Paris stocks tumble
The French franc and the Paris stock market took a tumble August 29, causing the jitters among rulers there and big business across Europe. The franc slipped to a five-month low against the German mark before recovering among rumors of Bank of France intervention to end the day only slightly down. Paris stocks were hit harder, with the benchmark CAC-40 index falling below the 2,000 level at 1,977 - a 1.3 percent loss.

The news came amidst reports that unemployment could set a new record this year and expectations that gross domestic product figures for the second quarter will reveal little if any economic growth. Meanwhile, thousands of farmers have blockaded roads and marched and rallied at the Eiffel Tower in Paris with their cattle herds, demanding the government help compensate them for a 30 percent drop in beef prices.

Zimbabwe strikers make gains
When the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions threatened to hold a general strike across the country, the government backed down to the demands of the 180,000-strong civil service strikers, offering a 20 percent pay raise. Union leaders said August 29 they would propose an end to the week-long strike only if the government reinstates all dismissed workers, makes a pledge to not discriminate against strike leaders, and award retroactive pay from the beginning of the walkout.

Tamil rebels overrun cop station
Tamil rebels overran a police station and attacked a village in eastern Sri Lanka August 29. At least 27 people, including 20 policemen, died in the fighting. The rebels overwhelmed the police post with grenades and machine gun fire, setting the building ablaze. This was the largest rebel assault in more than a month. Fighting had died down after thousands on both sides were killed when the guerrillas overran a northern military base. Tamil rebels are fighting for a homeland in the northeast because of systematic discrimination and denial of Tamil national rights. More than 45,000 people have died since the conflict erupted in 1983.

Forced leasing in Japan
On August 28, Japan's highest court ordered 35 Okinawa land owners to continue leasing property to the U.S. military, which occupies one fifth of the island. Growing opposition to Washington's presence in the country reached its peak when a school girl was raped and three U.S. serviceman were convicted in the assault. Many Okinawans blame the U.S. military for increased crime, noise, and pollution. A referendum on the continuance of U.S. bases on the island is scheduled for September 8. Okinawa's governor Masahide Ota has refused to extend forced leases until after the referendum.

Strikes erupt in Venezuela
Police fired tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets to break up a protest by several thousand public employees who blocked traffic on a main highway in Caracas, Venezuela, August 29. Two fire fighters participating in the demonstration were injured. The workers initially attempted to march to the presidential palace to protest the government's failure to award promised wage increases, but were blocked by cops. Instead they went to the thoroughfare and stopped traffic for more than an hour.

The day before thousands of workers walked off their jobs in a 24-hour strike to demand bonuses and wage increases agreed to last April. Many workers have not received raises in more than a year, despite inflation of 112 percent. The government claims it needs more time to come up with the money.

U.S.: new record of deportations
The August 30 Washington Post reported that that the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has deported a record number of undocumented immigrant workers in 1996 with two months remaining in the fiscal year. Through July 31, the INS had deported 54,362 "illegal aliens." The number is more than double the deportations in 1990 and exceeds last year's record of 50,600. The INS has set a goal of 62,000 "alien removals" for fiscal 1996, which ends September 30, and is 90 percent of the way toward its target. The number of deportations of undocumented immigrants has risen steadily in the 1990s, with 42,000 and 45,000 expelled to their countries of origin in 1993 and 1994 respectively.

Cops not liable in MOVE case
On August 27, a U.S. federal judge overturned a civil jury's damage awards of $1 a week against two former Philadelphia officials involved in the fatal 1985 police bombing of the headquarters of MOVE, a Black rights organization in the city. The judge claimed former police commissioner Gregore Sambor and former fire commissioner William Richmond could not be held personally liable for the bombing that caused the deaths of 11 people, five of whom were children. But the $1.5 million award against the city was upheld.

The original verdicts were handed down June 24 in a federal lawsuit by MOVE member Ramona Africa, the only adult survivor of the blaze, and by the families of two who died. Richmond said he was relieved by the decision while Africa expressed disappointment in the failure to hold the officials liable.

Citadel admits women
After three years of fighting four young women were admitted into the Citadel August 24, ending 153 years of male-only enrollment in the cadet corps of the U.S. military academy. The new recruits will be housed in a dorm renovated to accommodate women. The fight ended with a Supreme Court decision declaring no public school could have single-sex education. The decision leaves Virginia Military Institute as the only publicly financed college in the United States that has refused to accept women. "It's incredible that it is happening, but it's incredible that it has taken so long," said Deanna Caveny, a spokeswomen for 52%, a local women's rights group.

Alabama bans gay marriage
Alabama governor Fob James signed an executive order at the end of August banning gay marriage. The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the measure as "wrong and unconstitutional." James based his decision on the rulings of the state attorney general that prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages. Such bans have been adopted in Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah. U.S. president William Clinton has said he opposes same-sex marriages and would sign a bill denying official marital status to gay and lesbian couples.

Canadian auto union officials target Chrysler, predict strike
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) officials announced August 28 they picked Chrysler Canada Ltd. as the union's strike target to set a pattern for negotiating a new labor contract with the Big Three auto giants. CAW president Buzz Hargrove said he was reluctant to pick either General Motors or Ford Motor Co. since the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the United States is in the process of choosing one of these two companies as its target. Labor contracts in the Big Three expire September 16 in both countries. The CAW set a deadline of September 17 to reach an agreement with Chrysler or begin a strike. Hargrove said there is "a snowball's chance in hell" that the CAW will sign contracts this fall with the three auto makers without a walkout.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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