Representatives of the Greek-Cypriot government played down the threats, characterizing them as "nothing new," and pointed to its "right to strengthen its defense capabilities...." According to a report by the United Nations, which maintains 1,200 troops on the island, there have been 900 front line border skirmishes in 1996 alone, resulting in the death of four people. Rauf Denktash, Turkish-Cypriot leader, said the current trends on the island of Cyprus are leading towards war.

German economy worsens
The Federal Labor Office report placed unemployment in Germany at 10.8 percent in December of last year, the highest in half a century. The figure was likely to worsen in the near future, the report said, because the economy "doesn't have enough strength" to improve the job market. A second government report stated the rate of that European country's economic growth was only 1.4 percent in 1996 - down from 1.9 percent in 1995 and 2.9 percent the year before.

Corporate collapses in Germany are up to 15.5 percent, the highest in 50 years, according to a survey released January 8 by the business information company Dun and Bradstreet Schimmelpfeng. In 1996, approximately 25,800 businesses went under. Reuters news agency reports that construction was the worst hit sector, with 7,100 company collapses. Dun and Bradstreet projects another 28,000 corporate failures in 1997.

Geneva hits unemployed record
Switzerland faced 5.3 percent unemployment in December, the highest level since World War II. This is up from 5.1 percent in November. The Swiss Office of Trade, Industry, and Labor announced that while the year finished at an unexpectedly high rate, the annual jobless rate did rise to an average of 4.7 percent and was likely to climb further in 1997.

Moscow pulls out of Chechnya
Moscow said January 5 that it had withdrawn its last 18,000 troops from Chechnya. The country's first independent elections are scheduled for January 27. Demanding independence, Chechen rebels militarily and morally defeated Russian troops during the two-year conflict, which left some 80,000 dead. At its height, 60,000 Russian troops occupied the tiny republic. Opponents of Russian president Boris Yeltsin criticized the pullout as a humiliating capitulation. Moscow insists that Chechnya is still an integral part of the Russian federation, while Chechen leaders say it is now fully independent.

Cambodia police attack workers
On January 9, about 100 military riot police were sent into the Tack Fat garment factory in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, in an attempt to squash labor protests at the plant. Workers said police toting AK-47 rifles stood watch over the plant floor. About half the workers struck or stayed home that day. Cops at the plant fired shots in the air at one point and assaulted opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his deputy, who were calling for other workers to join the strike.

Afrikaner rightists kill four
The Boer Attack Force (BAF), a rightist Afrikaner group, claimed responsibility for a New Year's Eve bombing in Worcester near Cape Town, South Africa. Four people were killed with more than 60 wounded. The Afrikaner separatist group demanded all Afrikaner white supremacist "freedom fighters" be released from prison and all prosecutions for political misdemeanors be suspended.

They also demanded their own territory, their own government, and "rightful recognition" for the already official Afrikaans language. The BAF threatened new attacks if their demands were not met. South African Police Services spokesperson John Sterrenberg said police are taking the group "extremely seriously."

Brazil peasants occupy land
More than 7,000 families stationed on or around five ranches in Brazil's southwestern region are carrying out a land occupation. Before sunrise January 5, some 1,200 families began the action occupying the ranches in the Pontal de Paranapanema region, 370 miles northwest of Sao Paolo. Zelito da Silva, a leader of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers told Associated Press reporters that a total of 3,600 families occupy the 33,000-acre-tract.

Da Silva added that 3,600 more families are camped near the site, prepared to move onto the land if the government turns it over to the peasants. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the last decade in the fight for land. Ninety percent of Brazilian land is owned by 20 percent of the population, while the poorest 40 percent own a mere 1 percent of the land.

Triple execution in Arkansas
On the night of January 8, the State of Arkansas executed three men who had been convicted of murder. A triple execution was performed once before in Arkansas in 1994. Prison officials say scheduling multiple executions is cheaper and more efficient. Protests took place on the day of the executions at the state capitol, organized by the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Earl Van Denton and Paul Ruiz were put to death first, by lethal injection. Kirt Wainwright was already strapped on a gurney when he was granted a temporary stay of execution, while the Supreme Court decided whether to hear his appeal. Wainwright's attorneys argued that since the Arkansas governor, who sets execution dates and can grant clemency, knew the people Wainwright was charged with killing, he should have removed himself from the case. The condemned man lay for an hour with the fatal needle already in his arm, before the court decided the execution should proceed.

Public doctors put on `piece rate'
The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and New York City's public hospital agency agreed on a contract that for the first time will link doctors' pay to their performance rate -the number of patients they see and procedures they carry out. The university medical school provides doctors for Harlem Hospital. The city government has immediately begun to make cuts in the health budget, giving Columbia $7 million less next year. Columbia must also improve its services or be fined.

The city agency says it will use this precedent to pressure other medical affiliates to agree to similar terms, threatening to replace unwilling medical institutions through public bidding. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine refused a similar proposition, saying the higher productivity expectations are unfair and incompatible with the careful training of medical students. New York Medical College also refused to agree to the city agency's new terms.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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