Irish inmates off high security
London announced August 19 that 13 Irish Republican Army (IRA) political prisoner would receive a downgrade in their security status leaving zero IRA members in the "exceptional risk," maximum security category. This takes place as Sinn Fein, the main nationalist organization fighting to end British colonial rule of Northern Ireland, has made gains in the independence fight. The IRA declared a new cease-fire July 20, after the British government invited Sinn Fein into peace talks. The prisoners will now have greater freedom of movement and more contact with other inmates. They can also have physical contact with visitors, now that a glass barrier has been removed.

S. African toilers make demands
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) organized a 100,000-strong march in Johannesburg August 21. Workers demanded that the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill - soon to be sent to the South African parliament -include a six-month maternity leave with at least four months of it paid, a minimum working age of 16, and a 40-hour workweek phased in over five years. Police said only 15,000 people took part in the action. COSATU also organized a 24-hour strike in central Pretoria, which many workers joined.

Employers are pushing for a 45-hour workweek and a four- month maternity leave, which are the provisions in the bill at the moment. South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) representative Raymond Parsons, who claimed the actions cost millions of rand in lost production to employers, said, "In SACOB's view, this series of regional strikes has been an inappropriate and regrettable way for COSATU to pursue its objectives." The demonstration ended a four-day national labor action campaign.

Beijing warns Tokyo on Taiwan
Chinese premier Li Peng denounced remarks by Japanese government official Seiroku Kajiyama that a U.S.-Japan security pact would possibly include Taiwan. Li said the idea is "utterly unacceptable" and warned that Beijing remains "vigilant" in defending its interests in relation to Taiwan. Chinese officials also demanded "an explicit and clear-cut clarification" on exactly what Kajiyama's comments meant. Kajiyama said Tokyo should side with Washington if a conflict over Taiwan occurred. The Japanese government has not retracted the statement.

Panamanians demand `U.S. out'
High school and university students poured into the streets of Panama City August 14 to denounce negotiations between the governments of Panama and the United States. The talks centered on the so-called Multi-National Counter- narcotics center, where police and military officials from all over the hemisphere could meet to allegedly direct and coordinate "antidrug" efforts. Negotiations between the two governments broke down soon afterwards.

The Panamanian government has been insisting that the center, which is to be housed at the Howard Air Base on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, not include any kind of military base. Washington has pushed for maintaining 2,500 troops in the country, housed at this "antidrug" center, after the Panama Canal reverts to Panamanian sovereignty in 1999. During the August 14 protests, 100 students blocked traffic for hours on Martyrs' Avenue, which links the capital to the western part of the country. At a similar action a day earlier, activists burned a dummy resembling U.S. president William Clinton, while demanding U.S. troops get out of their country.

States reaffirm `Megan's Law'
Federal appeals courts in New Jersey and New York upheld so-called Megan's Law on August 20 and 22 respectively. The law calls for publishing the names of those convicted of sex abuse after serving their sentence. A three-judge panel in Philadelphia that dealt with the challenge to the law in New Jersey ruled that spreading information about the crime a person is convicted of after they serve their sentence does not constitute further punishment.

In New York, a similar panel rejected the argument that the law opens up parolees to potential vigilante violence. The law gives the government the right to publish the name, address, age, criminal history and photograph of the parolee. The statute in both cities allows for a "risk assessment" of the parolee, in which the severity of the notifications is decided by the state. In California, state officials are trying to have convicted sex offenders names and information put on a CD-ROM, available for public use in police departments. In Louisiana paroled individuals must inform their neighbors of sex-abuse convictions by postcard.

Proposition 209 upheld
A U.S. federal appeals court gave the state of California the green light to dismantle state-run affirmative action programs for women and oppressed nationalities. The mis-named California Civil Rights Initiative, known as Proposition 209, which will cut such programs, could take effect as early as September unless a new injunction is passed. In 1996, when the law was passed in a state referendum, thousands of students and workers, many of them Chicanos, held protest actions throughout California against Proposition 209, pressuring the government to suspend implementation of the law.

EU-U.S. trade conflict escalates
An ongoing conflict over poultry trade between the European Union (EU) and the U.S. government escalated August 18 when EU officials brought the dispute to the World Trade Organization (WTO). EU officials claim that Washington is unfairly banning exports of European poultry on alleged product safety concerns. Poultry barons from both countries have been charged with shirking health standards in markets abroad. The EU and Washington will have 60 days to resolve the conflict before WTO officials are appointed to mediate. The WTO now has 100 different trade conflicts to arbitrate.

Plant with poisoned beef closes
Hudson Foods announced August 21 it will shut down its meat processing plant in Columbus, Nebraska, after an investigation revealed the plant processed beef contaminated with bacteria. The government ordered the inquiry after several people got sick with the Escherichia coli (E. coli) virus, after eating beef shipped from there. The virus, which can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and in some cases kidney failure, is often found in the feces of cattle. Some 25 million pounds - 27 percent of the plant's annual production - have been recalled by the company on the order of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hundreds of stores, like Burger King, Boston Chicken, and Walmart, ran out of meat as a result.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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