Greek Municipal workers have been occupying Athens City Hall demanding that their contracts be extended. Police used teargas and flash bombs to disperse a demonstration by hundreds of Athens municipal workers in the centre of the Greek capital. A few hundred municipal workers who face job losses as their short term, rolling temporary work contracts have not been renewed by the local municipality, were joined by other protesters in a march from Athens City Hall to the Ministry of Interior. Police stopped the demonstration from reaching the Interior Ministry and diverted protesters down a different street, where a physical confrontation erupted which saw police officers using batons and teargas. One protester was wounded. Temporary work contracts are not being renewed due to budget cuts imposed on local municipalities aimed at lessening state costs. Among those affected are many rubbish collectors who have said that the annulment of their contracts will cause a shortage of workers to collect garbage. The local municipality says many workers hired as rubbish collectors have been wrongly transferred to desk jobs and because they are still paid as garbage collectors are causing an imbalance in the budget.
IRAN Speaking in a Tehran press conference on Monday, Ahmadinejad claimed the latest conflicts in the Arab world would eventually lead to the collapse of Israel, saying: "The latest conflicts will leave no chance for the Zionist regime [Israel] to survive as all the involved countries are against the occupation of Palestine."He added that the Arab states should be careful not to rely on the United States and its allies, "as their ultimate aim is to save" Israel. Later Monday, Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian Mehr news agency as saying that a Western plot was in motion to divide Jordan, geared at saving "the Zionist regime from annihilation and tell the world that an independent state of Palestine has been formed" However, the Iranian president added, these "attempts will not save Israel from extinction." Ahmadinejad also referred to the Western military intervention in Libya, quoted by IRNA as saying that "NATO and the United States made a big stupidity by invading Libya because by doing so they have carried insecurity to their own borders."
Musharraf said that politics of revenge was still present in Pakistan. In an interview with a foreign news channel, Musharraf said that both Pakistan and India should resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, to establish peace in the region. He said that innocent people were being killed in Pakistan by terrorists and war against extremism was vital to eliminate Taliban. He said that financial situation of Pakistan should be improved to put the country on right direction. He said that stern steps would have to be taken to eradicate extremism from Pakistan. Commenting on Libya, Musharraf said that Gaddafi’s army could only be defeated through conventional land forces.
HAITI Michel Martelly, a singer with no political background, won Haiti's presidential elections. Preliminary results announced by the Provisional Electoral Council gave the 50-year-old entertainer a clear win with nearly 68 percent of the vote, compared with less than 32 percent for his rival, former first lady Mirlande Manigat. Martelly, an iconoclastic entertainer known for his sometimes provocative stage acts, had campaigned on a forceful promise to change the status quo, pledging to break with decades of past corruption and misrule and bring a better life to Haitians struggling to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake.
INDIA The Indian government on Tuesday slapped a three-month ban on imports of food from Japan, amid fears of radioactive contamination from the country’s nuclear disaster. A government statement said the ban could be extended until radiation fears subside. It was not immediately clear if the order was a blanket ban or applied only to shipments of produce from certain Japanese prefectures. “Since the radiation is spreading/expanding horizontally in other parts of Japan, it may result in further radioactive contamination in the supply chain of food exports from Japan,” the Indian statement said. Several countries, including China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States, have banned some food imports from Japan over fears of radioactive contamination. India imports small amounts of processed food, fruits and vegetables from Japan. The decision was taken after “detailed discussions”, the government statement said. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will review potential radiation hazards on food articles coming from Japan on a weekly basis, the statement added. More than three weeks after Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, the crisis at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo remains unresolved. The plant’s reactor cooling systems were knocked out, triggering explosions and fires. The plant has sent radioactive material into the air, contaminating farm produce and drinking water. Radioactive water has seeped into the Pacific Ocean but officials stress there is no imminent health threat.
IVORY COAST Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo said he was willing to surrender and has asked for United Nations protection, according to a U.N. official.The U.N. official, whom Reuters did not name, said Tuesday that Gbagbo was not physically in United Nations' custody but was still negotiating and had expressed a willingness to surrender. "...President Gbagbo has also surrendered and has asked UNOCI's protection," according to a document to U.N staff, Reuters reported. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said two Ivory Coast generals were involved in the negotiations about an exit from power for Gbagbo, who had clung to office since refusing to concede he lost last November's presidential election to Alassane Ouattara. "As we speak we are speaking to two generals to negotiate President Gbagbo's surrender," Fillon told members of parliament in Paris. Forces loyal to Ouattara on Tuesday seized the presidential residence, said a senior diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Ouattara has urged his supporters to take Gbagbo alive.
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