"We [Washington] have made it quite clear this particular building is not at all helpful" in stabilizing the situation, said U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright in response to Netanyahu's announcement.

Meanwhile, Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri rejected an Israeli proposal under which Tel Aviv would withdraw its 1,500 troops who occupy 10 percent of Lebanon, contingent upon Beirut organizing a massive crackdown on rebels there.

Arab gov'ts defy UN sanctions
The Arab League, which represents governments from some 22 countries in the Mideast region, voted September 21 to defy the United Nations sanctions on Libya. The move gives permission for planes carrying Libyan head of state Muammar el-Qaddafi to their territory, as well as aircraft used for religious or humanitarian purposes. The sanctions were imposed at the urging of Washington and London in 1992, on grounds of the Libyan government's refusal to hand over alleged suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner.

Ankara bombs northern Iraq
On September 25 Turkish warplanes ripped through northern Iraq bombing 15 Kurdish camps near the Iranian and Syrian borders. More than 130 tanks and 16,000 Turkish soldiers accompanied the air raid, which Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Sermet Atacanli labeled "routine" and "limited." The Anatolian news agency reported the sites were inhabited by rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. The Iraqi government and the Arab League condemned the attack and called for immediate troop withdrawal. Ankara has frequently violated the sovereign borders of Iraq since Washington, following its 1991 military assault on the people of Iraq, carved out an area no longer under Iraqi control called the "no-fly zone."

Rightist concessions in N. Ireland
The Ulster Unionist Party, the largest pro-British party in Northern Ireland, conceded September 24 to participate in substantive talks that include the republican party Sinn Fein without "decommissioning" - that is disarmament - by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as a precondition. Decommissioning had been used by London and its lackeys in Northern Ireland as a pretext to exclude Sinn Fein from talks that began in June 1996. The Democratic Unionists, led by Ian Paisley, and Robert McCartney's UK Unionists withdrew from the talks in protest of Sinn Fein's inclusion.

Italian workers resist pension cut
Italian prime minister Romano Prodi urged trade unions September 26 to accept pension cuts in order to reduce the government budget. Italian unions, however, threatened to strike if Rome pushes through austerity measures that would take a workers lifetime wage as opposed to the usually higher finishing wage as the basis for their pension. Measures would also raise the age of retirement and freeze early retirements. Spending on pensions is 14 percent of Italy's gross domestic product - almost double the European Union average.

Right gains votes in Norway

September 15 parliamentary elections in Norway registered gains by the ultrarightist Progress Party and slippage in support for the social democratic Labor Party. The Labour vote fell by 5 percent to 35.1 percent, although it will still be the largest party in the legislature. The Christian Democratic, Liberal, and Conservative parties, which together received 26 percent of the vote, announced plans to set up a coalition government. The Progress Party got 15.5 percent of the vote, the highest in its 25-year existence, and will have the second largest number of seats in parliament.

Norwegian capitalists, partly due to revenues as the second-largest exporter of oil reserves, are experiencing a short-term economic boom. But it comes with a steady drop in the rate of growth of the gross domestic product - from 4.5 percent in 1996 to 3 percent in 1997 and 2.3 percent projected for next year. A 4 percent increase in real wages in 1996 - the largest since the 1980s boom - and 4.6 percent unemployment, one of the lowest in Europe, led the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to issue a report panicking about inflationary pressures.

Argentine Natives defend land
Activists of the Kolla people in northern Argentina have been setting up roadblocks and protests in recent months to prevent the Tabacal sugar refinery from coming in and setting up shop. The indigenous people have been fighting for nearly half a century to safeguard their land. The Kolla were granted 142,000 acres of land by Tabacal originally, but the company went bankrupt last June and auctioned off the San Andrea ranch, where the 2,000-strong community lives. Activists say that the company sent a hired thug to live on the ranch and terrorize residents, including issuing death threats. Tabacal bosses call the claims "fabrications." Another issue that is drawing support for the Kolla fight is the company's complete disregard for the endangered forests of Argentina, chopping down centuries-old trees and dragging them over other vegetation.

U.S. database will track workers
The Clinton administration will begin implementing the National Directory of New Hires on October 1, which will require every employer to submit files on the each worker, or face fines of up to $500 per employee. An article in the September 22 New York Times pitched the new directory as a novel tracer of "deadbeat" parents - those not able or not willing to pay child support. Everyone hired after October 1 will have a file with a minimum of a worker's name, address, Social Security number, and wages. Robert Gellman, who the Times described as a privacy and information policy expert, noted that the system opens workers up to potential cop harassment.

Investment banking giants merge
The Travelers Group - a conglomeration of financial companies - announced plans to merge with Salomon Brothers investment bank September 24, creating a financial behemoth rivaling Merrill Lynch and Co., American Express Co., and major investment banking firms in Europe and Japan. The merger may cause a series of other company consolidations as capitalist try to rise to the level of international competition. Though Sanford Weill, chairman of Travelers Group, refused to comment on layoffs that would result from the merger, unnamed sources cited in the New York Times say that up to 2,000 people are expected to be terminated.

-BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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