The strike has spread to at least four regions as coal and gold miners, who have gone nine months without pay, refuse to mine or deliver fuel. The strikers say they will not return to work until they are reimbursed in full, and in Vladivostock they are calling on the territorial governor to resign. The impact of the strike - serious enough for Russian president Boris Yeltsin to send an emergency assessment team to that region - now threatens to halt military production.

U.S. troops maneuver in Asia
Some 500 U.S. troops dominated military exercises that began September 15 in Kazakhstan. The war games included a few dozen soldiers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. The governments of Russia, Turkey, also participated in the manuevers, sending small contingents. One of the features of the operation was learning standard NATO commands. An article in the September 16 Wall Street Journal quoted a U.S. soldier as saying Moscow would have to accept the new NATO moves "or get out."

Kazakhstan, an oil-rich country once part of the Soviet Union, borders Russia and is located roughly 700 miles from Moscow. A day before the exercise occurred, 25 people picketed the U.S. embassy in Kazakhstan in opposition to the war games.

Pyongyang: U.S. troops out
Talks between Washington and the north Korean government broke down September 19 after U.S. officials refused to discuss the withdrawal of 37,000 U.S. troops from south Korea as part of a formal end to the Korean War. Many of these troops are stationed along the line between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the southern half of the peninsula, where Washington has enforced the division of Korea since the 1953 armistice in the U.S.-led war. The U.S. and south Korean governments have stepped up their attempts over the past year to pressure the DPRK into "four-party" talks, which would include Beijing, Washington, Pyongyang, and Seoul.

Peasant protests in Vietnam
Months of protests waged by peasants in northern Vietnam against unfair taxes, government misuse of public money, the use of collectively owned land as collateral in business deals, and other acts of corruption has pressured Hanoi to purge dozens of government officials, according to a September 18 Associated Press report.

The protests have spread as workers and farmers in some districts have organized sit-ins in front of police stations and government buildings. In the Thai Binh province, at least 11 government officials have been arrested, another 30 are under investigation, and a dozen others were forced to resign from their posts.

Indian military bombs villagers
Late night September 18, Indian government troops began shooting off rounds in Arin village, with the stated aim of targeting Kashmir guerrillas. Four bus passengers were wounded in a gun battle that ensued. The next day soldiers fired mortar shells into the village, killing nine civilians instantly. In all, 12 civilians perished and five others were wounded. Kashmir rebels have been fighting for independence from India for nearly a decade.

State of emergency in Malaysia
The Malaysian government declared a state of emergency in the island state of Sarawak September 19, shutting down all schools, offices, businesses, factories, and farms. They have recommended that 1.9 million residents remain in their homes, especially those with respiratory difficulties. The heavy black haze, reportedly caused by uncontrolled forest and shrub fires in the neighboring country of Indonesia, has sent thousands to the hospital with respiratory and optical problems and threatens to affect as many as 20 million people in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Sulawesi.

Some 100 protesters demonstrated in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur September 21, saying the government had done too little about the environmental disaster. The day before, the government ordered Malaysian companies involved in open burning in Indonesia - which is illegal - to help the government there pay for fire-fighting expenses.

Spain-bound immigrants from Morocco drown
Seeking to escape the economic crisis in Morocco, 30 people crammed onto a 15-foot rowboat September 15, and braved the 12-mile-long Straits of Gibraltar to get to Spain. En route the boat sank, drowning at least seven with more than a dozen people missing. Spanish authorities say the few survivors of the trip will likely be deported. In the rural areas of Morocco, which comprise 45 percent of the population, only 10 percent have electricity and 14 percent have potable water. Each year thousands attempt to migrate to Spain - some pay exorbitant fees to be smuggled across border and others use makeshift floatation devices - and hundreds die trying to cross.

Washington rejects mine treaty
An international conference in Oslo, Norway, September 18 passed a treaty banning the production and use of land mines. The Clinton administration refused to sign the treaty because it could not get its amendments added. These included a nine-year delay on implementation and an exception for Washington to use mines in Korea. The governments of China, Russia, India, Kuwait, and Venezuela have also stated they won't sign the agreement, and several others remain undecided.

U.S.-Canada salmon dispute
The British Colombian government, accusing U.S. fishing industries of swiping half a million sockeye salmon from Canadian waters, has taken measures to thwart the U.S. government, including attempting to shut down a U.S. torpedo testing range, and filing three lawsuits. The salmon, located off of Alaska, cross over into U.S. waters on their way to spawn. In one incident, an Alaskan fishing vessel was detained by the British Colombian government for three days costing millions of dollars in revenues. This prompted Alaskan senator Frank Murkowski to suggest a Navy escort for future fishing boats. The treaty that dictated how much salmon each country could take expired in 1994.

Home Depot: unequal to women
The Home Depot store chain faces sex discrimination suits in Louisiana, New Jersey, and San Francisco. A jury in Oakland, California, has already awarded at least $1.2 million to Denise Restivo Adams, a former Home Depot worker who alleged sexual harassment and unfair dismissal. The upcoming suits argue that while 35 percent of the company's workforce is female, women face discrimination in advancement and promotions.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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