Ortega orders cut of fifth of Nicaragua's state spending

Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, has requested a reduction of one fifth of this year's allocation of state spending.

The nation's legislators are expected to approve the cuts, which amount to some $125 million, and appear to be inevitable after more than three months of violence, hundreds of deaths, land seizures and a paralyzed economy.

Most of the cuts form part of what is known as social spending: education, public health, rural highways, and electrification.