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Obama weighs
decision about
bailout funds
WASHINGTON: President-
elect Barack Obama vowed to
restructure a financial rescue
plan to save more US families
from home foreclosures, as he
considered on Sunday whether
to seek additional funds from a
US$700 billion (RM2.5 trillion)
bailout programme.
Obama’s aides have been
in discussions with the White
House over whether President
George W. Bush should ask
Congress for permission to use
the remaining US$350 billion
(RM1.25 trillion) of the funds,
which are aimed at stabilising
the financial system.
The purpose of the request,
which would be formally sub-
mitted by Bush, would be to
have the funds in place soon
after Obama takes office on
Jan 20.
But it may prove difficult to
get approval from Congress be-
cause the bailout programme
is unpopular with many law-
makers who feel too much of
the money has already been
given to Wall Street firms that
have continued to pay huge
bonuses to executives.
The legislators want some
of the remaining money to be
used instead to help struggling
homeowners.
Massachusetts Sen John
Kerry, after leaving a meeting
with other senators and some
of Obama’s top aides, said the
president-elect was close to a
decision on the bailout fund,
known as the Troubled Asset
Relief Programme, or TARP.
“It’s my understanding that
the president-elect is going to
make a judgment somewhere
in the next hours,” Kerry told
reporters. “I think the presi-
dent-elect will make known
– because he’s the one who’s
going to be controlling that
– what he would like to see
happen on that.”
Top Obama aides Larry Sum-
mers and Jason Furman were
holding closed-door meetings
with Kerry and other senators
to discuss, not only the bailout
funds but also a proposed
US$775 billion (RM2.8 trillion)
stimulus package that Obama
and the Democrats say is
needed to pull the US economy
out of a deep slump.
Obama said his staff was
working closely with the
Democratic-led Congress to
draft the package of tax cuts,
public works spending and
funds to bolster social safety
net programmes like unem-
ployment insurance.
“We’re going to have a
collaborative, consultative
process with Congress over
the next few days,” Obama
said in an interview on ABC’s
This Week. “We’re not trying to
jam anything down people’s
throats.”
With the big spending plans
will come inevitable budget
deficits. Nancy Pelosi, speaker
of the House of Representatives,
has suggested that lawmakers
might have to increase taxes
on the wealthy to cover that
shortfall. That could be done
by allowing the Bush adminis-
tration’s tax cuts for the richest
Americans to lapse in a year.
But Pelosi told CNN’s Late
Edition: “I want a repeal of the
tax cuts for the highest-income
people in America. I don’t think
we can wait until they expire. I
think they need to be repealed
– not in this legislation. That’s
a subject for another day.”
– Reuters
Palestinian death toll tops 900
GAZA: Israeli troops fought gun battles
with Hamas fighters yesterday, keeping
military pressure on the group while
avoiding all-out urban warfare that would
complicate ongoing diplomatic efforts to
end the Gaza war.
Medical officials said the Palestinian
death toll in the offensive Israel began 17
days ago had risen past 900 and included
at least 380 civilians. Israel says three
Israeli civilians, hit by Hamas rockets,
and 10 soldiers have died.
Along battle lines in the suburbs of
the rubble-strewn city of Gaza, Israeli
soldiers and Hamas militants engaged in
more fierce fighting.
Residents and local journalists said
Israeli troops and tanks had taken up po-
sitions in open areas, seeking to penetrate
guerilla defences in built-up zones that
included booby-traps, snipers and fight-
ers with rocket-propelled grenades.
Among targets hit by air strikes were
the homes of more Hamas leaders, which
Israel said contained weapons stores.
But Israeli forces were still holding
back from a threatened third stage of their
deadliest assault on Palestinian militants
in decades – a push into the city of Gaza
and other urban areas to add more punch
to an air campaign and ground offensive.
EU observers inspect the
Russian gas-measuring
station ‘Sudzha’ near the
Ukrainian border.
At a Washington news conference,
US President George Bush said in reply
to a question that he hoped the violence
would end before he handed over to
Barack Obama on Jan 20.
“I’m for a sustainable ceasefire, and a
definition of sustainable ceasefire is Hamas
stops firing rockets into Israel. I happen to
believe the choice is Hamas’s to make.”
He said Israel had a right to defend
itself but should be mindful of “innocent
folks” in the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched its campaign with
the declared aim of halting cross-border
rocket salvoes and has drawn interna-
tional criticism over the Palestinian civil-
ian casualties.
Egypt has been trying broker a cease-
fire, which Israel said must ensure that
Hamas cannot rearm. Hamas wants Israel
to end its air, sea and ground assault and
lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, territory
the group seized in 2007.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni,
a candidate for prime minister in a Feb
10 election, said the surprise bombing of
the Gaza Strip at the start of operations on
Dec 27 and an armoured thrust a week
later “restored Israel’s deterrence”.
Morning radio programmes in Israel,
however, continued to be interrupted by
Ukraine, Russia sign deal
to ease Europe gas woes
MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine signed
a deal yesterday for a second time to
help secure the resumption of Russian
gas supplies to Europe, cut off for nearly
a week in freezing temperatures.
Earlier yesterday, Ukraine removed
additions it had made to the deal struck
over the weekend to resolve the lat-
est row holding up the deployment of
monitors to check Russian gas flowing
across Ukraine to Europe.
Russia has accused Ukraine of si-
phoning off gas to make up for losses it
has suffered since Moscow turned off
the tap on Jan 1 in a dispute over gas
prices. Ukraine denies the charge.
“The document has been finally
theSun | TUESDAY JANUARY 13 2009
announcements of “Colour Red” alerts,
heralding rocket attacks on towns where
residents have only seconds to find shel-
ter before salvoes hit. Ten rockets landed
in the first half of the day, the army said.
No one was hurt.
The Israeli military said its aircraft
carried out more than 25 attacks, fewer
than on many previous days.
Medical workers said Israeli forces
killed nine Palestinians, including at least
five civilians, in Monday’s violence.
In an interview on Israeli Army Ra-
dio, Livni gave no indication when the
assaults might end.
Political sources said Livni, chairman
of the ruling Kadima party, and her main
coalition partner Defence Minister Ehud
Barak, head of centre-left Labour, wanted
to halt the operation in the Hamas-ruled
territory as soon as possible.
But the sources said outgoing Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, who resigned as
Kadima chief in September, disagreed
and planned to present the issue in a
cabinet forum where he has support.
The Palestinian death toll since Isra-
el’s “Operation Cast Lead” began stood
at 909, Gaza medical officials said. About
3,600 Palestinians have been wounded.
– Reuters
signed,” Alexander Medvedev, the
deputy chief executive of Russia’s state
gas export monopoly Gazprom, said.
He told a news conference in Brus-
sels that supplies should be restarted
at 0700 GMT (3pm in Malaysia) today “if
there are no obstacles”.
Gazprom and Ukraine have said it
will take at least 36 hours before gas
reaches the borders of the European
Union after flows resume.
The dispute has highlighted the 27-na-
tion EU’s dependence on Russian gas.
“The crisis must encourage member
states to make energy security a bigger
priority,” Czech Industry and Trade Min-
ister Martin Riman said. – Reuters