President Nelson Mandela said the court judgment could help clarify issues left vague during negotiators earlier on. The constitutional assembly made up of the 490 members of the national parliament has three months to approve a new draft. The ruling would "present no significant obstacle," asserted Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, noting that the majority of the 150- page document was approved. The court also rejected a constitution for KwaZulu-Natal passed by the IFP-dominated provincial parliament, ruling the document attempted to "usurp the powers of the national government".

Zimbabwe strikers are victorious
Thousands of civil service workers returned to work September 4 after a two-week strike, when the government of Zimbabwe offered to rehire 7,000 strikers it had fired and pledged not to discriminate against union leaders. The workers also won a 29 percent pay raise. The union had demanded a 30 to 60 percent wage hike. The government had offered 9 percent.

The regime of Robert Mugabe backed down when the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions threatened a general strike. The 180,000-strong Public Service Association union - who included mortuary attendants, firefighters, nurses, and doctors - paralyzed social services and disrupted air travel. They vowed to stay in the streets until the government reinstated the dismissed workers.

Nigeria strike
Professors in Nigeria have organized a four-month strike for wage increases and improvements in the education system. The military government, unable to break the strike, threatened to close down the schools and fire the strikers unless they return to work by September 3.

Investors worried
Foreign investors in Uzbekistan are complaining of being able to convert only a fraction of their revenues in Som, the national coin, into hard currency. According to the Financial Times, BAT Industries, a cigarette company and the republic's second largest investor, was restricted by the Uzbek Central Bank to convert in hard currency only $1.5 million of the $7 million it needs to import basic items for production.

Uzbekistan's imports have exceeded exports leading some government officials to call for higher tariffs on consumer imports, a politically risky move given the low wages workers are paid in the country. The shelves of some foreign-owned stores, like the Dutch-owned Holland Market, have emptied for lack of imports. "This convertibility problem is killing us," said William Visser, general director of Martens Trading and owner of 80 percent of the Holland Market. "If this convertibility problem continues everybody will walk out."

Jordanian gov't to try protesters
The government of Jordan announced September 5 it will try 145 people who were arrested in August during protests against the regime's recent doubling of the prices of bread, a staple for the majority of the country's 4.2 million people, who have been facing falling living standards and rising unemployment. Information Minister Marwan Muasher said that 107 of those facing charges had "participated in damaging public property." He alleged the other 38 detainees were mostly members of the Jordanian Arab Socialist Baath Party, which the government blames for the unrest. The party has denied responsibility for the setting of fires and damaging of public buildings and banks. The government claimed it had to raise prices to close a growing budget deficit.

Rail strikers win in Portugal
Railroad workers won the central demands of their six-day strike against Caminhos de Ferros Portugueses, the state railway company, September 4. The company agreed to improve job structures, set a nine-hour limit on the workday, and provide 45-minute rest periods between journeys. The strike by the 1,500 train drivers halted rail transport and disrupted shipments of coal used for power generation and of auto parts distribution for the Ford-Volkswagen plant.

Union protests ValuJet flights
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has challenged the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to allow ValuJet Airlines to resume operations. The Federal Aviation Administration announced August 29 its approval of the company's safety standards. The union called for an investigation of the ruling. "The DOT has turned a blind eye toward one of the most frightening safety records in the airline industry," stated AFA president Patricia Friend.

ValuJet was grounded June 17 after investigations uncovered a series of safety violations that led to the crash of its May 11 flight that killed 110 people near Miami. "ValuJet is the darling of the industry, and the darling of Wall Street, and the old-boy network that controls this industry is circling the wagons," said Friend. Citing the safety concerns workers in the industry have, the union official said she did not know if the flight attendants would return to work if ValuJet resumes operations.

Minnesota mall to impose curfew
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, will institute a curfew September 20 that bars youth under the age of 16 from going to the mall after 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays without a chaperone over 21.

Matino Landrum, a 15 year-old African American youth who opposes the policy, said it was aimed at Blacks and would add to their sense of being under special scrutiny at the mall. "Every time we go to a store, we've got the owner following us, and they let the white people alone," he told the New York Times. Weekend nights are the only time large groups of Black teenagers show up at the suburban mall. American Civil Liberties Union senior staff counselor Chris Hansen said the policy "infringes on the rights of young people."

Paul T. Barnes, a store manager at the mall, defended the curfew. He said on weekend nights thousands of teenagers swarm near his store, "70 percent of them under the age of 20 and minority and wearing gang-related apparel." He continued, "A lot of people are not used to seeing large numbers of kids and large numbers of minority kids."

Philadelphia settles cop scandals
The Philadelphia city administration negotiated a court settlement September 4 of nearly $3.5 million to 42 plaintiffs who sued the police department for false arrests, racist behavior, and other forms of corruption. As part of the agreement, the city agreed to expand supervision over the activities of the police supposedly to prevent cop misconduct. The courts are reviewing more than 1,500 arrests made by the cops; so far hundreds of convictions have been overturned.

Farrakhan visits Cuba
Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, visited Cuba September 3-4, stating he was touring countries "under [U.S.- imposed] sanctions and embargoes." It was the last stop on a trip that took him to Libya, Iran, and Iraq. Farrakhan met briefly with Cuban president Fidel Castro and called on Washington to "leave the Cuban people alone" and lift the embargo.

Okinawans vote against U.S. presence on island

Counting of ballots after September 8 non-binding referendum in Okinawa, Japan. More than 90 percent of those who cast ballots voted against continued presence of U.S. military bases on the island. Of those who were in favor of the bases, many live near the military installations or are employed by them.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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