Soldiers mutiny against gov't in Central African Republic
Rebel soldiers in the Central African Republic fired mortars December 5 at a French-owned hotel in the capital city of Bangui, opening a two-hour fire fight with French troops and presidential guards. The mutinous troops took up arms on November 15 to protest low pay. It is their third uprising this year. Paris, which maintains 1,300 soldiers and military advisers in its former colony, had French troops fight along side the government soldiers.

Paris is losing influence over its former colonies, as well as facing a challenge for imperial domination of the African continent by its rival in Washington. "France is no longer capable of imposing itself in Africa," U.S. ambassador Daniel Simpson told reporters in Zaire. Rebels seize more cities in Zaire
The Alliance of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, the rebel force fighting in Zaire, seized a swath of cities along the eastern border December 3-4, including Kindu, an important diamond trading center. The leader of the rebellion, Lauent Désiré Kabila, said they intend to overthrow President Mobutu Sese Seko. Rebel fighters are advancing to the East Kasai province, site of the country's most profitable diamond operations. Within a few days, a battle looms for Kisangani, Zaire's most significant inland river port. Aid groups have left the city in droves, while the government has sent in reinforcements from the Presidential Guard. Taiwan gov't cuts S. African ties
Taiwan foreign minister John Chang announced December 5 that Taipei was suspending all aid projects and treaties with the South African government. The statement followed a November 27 announcement by South African president Nelson Mandela that Pretoria would switch its diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing in 1997. Taiwan, which had close ties to the old apartheid regime, is South Africa's seventh largest trading partner. Trade between the two countries totaled $1.2 billion in 1995 and both regimes were discussing plans to build a $3.5 billion petrochemical plant in Johannesburg.

In another developments, South Africa's highest court approved the nation's new constitution. Mandela will sign it into law December 11 in Sharpeville. Washington signs Okinawa pact
The Clinton administration reached an agreement with Tokyo December 2 to return 20 percent of the land occupied by U.S. military forces in Okinawa within 12 years. The deal includes moving a U.S. marine helicopter base to an offshore airfield, to be paid for by the Japanese government at an estimated $2 billion.

Some 28,000 U.S. marines will remain on the island, where approximately 100,000 Okinawans - a third of the population -were killed by U.S. troops during World War II. U.S. and Japanese government officials reached the accord under mounting pressures from Okinawans demanding the ouster of Washington's troops. Some of the largest protests against the U.S. military in Japan were triggered when a local school girl was raped by three U.S. GIs in 1995. India completes nuke research
The defense ministry of India announced December 5 that it had "successfully completed" research on the Agni, an intermediate-range missile with nuclear capability. The government of Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India in recent decades, criticized Delhi's development of this missile and a smaller mobile-launched Prithvi missile. The Prithvi has a payload of one metric ton with a 250 km range.

Government officials in India said they are not now producing and deploying the missile system, but a decision to do so could be taken "at the appropriate time with the prevailing threat perception." The announcement followed a visit by Chinese president Jiang Zemin and discussions to resolve disputes along their 3,000 km border. Brahma Chellai, a defense analyst in Delhi declared, "The Agni is fundamentally India's deterrent against China." UN soldiers to stay in Haiti
The United Nations Security Council voted 15-0 on December 5 to extend the imperialist military force of 1,300 troops and 300 cops in Haiti until May 31. Moscow and Beijing demanded that the operation be shut down entirely after eight months.

Washington led an invasion force of 22,000 troops in 1995 that restored the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power. A 1991 military coup, with U.S. tacit support, overthrew Aristide. German jobless at postwar high
Unemployment soared in all regions of Germany in November, setting a postwar record of 4.1 million. The figures were released as the bosses in the electrical and metal industries in Lower Saxony agreed to union demands to maintain sick pay levels at 100 percent of wages. The agreement overrides recent legislation, dealing a setback to Chancellor Helmut Kohl's effort to press austerity measures.

The government seeks to cut 2.5 percent from public spending in its budget for 1997. Spending cuts in the jobs program for workers in eastern Germany would prompt a rise in the jobless rate to 23 percent there, London's Financial Times reports. Executions stepped-up in U.S.
The U.S. Justice Department issued a report December 4 stating 56 men were executed in 1995. The Bureau of Justice at the department reported the state-sanctioned murders were the most since 1957, when 65 inmates were killed. There were 3,046 prisoners on death row at the beginning of 1996. U.S. president William Clinton signed bipartisan legislation imposing limits on inmates rights to appeal convictions in order to speed up executions. Some 313 people have been executed since the Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976. "In the 1930s" - during the union organizing drives involving masses of workers - yearly "execution totals always exceeded 120 and sometimes approached 200," the New York Times reported. Auto rivals sharpen competition
Japanese car companies Toyota and Honda and the two largest European auto makers, BMW and Volkswagen, have increased their share of the U.S. auto market, reporting sales gains of between 13 and 29 percent in November compared to a year earlier. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Japanese companies gained nearly three percentage points of the U.S. market share in November, capturing 24.1 percent of sales. The gains of the Japanese auto companies of 1.5 percent in October and November is equal to about 225,000 cars or $4 billion. The Big Three auto makers in the United States lost 3.2 percent of the market share, dropping to 71.5 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported productivity fell 0.3 percent in the third quarter, the first decline since the end of last year. Judge ends ban on gay marriage
State Circuit Judge Kevin Chang struck down Hawaii's ban on gay marriages December 3, stating that the state constitution requires the recognition of same sex unions. The ruling stemmed from a suit filed almost six years ago when three gay couples were refused applications for marriage licenses.

Other officials in Hawaii said they plan to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. U.S. president William Clinton signed a law in September that denies benefits to same-sex spouses of federal employees and allows states to pass legislation declaring they won't recognize gay marriages licensed in other states.

- MAURICE WILLIAMS  
 
 
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