In New York, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — were hoping to agree later on Tuesday on a draft resolution demanding Saleh comply with a Gulf Cooperation Council peace plan that would require him to cede power.If the five agree among themselves, they would pass the text to the other 10 council members in the hope that the panel’s 15 members would vote on it before the end of the week, diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.At least 34 people have been killed in Yemen in the past four days and well over 100 have been injured. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has held on to power but has suggested he could resign in line with an Arab-brokered deal that would grant him immunity from prosecution for any crimes he might have committed.Witnesses in Yemen described an increasingly tense situation. Sanaa residents said protesters approaching government buildings were attacked by security forces.”The number of dead is now six,” said Tariq Nouman, a doctor at the field hospital set up by protesters in Change Square.”We have 50 injured, most of whom are in critical condition, by live bullets and 80 to 90 choking injuries from the tear gas,” said Jamila Yaqoub, another doctor.CRITICISM OF IMMUNITY DEALAmnesty International criticized the idea of endorsing a GCC plan that would guarantee Saleh, who has ruled Yemen with an iron fist for three decades, and those close to him immunity from prosecution for rights violations.”The international community must send a clear message that those responsible for extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances in Yemen will be brought to justice as part of any transition agreement,” Amnesty International said.Yemeni citizens, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have been camped out in the streets since January demanding that Saleh step down.Saleh survived a June assassination attempt and returned to Yemen, strategically located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, last month after treatment in Saudi Arabia.The six-nation GCC has proposed a power transfer plan that offers immunity to Saleh and those serving under him. Saleh has backed away from the plan three times so far.Saleh says he is ready to step down but wants to ensure that control of the country is put in “safe hands.” He has said he is relying on support from Russia and China, which Western diplomats say have held up agreement on the draft resolution in New York, to stop moves to force him to hand over power.The British-drafted resolution, which was obtained by Reuters, “stresses that all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses should be held accountable.”But it also demands that Saleh, or those authorized to act on his behalf, “immediately sign and implement a political transition on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative” — which guarantees Saleh immunity.Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch said council action on Yemen was “long overdue but for the Security Council to bless an immunity deal for Saleh and the people around him would set a devastating precedent.”
By Kim DixonWASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Money is not flowing from
people on Wall Street to U.S. presidential candidates as freely
as in the last White House race, with Republican Mitt Romney
outpacing President Barack Obama in the chase for a shrunken
pot of cash.Donations from executives and others in the financial
sector are down sharply in the 2012 race compared to the same
point in the 2008 race won by the Democrat Obama.By this point in 2007, $72 million had been donated to
White House hopefuls by this group, compared to just $15
million this year, data compiled by the nonpartisan group
Center for Responsive Politics showed.Gaining support from people on Wall Street could be play a
key role in determining the financial strength of a candidate
in a presidential race expected to be the costliest on record.Romney has attracted nearly twice as much money as Obama.
He is well acquainted with Wall Street, having co-founded Bain
Capital, a private equity firm that executed leveraged buyouts
and corporate turnarounds.Romney has taken in $7.5 million this year from those in
firms such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and others in the
financial sector and related businesses, compared to about $3.9
million for Obama, the Center for Responsive Politics said.At this point in the last election cycle, both Romney and
Obama had raised about $12 million from people in this sector.Companies themselves cannot by law give directly to
candidates, but individual campaign donors list their employer
when donating in increments of $200 or more.Among all the business sectors in the United States, the
financial industry — banks, securities firms, insurance
companies and the like — represents the biggest source of cash
for presidential candidates.”Romney may be Wall Street’s favorite candidate at the
moment but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Wall street is
enamored with the candidates overall,” said Costas
Panagopoulos, director of an elections project at Fordham
University in New York.There are varying theories for why the cash is not flowing
like it did last time around, including the relentlessly bad
economy and lack of enthusiasm about the candidates.’LEVEL OF MISTRUST’Obama had success drawing donations from Wall Street types
in the 2008 election. Duplicating that feat may be tough. Many
on Wall Street were dismayed over the financial regulation law
that Obama signed after being elected, and others took
exception to the president’s reference to “fat cat” bankers.Obama also has expressed sympathy for protesters with the
Occupy Wall Street movement who have decried the practices of
the U.S. financial sector.”The level of mistrust between him (Obama) and the
investment community may be the greatest in our lifetime,” said
Greg Valliere, an analyst who follows Washington for investors
at Potomac Research in Washington.The president is facing a tough fight to win a second term
in office in the November 2012 election, struggling with low
job approval ratings with U.S. unemployment stuck above 9
percent and discontent among his liberal base.Thus far, Obama’s overall fundraising has far outstripped
the Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to run against
him next year — pulling in $156 million so far this year.Obama set a record in 2008 when he raised about $750
million for his campaign.Romney ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican
presidential nomination. He has been near or at the top of the
Republican field so far in this campaign. The Romney campaign
has pulled in about $32 million this year. The Wall Street cash
has accounted for nearly a quarter of his fundraising.Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, also has outpaced
Texas Governor Rick Perry, the best-funded of the other
Republican White House hopefuls, in cash from the finance
world. Perry has drawn nearly $2 million in such money.The edge in Wall Street cash may be a double-edged sword,
given public frustration with the financial sector and other
parts of the business world.”The last thing you want in the current political climate
is to give the perception that your campaign is bankrolled by
Wall Street,” Panagopoulos said. “Voters know that donors give
to candidates expecting something in return.”Obama enjoys support of some influential Wall Street
leaders. Hedge fund executive Orin Kramer and investment bank
Evercore founder Roger Altman are among those raising funds for
his re-election.Romney has been most successful with Goldman employees,
raising at least $292,000 from then, according to a separate
analysis done for Reuters by the Sunlight Foundation.Obama has raised at least $14,000 from Goldman employees.
In 2008, Goldman employees were his second-biggest source of
campaign cash, after workers at the University of California.
