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Kaduna
Vicious clashes between Christians and Muslims claimed an estimated 200 lives last week in northern Nigeria, the same region where sectarian violence flared last February. This latest eruption was prompted by the discovery of the body of a Christian man, whose killing local Christians blamed on Muslims. Retaliatory fighting was so deadly that as many as 100 bodies were dumped in a mass grave. The Nigerian government downplayed the sectarian nature of the conflict and plans to go ahead with this week's celebrations for the newly declared Democracy Day.
Freetown
Sierra Leone was convulsed by continued violence as rebel fighters from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) advanced on the capital of Freetown. Early in the week at least 19 people were killed in a shoot-out outside the home of rebel leader Foday Sankoh when his bodyguards fired indiscriminately into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. The arrival of 800 British paratroopers in the former colonial territory, ostensibly to evacuate British citizens, helped assuage fears in the tiny West African nation. The mere presence of the heavily armed Britons, who will have no combat role but may remain in the country for up to a month to assist U.N. forces, helped hold the rebels at bay from the capital.
Jaffna
In an intensification of their drive to conquer the Jaffna peninsula, Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas called on the 35,000 government troops there to surrender or face a "bloodbath." On Saturday the Tigers declared a 12-hour unilateral cease-fire to allow civilians to flee the battle zone. The Sri Lankan army dismissed the threat and braced for a renewed offensive. The Tigers are fighting for control of key road junctions that will give them free movement to block reinforcements and cut off Jaffna town and the army's only supply line on the northern coast. Last week Norwegian diplomats were in the region assessing the prospects for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, but there was little evidence of any progress.
Manila
A Philippine Airlines flight from Davao on the southern island of Mindanao landed safely at the Manila airport after being hijacked by a man armed with a hand grenade and handgun. The hijacker robbed passengers then jumped off the plane at 2,000 meters, relying only on an improvised homemade parachute. The following day his body was found near a highway outside Manila. According to an airport official, the hijacking "was not a political act. It was purely for money, staged by a mentally and emotionally disturbed person." Authorities are investigating how the man made it through the security controls at the Davao airport. Maximum security measures had been imposed there as the result of a nearby kidnapping crisis, in which 21 people have been held captive by Muslim rebels in the jungle for over a month. Rebel leaders and government negotiators held their first formal talks on the situation, and the government's chief representative expressed optimism that an agreement could soon be reached.
Suva
The hostage crisis in Fiji's Parliament entered its second week as coup leader George Speight rejected an offer from the powerful Great Council of Chiefs to pardon him and his co-conspirators, appoint a new government that would include some of Speight's supporters, and give "special attention" to reviewing the constitution. On Saturday, hours after a skirmish between government soldiers and coup supporters in which two soldiers and a journalist were wounded, President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara announced that he had dismissed the captive, democratically elected government, leaving him to "run the country in the coming months." The U.N. and Fiji's Pacific neighbors have condemned the coup and urged Fijians to restore the democratically elected government.
Lima
Hundreds of protesters attacked Peru's National Election Board last week to demand postponement of the presidential runoff vote scheduled for May 28. President Alberto Fujimori, who is seeking a third term in office, was forced to shelter behind plastic shields when he was pelted by protesters hurling fruit during a pro government rally early in the week. He had said he would proceed with Sunday's vote despite threats of international isolation and widespread unrest, but hinted late in the week that a last-minute postponement was possible. "Fujimori's government will be illegitimate, a source of permanent instability, and I don't think it can last more than six to 12 months," Fujimori opponent Alejandro Toledo warned Thursday at a huge rally in the northern fishing port of Chimbote. Toledo formally withdrew from the election last week and urged his supporters to stay away from the polls if the vote proceeds.
Santiago
Chile's court of appeals voted to strip General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte of his political immunity in order to try him for human rights violations committed during his 17-year dictatorship. Sources said the majority of judges concluded that there is sufficient evidence to convene a trial. The official announcement is expected sometime next week, once all of the judges sign the verdict, which Pinochet may appeal to the Supreme Court. Although Pinochet faces 103 criminal suits, mostly for ordering the murder and abduction of political opponents, he may never actually be tried because he may be found not physically and mentally fit. Once he is officially stripped of his immunity, he is likely to be subjected to medical evaluation to explore claims that his mental abilities and health are deteriorating.
Caracas
The Venezuelan Supreme Court suspended national elections scheduled for May 28, ruling that problems with voting machine software were so dire that "credibility and transparency" could not be guaranteed. The court ordered Congress to set a new date, likely to be June 25 at the earliest. The election was called by President Hugo Chavez in order to "relegitimate" all elected posts under the Constitution adopted in December. Over 36,000 candidates are vying for 6,200 positions, including the presidency which Chavez is expected to win handily over his main challenger, his former coup cohort Francisco Arias Cardenas.
Walkerton
An E.coli contamination in the water supply of this southern Ontario town left five people dead, several critically ill and hundreds more sickened. An investigation was launched into whether local authorities did not report crucial test results indicating the presence of contaminants. The area's chief medical officer accused the utilities commission of delaying the release of results that showed the presence of a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria. It is believed the bacteria may have come from cattle manure washed into the system by recent heavy rains.