General Strike Paralyzes Greece
Greece endured today a general strike against the cuts planned by the new executive of Antonis Samaras, which was supported by hundreds of thousands of workers in both the public and private sectors.
According to the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), the country’s largest union, the strike was total in the shipyards, shipping and refineries, between 85 and 90 percent in heavy industry and construction, while in the service sector and administration it reached 80 percent.
Besides, the call was supported first by the General Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants, which includes most of the small storekeepers, which charged that the austerity measures are undermining their establishments.
The strike was accompanied by a massive demonstration that collapsed the main streets of downtown Athens during hours and in which tens of thousands of people chanted slogans against the government and the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund), and the austerity measures and neoliberal policies.
The demonstration was disrupted for nearly an hour by clashes between riot police units and a group of hooded men who fired flares and incendiary devices to police officers in the vicinity of Parliament.
Police sources said there were hundreds of arrests, most of which were released shortly after, three protesters required hospital care and eight policemen were injured in the clashes.
Egypt Tightens Security After Death Sentences
Egypt has decided to tighten security measures in the north of its Sinai Peninsula over fears of terrorist attacks after upholding death sentences for Islamist militants, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday.
Troops have been put on high combat alert, guard of police stations has been reinforced, and additional armored personnel carriers and tanks have been brought into al-Arish, the capital of the Egyptian governorate of North Sinai as intelligence was received that militants may stage acts of retribution.
On Monday, an Egyptian court upheld death sentences for 14 Islamist militants over last year’s attacks on a police station and a bank office in the Sinai Peninsula, when about ten people, mainly police officers, were killed in al-Arish.
An army operation against extremist groups is currently underway in Sinai. It is a response to an armed attack by extremists on an Egyptian border checkpoint in August that left 16 Egyptian servicemen dead.
Chilean State Copper Company May Move into Lithium Mining
The Chilean state copper company Codelco is preparing an incursion into the lithium business, amid ongoing controversy after a private company won the multimillion dollar contract to mine the ore.
Codelco’s official announcement could be made as soon as this week, with its plan to mine lithium at the Maricunga Salt Flat, in the northern region of Atacama, sources close to the government told the newspaper La Tercera.
Codelco’s preparations are emerging two days after the company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), owned by Julio Ponce, former son-in-law of late dictator Augusto Pinochet, won an exclusive contract to mine lithium for 20 years, thanks to a bid of more than $40 million USD.
The contract was criticized by various social sectors, including mining unions, which described it as unconstitutional and expressed dissatisfaction because Codelco did not participate in the process.
According to the newspaper, the corporation may use a visit from representatives of its Japanese shareholder Mitsui on Thursday to make the announcement because, as a state company, it does not need to submit a tender.
Among other options is the possibility of forming a joint venture with Mitsui and adding an operator, possibly FMC, a company that is mining the Hombre Muerto Salt Flat in Argentina.