Uncertainty over Chavez's recovery roils Venezuela (Reuters)

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela was mired in uncertainty on Saturday over how long President Hugo Chavez would take to recover from a cancer operation, despite assurances by allies he will be fit to run for re-election next year.

The government said Chavez remains fully in charge. He planned to meet with several of his ministers in Cuba for talks on Saturday.

The saga over the 56-year-old's health has convulsed South America's biggest oil exporter, underlining the lack of any obvious successor while stoking fears of a dangerous power vacuum and bitter political infighting.

Since Chavez somberly told his people and the world late on Thursday that he had undergone surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor, many have questioned whether he will be able to run the nation with the same irrepressible vigor as before.

A phone call to Cuban state TV on Friday did little to quell the speculation and his condition remained hotly debated from Venezuela's jungle hinterlands to its Caribbean beaches.

"Nobody expected this illness ... we are very optimistic we are going to come out of this," Chavez said in the call.

He seemed keen to demonstrate he was still running Venezuela during his recuperation in Havana, discussing energy and infrastructure projects.

Chavez did not say when he would be back home and one source close to the Venezuelan medical team following Chavez's recovery in Cuba said the diagnosis had revealed a cancer that required aggressive treatment that could take several months.

A wing of the Caracas Military Hospital was being prepared to receive him when he returns, the source said.

No official updates on Chavez's condition have been released except for his own accounts on Thursday and Friday. Local media have said he could have prostate cancer.

"FULLY IN CHARGE"

Chavez's army chief and vice president have gone out of their way to assure anxious Venezuelans that their hitherto apparently invincible president remains fully in charge of the government in the already politically volatile OPEC member.

But their inability to specify a date for his return and the lack of details about the seriousness or type of cancer he is suffering are keeping observers guessing about his future after 12 years as the country's charismatic leader.

"Chavez will be out (of Venezuela) for the time that is necessary for him to recover," Vice President Elias Jaua told the Telesur TV network. "The president is at the head of the country and will continue to be at the head of the country."

There have been feverish rumors about Chavez' long-term health prospects since he vanished from public view in Cuba after his initial operation for a pelvic abscess on June 10, followed by the more serious cancer tumor extraction.

Although he talked on Thursday of emerging from an "abyss," questions remain about whether the man who has dominated Venezuelan politics since 1999 and projected his leftist views across the world will be fit to fight the 2012 election.

Jaua attempted to dispel these doubts.

"We have absolute faith and confidence in God ... that Hugo Chavez will be the candidate of the Bolivarian Revolution, of the people and patriots of Venezuela, and that he will carry on being president beyond 2012," the vice president said.

Jaua rejected opposition arguments that the president's absence through illness required a delegation of his powers, saying the National Assembly dominated by Chavez loyalists had already approved his extended stay outside the country.

Chavez supporters already were planning a march and other weekend celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence on Tuesday. These were expected to turn into shows of support for the ailing president.

A regional economic summit scheduled to coincide with the July 5 anniversary has already been postponed.

Despite Chavez's contentious image as a standard bearer of leftist anti-U.S. policies in Latin America and farther afield, wishes for a speedy recovery have flooded in.

"Knowing your vocation for service, your generosity, and your entire life dedicated to constructing prosperity and happiness in this world, we have no doubt that the God of Fraternity, Justice and Peace will bring you this fresh victory," Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a political ally of Chavez, said in an effusive message.

(Editing by Bill Trott)

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Yemen thrust into deeper uncertainty after Gulf deal falls through (The Christian Science Monitor)

Sanaa, Yemen – When demonstrations began in February aimed at toppling long-ruling President Ali Abdullah Saleh, they were of a humble size, filling only the area immediately outside the entrance to Sanaa University, an area now known as Change Square.

Now as the movement enters its fourth month, the sit-in has swollen to a veritable tent city that stretches nearly two miles, shutting off traffic in a large portion of the nation's capital and resembling a shantytown. Many tents there have a permanent look, wired for electricity, satellite television and, in many cases, wireless Internet service.

Still, the demonstrators seem no closer to achieving their goal. A supposed agreement that would have had Saleh resign, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, appears to have fallen through, with neither the demonstrators nor Saleh willing to support it.

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"How can anything headed by the GCC lead to democracy," commented Abdulrahman Abdullah al Kamadi, a demonstrator who has been camped out in the square for over two months.

"The emirates and kingdoms of the GCC are the enemy of any revolution. They cannot even admit what is going on here. This is not a political crisis: this is a revolution."

'We have no fear of violence'

On Wednesday, gunfire broke out here as army troops loyal to Saleh moved against the demonstrators in what appeared to be an effort to push them back from the huge swath of territory they've claimed over the weeks. More than a dozen protesters were killed in the four-hour firefight, but the pro-Saleh forces gained no ground, and protesters were putting up new structures Thursday.

"We have no fear of violence," said Bassem Moghram, one the leaders of the young people who make up the heart of the protest movement. "Freedom is not cheap."

Increasing hardship, uncertainty

Where the protest movement will go is uncertain. Similar tent cities have sprung up in other Yemeni cities, and the political turmoil is showing itself in growing hardship for the average Yemeni.

Gas rationing, water shortages and power outages have become commonplace in many parts of the country; and the cost of food has risen, as the value of the Yemeni rial has plunged.

RELATED: As Yemenis run low on gas and food, revolution could take off

Yemen's oil industry has been particularly affected; with production dropping nearly 50 percent, the result of damaged pipelines and the temporary closure of some oil facilities.

Amir al Aydarous, the country's oil minister, recently told the state-run news agency that continued unrest could lead to "catastrophe beyond imagination." Yemen's modest oil reserves provide nearly 70 percent of the government's revenues.

A largely leaderless movement

The movement itself remains largely leaderless. While some of the demonstrators are affiliated with opposition parties, most continue to fiercely assert their independence. Images of slain former President Ibrahim al Hamdi, who ran the country from 1974 to 1977, far outnumber images of current opposition leaders.

"We will talk about parties when we are talking about elections," said Ibrahim Yayha al Kulani. "Until then, we will remain one united front, not differentiating between party, region or sect."

Various self-described "revolutionary youth committees" have sprouted in different areas of Yemen. Notably, the past weeks have seen growing cooperation between groups in different cities, culminating in the formation this week of a single, nationwide "Media Council of the Revolution." Another group, the Supreme Coordination Council of the Revolution, has called for a series of marches, strikes and camp expansions, culminating in a march Tuesday on the Presidential Palace.

US role

For its part, the US, for which Saleh has been a key ally in the war on terror, and the European Union remain supportive of the GCC plan, which would grant Saleh immunity from prosecution for the hundreds of deaths suffered in the crackdown on the protests. The young people who've remained camped out in protest reject that idea in particular, and many Yemen observers believe the GCC plan is doomed.

"It is a mistake for the United States to continue to let the GCC take the lead on this, both for the future of Yemen as well as for U.S. security interests," commented Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen scholar at Princeton University. "The US must take the lead in constructively shaping a post-Saleh Yemen."

Others say the US support for any plan makes it unworkable.

"This is not even just a GCC plan," said Feris al Areeqi, a professor of engineering at Sanaa University. "This is a GCC-EU-USA plan. How can they intervene positively when they have supported Saleh?"

(Baron is a McClatchy special correspondent.)

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