs to do added to advance advance and jobs.

The acclamation was alleged two months advanced of schedule, afterwards Mr Berlusconi's affair withdrew its abutment for Mr Monti's government.

Speaking on Italian accessible TV, Mr Bersani's economics spokesman, Stefano Fassina, said: "The book from the projections we accept apparent so far suggests there will be no abiding government and we would charge to acknowledgment to the polls."

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Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigns

 Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has resigned after failing to reach agreement on forming a new government.

Tunisia Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali

Mr Jebali had been aggravating to anatomy a new affiliation in acknowledgment to the political crisis sparked by the killing of action baton Chokri Belaid.

He had said he would abdicate if his Islamist Ennahda affair did not aback his plan for a chiffonier of technocrats.

Mr Belaid's assassination on 6 February affronted accumulation protests and resignations from Tunisia's affiliation government.

'People disillusioned'
"I vowed that if my action did not succeed, I would abandon and I accept done so," Mr Jebali told a account appointment afterwards affair President Moncef Marzouki.

Describing his footfall as "a big disappointment", he said he was continuing down to "fulfil a affiance fabricated to the people."

"Our humans are disillusioned by the political class. We accept to restore confidence," he stressed.
And he added: "The abortion of my action does not beggarly the abortion of Tunisia or the abortion of the revolution," in a advertence to the accepted agitation two years ago that ousted absolute baton Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Mr Jebali's abandonment comes admitting comments by Ennahda's baton Rached Ghannouchi on Monday that all parties complex in the affiliation architecture talks had capital the prime abbot to abide in office.
The Ennahda has aswell adumbrated that it still hopes it can cull calm a affiliation to advance the country into aboriginal elections, the BBC's adept contributor Bridget Kendall reports.

Mr Ghannouchi is accepted to accommodated President Moncef Marzouki on Wednesday to altercate the growing crisis, letters say.

But in the meantime, our contributor says, the anguish is that the continuing political stand-off and paralysed abridgement could advance to new accumulation protests and added violence.

On Tuesday, acclaim appraisement bureau Standard and Poor's said it had downgraded Tunisia's rating, citation "a accident that the political bearings could adulterate added amidst a deepening fiscal, alien and bread-and-butter outlook".

Supporters of the civil action accept abhorrent Ennahda for Mr Belaid's assassination - an allegation the affair denies.

It was the aboriginal political assassination in Tunisia back the accepted agitation in 2011 affected the country's absolute baton Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from ability and aswell aggressive the alleged "Arab Spring" uprisings beyond the region.

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