CARACAS, Tuesday November 04, 2008 | Update
Politics
Former Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said on Monday
that the maneuvers that the Russian and Venezuelan Navies
will hold shortly in the Caribbean "will be open for all to
see" and, therefore, "they will not hide anything."
Ivanov talked with reporters after giving a lecture in Madrid.
The former diplomat said that these maneuvers or "joint exercises"
were already scheduled, EFE reported.
"This time is Venezuela; tomorrow we can hold joint exercises
with other countries. There is nothing hidden in these maneuvers.
They will be open for all to see," said Ivanov, who participated
in the forum "Where does Russia go?"
Russia's and Venezuela's Navies will hold, for the first
time, joint naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea between November
10 and November 14. After the maneuvers, Russian President
Dmitri Medvedev will arrive in Caracas invited by Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez.
11:00 AM. Economy. Based on the official data, more and more families failed to get out of poverty in 2008; the exclusion status of more people moved faster and fewer people are on their way to overcome this situation. According to the data provided by the official National Statistics Institute (INE), last year the poorest homes in the country recorded an average monthly income of USD 401.82, whereas the food basket amounted to 417.77