WASHINGTON: US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who helped lead the government’s response to the largest offshore oil spill in US history, said yesterday that he is stepping down from his post to return to his ranch in Colorado. The former US senator came to office pledging to clean up the “mess” at the Interior Department, but it was the massive 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that ultimately spurred the dramatic overhaul of the nation’s offshore drilling regulator. Salazar’s departure comes as US President Barack Obama’s cabinet undergoes the typical make-over for his second term, and will be part of an opportunity to remake the energy team. Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson has announced she will not be staying on. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is also widely tipped to leave.
Cameron rejects in/out EU referendum for now
LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday that he did not favour holding an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union for now, but said he felt it was right to renegotiate its role in the bloc. “I don’t think it would be right for Britain to have an in/out referendum today because I think we would be giving the British people a false choice,” Cameron said. He was answering questions on Europe ahead of a long-awaited speech he will deliver tomorrow in the Netherlands in which he will set out his EU stance. “Millions of people in this country, myself included, want Britain to stay in the European Union, but they believe there are chances to negotiate a better relationship,” said Cameron.
Russia’s biggest mafia boss shot dead
MOSCOW: One of Russia’s biggest mafia bosses was shot dead yesterday in the centre of Moscow, in an apparent contract killing as he was leaving a restaurant after lunch, the interior ministry said. Aslan Usoyan, 75, known by his nickname of “Grandpa Hassan”, was killed by a shot from a sniper’s rifle as he was exiting the Karetny Dvor restaurant, about 1.5km from the Kremlin Some observers feared that the murder of Usoyan would unleash a turf war in the criminal world of Russia and former Soviet republics.
Chavez making progress
CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez is making progress as he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said after returning from a trip to Havana to visit the Venezuelan leader. Chavez, who has been battling complications since undergoing surgery, is “climbing the hill, he is advancing,” said Vice President Nicolas Maduro. Agencies
