Spain truckers' strike stuns auto
Production at Renault's two auto assembly plants in Spain stopped February 13, as factories across northern Spain felt the effects of a week-long truckers strike in that country. The French Michelin tire company was also forced to scale down production at Valladolid and Aranda de Duero plants due to lack of supplies. Production has also been affected at Citroen's factory at Vigo and Opel's plant at Zaragoza. The Japanese Nissan automaker has been forced to suspend production at its plant in Avila. Madrid's motor manufacturer's association expressed "great concern" about the blows the strike is dealing to car production. Activities at fishing ports have also been paralyzed and supplies of basic foods in some areas, such as the coastal Cantabria region, are running out.

The striking truckers are demanding better working conditions, cheaper diesel fuel, and retirement at 60 years of age instead of the current 65. The drivers aim to emulate the success of the work stoppage of their colleagues in France in November, when truckers shut down French highways for 12 days and won retirement at 55, down from the previous 60. Portuguese vehicles crossing into northern Spain were reportedly stoned, and the Portuguese road haulage federation Antram said that a number of transport businesses could be at risk if the protests in Spain went on for much longer. The February 14 Financial Times of London reported that five people were arrested in Pamplona after a British truck had its windows smashed. Paramilitary Civil Guard troops escorted convoys of trucks carrying perishable goods, and other transport companies are seeking Civil Guard protection to break the strike.

Swiss joblessness at record high
Switzerland's unemployment rate rose to a record 205,501 people, or 5.7 percent, in January - breaking the 5.3 percent record set in December. Bloomberg News reported that joblessness jumped "as more companies shed workers in the country's longest no-growth period since World War II." The February 11 news item said that "the Swiss economy is expected to grow as little as five-tenths of 1 percent this year, having barely grown since 1990."

Chernobyl cleanup workers go on hunger strike in Russia
Dozens of former Chernobyl cleanup workers have begun hunger strikes in Russia to demand that they be paid $6.2 million in pensions and other benefits, owed to them since March of 1996. Nearly 60 workers struck or stayed off the job in the several Ural mountain towns, reported Interfax news agency. Protesters demonstrated outside the regional parliament February 5. In Kireyevsk, there were 60 protesters at the onset of the strikes. When Moscow issued some partial payments some stopped demonstrating. But the strike continues with demands that the money owed to workers be paid in full.

Turkey builds up its arsenal
In two recent deals the Turkish government is getting a new arsenal of helicopters. Ankara signed a contract with Sikorsky, a U.S. company, and with Eurocopter, a German- French manufacturer. The 30 Eurocopters ordered by the Turkish Defense Industries Department, will be largely built in Turkey. The German-French sortie makers have to buy at least half the worth of the helicopters in equipment from Turkish companies. The Financial Times described the deal as an important breakthrough for Eurocopter into the Turkish market, attributing it to recent rejections from Washington on arms deals. Ankara is building up its armaments to boost its military strength in its conflict with the government of Greece over territorial claims in the Aegean Sea, as well as over Cyprus. Turkish troops occupy the northern part of Cyprus.

1,200 U.S. troops carry out exercises with Kuwaiti forces
On February 11, a Pentagon spokesperson announced that 1,200 U.S. troops were being deployed into Kuwait to carry out a four-month military exercise. This will include joint maneuvers with Kuwaiti troops. Under the pretext of making Kuwait safe for democracy, Washington took advantage of the Iraqi invasion of the Gulf emirate and launched a massive assault on Iraq in 1991, destroying civilian infrastructures and killing hundreds of thousands of people.

Tokyo's shrinking yen
Japan's current account surplus, which measures the country's total value of imports and exports, shrank 28 times in the last 30 months according to a news item by Bloomberg News. Import prices have gone way up and surplus declined 23 percent in a little over a year. The biggest drop in surplus, with a 30.9 percent decline, occurred in 1996. Last year was also the third year in a row that there was an overall decline.

Abortion rights battle continues
After much controversy, the abortion inducing drug mifepristone, or more popularly called RU486, was reviewed and deemed safe and effective for distribution in the United States. The Food and Drug administration said the drug was "approvable," but asked for more information on manufacturing and labeling. Advances for Choice says it will be available for purchase by the end of this year.

A day later, a bill criminalizing doctors who perform one type of "late-term abortion" was passed by the State House in Jackson, Mississippi. Except when a woman's life is in danger, doctors who carry out the medical procedure could be fined $25,000, sent to prison for two years, and be sued by the father of the fetus for "psychological and physical" damages. If the woman having this procedure, which opponents call a "partial birth abortion," is under the age of 18, her parents can sue the doctors as well.

FBI probes phone-tapping
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) met with phone companies in early February to propose vastly expanding its wire-tapping capacity in the cellular phone industry. The new proposals will give the FBI capabilities to simultaneously tap 103,190 phones nationwide. The highest number of simultaneous wiretaps conducted in the United States by local, state, and federal police agencies has been 6,070. The secret police have met some objections from executives of the phone companies involved, who said it would be too expensive and an invasion of privacy.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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