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Fiat workers march on Rome to save jobs
Workers and their families from Italy's carmaker Fiat have gathered in Rome demanding the government save their jobs. The country's largest private employer plans to lay off 8000 staff as it struggles to stay afloat. As talks continue between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and management, Italy's main banks have said they are not prepared to bail out the company. Particularly hard hit are poor southern areas like Sicily and that is where most of the demonstrators have come from. "We want respect for our work and human dignity" said one Sicilian. Another added "we do not want to have to emmigrate to the north like or fathers and grandfathers." While Berlusconi is confident a sollution to the crisis can be found, the protests will continue with a nationwide strike planned for tomorrow. French teachers strike over cut plans
The five biggest French teaching unions have staged a one day strike, with around 50 per cent of workers walking out over fears of job and funding cuts.A key issue is the plan to get rid of many of the student teachers who work as prefects around state schools, earning cash and easing the load on classroom staff. One union official said it is ridiculous, "This government talks about increasing security on the streets while cutting down on the number of young people patrolling our schools. It makes no sense. They're cutting funding, cutting staff, it is clear education isn't a priority for them." Some schools did offer a few hours of classes with teachers who had ignored the strike call. But many more across France remained closed, with public anger bubbling up over accusations that the government of Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin has abandoned staff increases that his left wing predecessor had introduced. North Korea admits nuclear programme
An admission by North Korea that it has been developing a secret nuclear weapons programme has sent tensions soaring with the United States. Washington says the communist state is in violation of a 1994 agreement between the two countries and other binding international treaties. However the U.S. has said it wants to resolve the dispute peacefully. U.S. officials said that on a recent trip to Pyongyang, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly presented the North Koreans with documentation about their nuclear activities. The North Koreans reportedly eventually acknowledged the programme had been going on. Radical Islamist called for questioning
Indonesian police have sent a letter of summons to Abou Bakar Bachir, the man suspected of being the head of a radical islamic group alleged to be behind the Bali bombings. No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts which killed up to 190 people. But suspicion has fallen on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda and Bachir's regional group, Jemaah Islamiah, which some link to al-Qaeda. Indonesian police say the summons relates to a statement from a confessed al-Qaeda member. Meanwhile Australian Prime Minister John Howard has attended a service in memory of the victims of the Bali bombs. Around two thirds of those killed were Australian, many of them young tourists. He has now urged his countrymen to leave Indonesia and return home, a move mirrored by the British government. Howard promised to track down those who planted the bombs, "We will do everything in our power to bring to justice those who were responsible for this foul deed. We will work with out friend in Indonesia to do that and we will work with others to achieve an outcome of justice." Some survivors were brought back to the scene of the carnage for the first time since Saturday night. For many families the anguish is being prolonged by the drawn out nature of the identification process- DNA testing is being used, while some of the victim's remains may never be found. Six dead in Philippine bomb blasts
At least six people were killed in explosions at the heart of a city's shopping district in the Philippines. "One can only weep at what these terrorists have done," said Maria Clara Lobregat, the Mayor of Zamboanga. The dead were two policemen and four shoppers, including a child. More than 140 people were injured. The blasts, in the southern mainly Christian city, come less that a week after the weekend atrocity in Bali. It is now feared that Thursday's twin explosions could be part of a regional plot by Islamic radicals. The military has blamed Muslim extremists fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the Roman Catholic nation. Investigators are also looking into the possible involvement of the militant Jemaah Islamiah group, already a key suspect in connection with the Bali blasts. Police are questioning 16 people, including two Turkish nationals and a Malaysian. United States forces have been helping to train Filipino soldiers to fight Muslim Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, active in the south, and linked by Washington to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The blasts come around two weeks after a home-made bomb exploded near a karaoke bar in Zamboanga, killing a U.S. soldier and two Filipino civilians. Sniper attacks: Police appeal to witnesses
An impromptu memorial has sprung up at the site of the last deadly shooting by the Washington sniper. Flowers now mark the spot where 47-year-old Linda Franklin was murdered by a single bullet from a long-range rifle. But despite 11 separate shootings- leading to nine deaths- police still have no coherent picture of the killer. Officer Nancy Demme has appealed to eyewitnesses to get a clear look if possible, "Don't limit the focus down to one person. When you hear the sound, turn quickly, see what you see and commit it to memory", she said. "If it means shut your eyes to commit- obviously after your safety- but remember what you saw. And don't let it be contaminated by what you've heard from other people who were also on the scene, or the media." Witness accounts so far have varied so widely that police say they are practically worthless. Meanwhile Hollywood is considering holding back a new film whose plot bears remarkable similarities to the real life drama unfolding in the American capital. Phone Booth is the tale of man trapped in a call box by a sniper. Israeli tank fire kills eight Palestinians
Up to eight Palestinians including women and a young child have been killed in fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks opened fire on several homes in the Rafah Refugee camp. Many of the buildings caught fire injuring a further thirty five people, most of whom, according to Palestinian officials, are in a critical condition. The Israeli army hasn't yet commented on the deaths. The forces insist they returned fire after gunmen shot at military bulldozers in the area. US faces continued opposition over Iraq
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein says threats of US military action have only served to strengthen his presidency. He argued that Washington's stance had helped him to win a 100 per cent 'yes' vote in this week's referendum on his leadership, a ballot criticsed by the West as a sham. The Iraqi leader's statements come as nation after nation lined up at the UN Security Council to warn the United States against rushing into military action. They say UN weapons inspectors should be given time to search for the weapons of mass destruction that Baghdad denies it has. The US is set to present a new draft resolution that is likely to give more weight to reports from the inspection teams. France is leading resistance to any resolution that gives the US the right to attack Iraq for even the slightest failure to meet UN demands. Relations may look friendly on the surface, but US Secretary of State Colin Powell said his talks with French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie tested him to the limit of his patience. |
