S. Korean police attack students
Students chanted, "U.S. troops go home!" and "Washington apologize" as police fired hundreds of volleys of tear gas on 5,000 demonstrators May 26 in the South Korean capital, Seoul. The students marched on the U.S. Embassy demanding the withdrawal of Washington's troops from South Korea. Some 37,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea. The students faced 1,200 cops in riot gear by linking arms and laying down on the street. Many students fought the cops with metal pipes. They accused Washington of supporting the deployment of South Korean paratroopers and tanks to crush an uprising in the southern city of Kwangju in 1980. Hundreds died and thousands were injured in the assault.

Elsewhere in Seoul, 40,000 people protested the governing party of South Korea, in a demonstration organized by two opposition parties.

Strike cripples Philippine ports
Thousands of port workers crippled Manila's major seaports on May 27. Members of the National Union of Portworkers in the Philippines said the strike paralyzed at least nine major domestic ports. Business at seven of Manila North Harbor's 11 ports stopped as workers blocked entrances with forklifts, preventing cargo trucks from entering the harbors. The strike was called to protest a government move to open cargo handling business to more companies. Union spokesman Alexander Aguilar said the workers are concerned that the move would lead to the displacement of workers and reduction of their benefits.

Clinton pushes Iran oil sanctions
The Clinton administration is pushing to impose sanctions on oil investment and trade in Iran and Libya. The Senate passed a bill 99-0 that would impose penalties on U.S. and other companies that invest in oilfields in the two countries. A version of the bill that would also penalize banks financing foreign investments is currently held up in the House. Governments from Europe, Canada, and Japan have voiced opposition to the bill, saying it forces U.S. policy on the citizens of those countries and is in violation of the principles of free trade.

Last year the French oil company Total snapped up a $600 million deal in Iran after U.S.-based Conoco was forced to drop its bid because of Washington's ban against oil development agreements in Iran. Germany is Iran's largest trading partner and has supported about $10 billion in sales and investment of German companies in Libya. Bonn granted Tehran $102 million in credit guarantees last year. "We have been disappointed by the lack of support from our friends and allies for our efforts to increase the economic pressure on Iran and Libya," declared C. David Welch, a state department official testifying on the bill before a committee in Congress.

Tel Aviv blockades Palestinians
Under the pretext of protecting elections set for May 29, the Israeli government announced it was tightening its military and economic blockade of the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip beginning May 26. Tel Aviv sealed off the areas in February, stopping the shipment of goods in and out of the West Bank and Gaza and barring tens of thousands of Palestinian workers from their jobs in Israel. The blockade had recently been eased to allow older workers to enter Israel, but will now be applied to everyone except for senior Palestinian officials and medical emergencies.

Chechnya cease-fire signed
Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin signed a treaty May 27 to halt the 18- month war in Chechnya. The agreement, signed in Moscow, said hostilities will end May 31, all hostages will be released, and negotiations will continue on all matters in dispute. The question of independence for the southern republic and a timetable for the withdrawal of tens of thousands of Russian troops have not been resolved. As part of his campaign for re-election, Russian president Boris Yeltsin has been promising to end the unpopular war, which has killed more than 30,000 people since he sent Russian troops to crush the Chechen independence struggle in December 1994.

After Yeltsin said he would give direct orders to stop the fighting, Yanderbiyev asked whether the agreement would be fulfilled. During a previous unilateral cease-fire declared by the Russian president there was no let-up in the Russian military offensive. Russian forces continued to fight on the eve of the negotiations.

Infectious diseases kill 52 million
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced May 20 that there is an impending "global crisis" in infectious diseases. In WHO's annual report, the organization estimates more than 17 million people died of infectious diseases in 1995, including 9 million babies and young children. The report said that "old diseases" such as tuberculosis, malaria and cholera are emerging again in many parts of the world. Although many of these diseases are preventable or treatable, the report found that treatment is becoming more difficult. According to Hiroshi Nakajima, the director of WHO, there are at least 30 new infections recorded in the last 20 decades, and no cure has yet been developed for many of them.

The report cited overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in many Third World countries as one reason for the increase. Nakajima stated, "Complacency is now costing millions of lives -

lives that we have the knowledge and means to save, yet that we are allowing to trickle through our fingers."

Peruvian workers protest
Striking construction workers were attacked by the police in the Peruvian capital, Lima, May 22. The cops teargassed the demonstrators, who were part of a 24-hour national strike over salaries and labor conditions. One worker was shot. Strikers included retired workers, teachers and construction workers. Protests by municipal workers and others continued the next day.

Police attack striking teachers
As striking teachers demonstrated in Mexico City May 23, police in riot gear attacked with truncheons. The teachers, from Guerrero state, have been demanding a 100 percent pay raise to compensate for Mexico's high inflation.

Meanwhile, Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo traveled to the southern state of Chiapas, where he said he wanted to come to peace with the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Zapatista leaders say negotiations cannot proceed as long as Javier Elorriaga and Sebastián Entzín remain imprisoned on charges of "terrorism."

Anti-immigrant patrol halted
A San Diego county judge extended a temporary ban on the activities of the anti-immigrant Citizen's Patrol May 24. For nearly a month the group roamed the airport in search of undocumented immigrants, including demanding that ticket agents check passengers' identification. Latino groups filed a complaint, saying the Citizens Patrol had asked travelers for identification and had violated civil rights through intimidation. The complaint also noted that the design of the group's T-shirts aped U.S. border patrol uniforms. "There is no room for vigilantism," said Claudia Smith, an attorney with the California Rural Legal Assistance, which provides assistance to migrant workers.

FBI tightens siege in Montana
In a potential escalation of its two-month siege of a ranch near Jordan, Montana, FBI agents prepared to shut off electricity to a group called the Freemen. The standoff began March 25 when two leaders of the rightist, white supremacist group were arrested for alleged check fraud and other charges. About 20 Freemen are holed up at the ranch, surrounded by 100 federal cops.

- MEGAN ARNEY  
 
 
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