Romanian finance minister Mircea Ciumara assured workers that health, education, and labor allocations in the budget would not be cut, but said all other departments would face cuts and unprofitable state enterprises would be sold or closed down. The IMF also pushed for the Romanian government to suspend its $1.5 billion purchase of "Supercobra" attack helicopters. In line with this, the IMF also rejected the Romanian government's request to substantially raise its international borrowing limit.

Washington uses famine as club against Pyongyang
The food crisis in north Korea, caused by two years of flooding followed by this year's crop-destroying drought, is deepening. As of August 8, the United Nations agency Unicef said that 80,000 children in north Korea are in immediate danger of dying from hunger and disease, while 800,000 more suffer from serious malnutrition. The U.S. government is pushing to have so-called peace talks and will not even discuss aid until after they begin. North Korea accuses Washington of using food as a "political weapon." When a U.S. congressional group toured north Korea with a stated aim of surveying food distribution, they took the opportunity to complain about alleged arms sales to Iran and other military issues. The officials also accused the north Korean government of shady handling of aid.

Pyongyang is not backing down from its peace talk demands, which include the withdrawal of U.S. troops from south Korea and a bilateral treaty with Washington.

Meanwhile, Malaysian foreign minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stated August 10 that political differences would not prevent his government from extending aid to north Korea.

Imperialists `bail out' Thailand
The IMF and capitalist governments in Asia offered a $16 billion "bailout" loan to the Thai government August 11 in an attempt to stabilize the currency there. After years of being touted as the world's fastest-growing economy, the Thai baht lost 20 percent of its value in July. Tokyo is putting up a quarter of the loan, the International Monetary Fund another fourth, and the rest is being picked up by six other governments in Asia.

In order to receive this package the Bangkok regime must implement tough austerity measures, which threatens to rile up an already discontented population. Although Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was elected last November on a promise to cure the countries economic ills, calls for his ouster have already begun.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit hit new lows against the U.S. dollar August 15, as the currency crisis shaking the region continues.

Anti-imperialist action in Manila
Marking the 99th anniversary of Washington's 1898 capture of the Philippines, some 200 protesters staged a rally at the U.S. embassy August 13, posting an eviction notice on the building. Even though the U.S. government pulled out its last military base from that country in 1992, "the American imperialists are still here," commented Manuel Sarmiento, a leader of the May 1 Movement (KMU) labor federation. He was referring to the influence the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have on the government of the Philippines.

Zambian gov't attacks vendors
Cops in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, attacked unauthorized street vendors the night of August 13. This provoked resistance from the vendors. The government deployed helicopters and cops used tear gas and live ammunition to quell the rebellion, killing at least 1 demonstrator and arresting 56.

Richard Sakala, a spokesman for President Frederick Chiluba blamed the protests on opposition parties "aiming to cause anarchy and chaos." Earlier that week vendors demonstrated against the government's plan to reduce the sites for trading.

Brazil judge reduces charges for youths who killed activist
Four teenagers admitted in a Brazilian court that they intentionally doused 44-year-old Galdino Jesus dos Santos with gasoline as he slept on a bus stop bench, and the set him on fire burning him to death. But Judge Sandra Mello ruled that the teenagers, two of whom are related to current or former judges, did not intentionally kill dos Santos. A leader of the Pataxo tribe, dos Santos had come to Brasilia for an indigenous rights demonstration.

Mello reduced the charges against them from homicide, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, to committing bodily harm resulting in death, with a maximum sentence of 12 years. Mello rejected the prosecutions contention that the sleeping man was defenseless. The dos Santos family lawyer Roseane Lacerda called the ruling "a passport to impunity - a license to kill." Edwin Ressink, speaking for an Indian rights group said the decision "sets a dangerous precedent."

Prison riots erupt in Honduras
A series of prison rebellions began on August 11 in Santa Bárbara and Trujillo, Honduras. Long-standing anger at overcrowded prisons, terrible conditions including lack of medical assistance, and long waits in jail before sentencing culminated in 700 prisoners burning down the two facilities and escaping. The Associated Press reports that by August 13, the bulk of the escaped inmates were captured.

By this time though, mass uprisings had spread to at least three other facilities, where some 1,150 inmates were demanding a blanket release based on time already served. Cops and army troops surrounded the prisons. In the eastern town of Danli, two prisoners were wounded by police gunfire.

Washington designs new nukes
In 1996 U.S. president William Clinton signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, barring the creation or testing of nuclear weapons. But a formerly secret federal document reveals that the U.S. government has been remaking thermonuclear arms, including the W-87, a warhead for MX missiles; the B-61, a bomb for planes; and the W-76 and W- 88, warheads for Trident missiles launched by submarines.

The document, according to an article in the August 17 New York Times, shows plans to upgrade the Trident missiles. The energy department, which is in charge of the nuclear arms, denies that it is making new weapons or increasing power on old ones; it is merely making slight upgrades to improve the safety and life of the warheads. Some $4 billion is allocated to the weapons work.

-BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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