30 die as indigenous protesters, police clash in Peru

The government of Peru on Friday declared a state of emergency in a remote northern area after a clash between police and indigenous people protesting what they say is the exploitation of their native lands left a number of people dead. Police and indigenous protesters said separately that at least eight police and 22 protesters died. The clash took place at dawn outside the northern province of Bagua in the Department of Amazonas as police attempted to break up a roadblock on the 59th day of protests.

Share

Banking Jobs Holding Up Better than Most in Recession

Staffers in the industry at the heart of the nation’s economic woes have been hurt less in the downturn than the rest of the country has. Jobs in the banking and insurance industries have fallen just 5% since the start of the recession. That’s half a percentage point less than the 5.4% overall drop in nongovernment employment over the same time period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Share

Reshuffling the Deck Chairs on Gordon Brown’s Listing Ship

Say you were Prime Minister of Britain, waking every day to your national media proclaiming your political death, fending off challenges to your authority from a fractured and fractious Labour Party and bracing against disastrous results in municipal and European elections. You might think a government reshuffle would be the best way to reassert your authority

Share

Guinea-Bissau killings raise coup fears

Two high-profile political officials linked to Guinea-Bissau’s recently assassinated president were killed Friday, according to a statement from the West African country’s interim army chief. The killings raised fears that a military coup may be under way

Share

Why Doctors from Sri Lanka’s Combat Zone May Face Jail

The veil of secrecy over the whereabouts of three doctors who worked in Sri Lanka’s shrinking war zone last month has finally been lifted. On Thursday, Colombo announced that three doctors, all of whom were treating patients in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -held areas in the final days before they were gained by Sri Lankan government forces, are now in government custody and face court action for collaborating with the Tigers.

Share

Under-pressure British PM reshuffles Cabinet

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown began a government reshuffle Friday which is crucial to his political survival and marks a reassertion of his authority. Crucially, Alan Johnson — the man who many Labor lawmakers expect to succeed Brown if he is forced to step down — has signaled his support for the beleaguered prime minister. He has accepted the promotion from Health secretary to Home secretary, taking the place of Jacqui Smith — one of three Cabinet ministers who rocked Brown by resigning this week

Share

U.N. report alleges widespread killings by Kenyan police

A U.N. special investigator called for the resignation of top Kenyan officials and sweeping changes in the country’s security forces to end reported widespread killings by police across the African nation. “The special rapporteur concluded that police in Kenya frequently execute individuals and that a climate of impunity prevails,” Philip Alston said in a report a recently submitted to the U.N

Share

What Is Killing Chile’s Coastal Wildlife?

First, in late March the bodies of about 1,200 penguins were found on a remote beach in southern Chile. Next came the sardines — millions of them — washed up dead on a nearby stretch of coastline in April, causing a stench so noxious that nearby schools were closed and the army was called in to shovel piles of rotting fish off the sand.

Share