Russian gov't okays new premier
In a rare compromise for Russian president Boris Yeltsin,
Yevgeny Primakov was appointed the new prime minister of Russia,
after the Duma (parliament) rejected Yeltsin's nomination of
Viktor Chernomyrdin for the second time by a substantial margin.
An article in the September 14 Wall Street Journal described this
as "a shift away from the free-market model that has guided
Russia's fitful reform for the past seven years." Primakov, who
had been Yeltsin's foreign minister, vowed to make payments on
the multibillion-dollar debt to foreign investors. At the same
time he appointed Yuri Maslyukov as deputy prime minister, who
helped draft an economic program of the Communist Party that
among other things calls for price controls and the
renationalization of "strategic" enterprises. Primakov called for
more state regulation against "wild capitalism," while saying he
opposes returning to a centrally planned economy.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices in Russia rose nearly 33 percent and prices for most goods have shot up as the ruble plummeted by more than two-thirds in one month. Atomic energy workers in Moscow, as well as other toilers in cities all over Russia, have taken to the streets demanding back pay.
Iran, Afghanistan in conflict
The Iranian government positioned 80,000 troops on its
eastern border with Afghanistan by September 10, in preparation
for military maneuvers. "Commandos, special forces, armored
artillery, and mechanized units backed by the air force and the
army's air corps will take part in the war games," said Iranian
Maj. Gen. Ali Shahbazi. The same week the bodies of nine Iranian
diplomats killed in Afghanistan by Taliban forces in August were
discovered.
The Taliban, a rightist militia force that has taken over much of the country, seized the town of Mazar-i-Sharif August 8 where 11 diplomats and one Iranian journalist were staying. A Taliban spokesman claimed the killings were carried out on individual initiative and that those who did it would be found and punished.
Tel Aviv bombs Lebanon
An Israeli attack helicopter fired a missile into southern
Lebanon September 2, killing Husam Amin, a leader of Amal, a
group fighting against the Israeli occupation of that country.
The same day rocket attacks launched by the Israeli
government-sponsored South Lebanese Army wounded at least seven
Lebanese civilians. Hezbollah, another armed organization
fighting to expel all Zionist occupation forces from Lebanon,
fired some 30 rockets into Israel in response, reportedly hitting
Kiryat Shmona, and parts of the Western Galilee. The rockets
knocked out power lines and caused minor property damage. Tel
Aviv justified the missile assault by claiming Amin was a
terrorist.
Malaysian gov't faces recession
Stocks in Malaysia plunged 21.5 percent September 8, the
moment the government temporarily eased its new capital controls.
The Malaysian government, facing a deepening recession,
instituted the controls September 1 to force all foreign
investors holding Malaysian stocks to keep them for at least a
year before selling. This maneuver initially had a currency-
stabilizing effect and stocks rose 22.5 percent. But when
Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's regime lifted the
controls September 8, foreign investors yanked investments out.
Since July 1997, when currencies throughout Asia went tumbling,
the ringgit has lost more than 40 percent of its value.
Seoul tries to sell off Kia again
Seoul is attempting to sweeten up its offer to sell off Kia
Motors and its truck affiliate Asia Motors to foreign
capitalists. South Korean creditors have offered to write off
7,800 billion won ($5.85 billion) in debts owed by the two
bankrupt automakers, including a 2,900 billion won in principal,
before the second auction takes place. In the first auction, Ford
Motors and three other south Korean companies withdrew their bids
after creditors refused to do a principal write off. Kia
officials said there would likely be a winner in the second bid,
which closes September 21.
Meanwhile, south Korea's commercial banks, reeling from many unpayable loans they issued to now-bankrupt companies, continue to merge and "restructure." The latest merger of Hana Bank and Boram Bank would create the seventh-largest bank in that country. Some financial analysts say that the restructuring of these banks may be difficult. Bank workers and others have opposed layoffs accompanying other mergers and stalled the proceedings. This is one of the indications of the worsening depression in the country. South Korea's Gross Domestic Product plunged 6.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, following a 4 percent drop in the first quarter. "We definitely do expect that the second half [of 1998] will be quite worse than the first," said Namuh Rhee, an executive director at Samsung Securities Co. in Seoul.
S. African oil workers win strike
About 30,000 oil workers in South Africa scored a victory
August 27. After a three-week strike, they forced the National
Petroleum Employers Association to concede a wage increase of
8-10 percent. Some raises won by members of the 40,000-member-
strong Chemical Workers Industrial Union (CWIU) are retroactive
from July 1 and some of the workers secured an entry-level
minimum wage of about 2,000 rand ($320) per month. Another 10,000
CWIU members in chemical plants remain on strike.
Arsonists hit N. Carolina clinics
Arson fires erupting within minutes of each other damaged the
two abortion clinics in southeastern North Carolina on September
8. Firefighters responded to a blaze of the Carolina Women's
Clinic outside Fayetteville, discovering that an accelerant had
been sprayed on the facility's back door. A second fire broke out
15 minutes later at the Hallmark Clinic in Fayetteville, damaging
the roof and ceiling of the building and resulting in smoke
damage inside.
In spite of the attack, both clinics were open the next day. Police made no direct links between the two assaults. Robin Davis, North Carolina president of the National Organization for Women, said, "None of these are isolated incidents. They are part of a nationwide campaign to prevent abortion services."
- BRIAN TAYLOR