United States - Student walkouts and protests against the anti-immigrant bill HR 4437 have continued since Saturday's massive strikes and demonstrations. Many of the students are inspired by the Latino students who walked out of five Eastside Los Angeles high schools in 1968 to protest the school boards refusal to recognize their demands which included the hiring of more Mexican-American teachers and freedom to speak spanish at school.

Thousands walked out in Tucson and San Diego. Many who participated in the walkouts were arrested in El Paso, Houston, and Los Angeles. Some high school students in L.A. were forced to brake down their school's gates in order to leave them yesterday.

Briana Waters with her daughter and husband

Seattle, Washington, U.S. - Briana Waters, 30, of Berkeley, California was indicted on charges from the May 2001 fire that destroyed the University of Washington Center for Horticulture building, that was claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). She is the first person to be publicly charged in connection with that arson, which targeted Toby Bradshaw, an associate professor of forest resources whose genetic research focused on showing how poplars grow by mapping their DNA.

The fire was one of two set by the ELF on that same night. The other one in Clatskanie, Oregon destroyed the offices of a poplar farm. 13 people face conspiracy charges in connection with that and more than a dozen other arsons claimed by the group.

The ELF accused Bradshaw of being "the driving force in G.E. (genetically engineered) tree research," and a person who "continues to unleash mutant genes into the environment that is certain to cause irreversible harm to forest ecosystems."

Waters joined tree-sitters and forest defenders in the summer of 1999 on Watch Mountain in Washington's Gifford Pinchot National and produced a 60 minute documentary about the campaign called WATCH! (2001). She faces a minimum sentence of 35 years in prison if convicted of all charges. No one has ever been injured in an ELF action. A trail date was scheduled for June.

Taean, South Korea - Anti-war protesters disrupted joint military exercises involving U.S. and South Korean troops. The exercises, which began Saturday, were planned to continue throughout the week and would involve 25,000 of the 29,000 U.S. troops stationed in the country. North Korean government officials condemned the exercises and accused the U.S. military of preparing for a pre-emptive attack.

France - Protests against the First Employment Contract (CPE), a law that would allow employers to fire workers under age 26 without cause during the first two years of employment, are continuing throughout the country. Unionists refused to go to work in observance of a 36-hour general strike, and sometimes violent demonstrations were held in more than 250 municipalities, including Rennes, Nantes, La Rochelle, Grenoble and Bordeaux. (see pictures)

Athens, Greece - Anarchists are believed to be responsible for bombing a Citibank branch in central Athens. Anarchists regularly attack banks in the Athens city center with molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. An anonymous caller informed authorities that a bomb was going to explode in the next 30 minutes. No one was injured in the blast.

Tbilisi, Georgia - Soldiers of the Georgian Interior Ministry special forces used live ammunition to put down an uprising and attempted jail break at Prison No. 5 in Tbilisi. Inmates returned fire with their own weapons, which had been smuggled into the prison. Seven inmates and two guards were killed, and 19 inmates and 10 guards were seriously injured. The inmates also burned down two buildings in the prison. Outside the facility crowds of family members and supporters of the inmates gathered and clashed with riot police. The rebellion broke out following the severe beating of six men in prison hospital.

United States - This week across the US, latinos and other groups have been protesting against new legislation cracking down on illegal immigrants. The House of Representatives passed a new "immigration reform" bill in December which "would make it a felony to be illegally in the United States" in addition to other draconian measures such as erecting fences along the US-Mexico border. The Senate is currently debating its own version of "immigration reform." On Friday, tens of thousands of students and workers walked out of school and work, while close to one million --500,000 in Los Angeles alone-- participated in marches and rallies across the country.

France - Street protests are continuing to escalate as the government refuses to compromise on a new age discriminatory labor law. Demonstrations against the controversial "first employment contract," known as the CPE, began more than a week ago with a coordinated series of student occupations of university campuses.

Since then, major unions have lent support to the campaign by calling for a limited and symbolic general strike and are now attempting to lead and represent the youth protesters in negotiations with the government. The union representation is without the consent of the demonstrators, some of whom have condemned the unions' efforts.

In addition to the universities, some secondary school students have also taken over their schools in protest. Unfortunately, however, many of the school occupations have been successfully evicted.

This morning, the Graduate Center for Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris was cleared by riot police at 6 am and left "ransacked." 72 people were taken into custody, asked for identification, questioned and released. By 11 A.M., most of those detained were released and thus far, no charges have been filed.

Arab and black youth from the city's outer suburbs, where last fall's rioting was concentrated, have also begun to participate in demonstrations in significant numbers.

Yesterday's demonstrations, the seventh in eight days, were marked by an increased level of property destruction. Groups of masked demonstrators armed with baseball bats and iron bars smashed and set fire to a store and numerous cars, and also attacked police. Some journalists were also targeted when they attempted to photograph protesters against their wishes.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Dutch police began another "eviction wave," clearing out all the squatted buildings that had lost their court cases since the last "eviction wave" in the fall of 2005. The Spuistraat and the Vijzelstraat buildings were evicted without much resistance, but this was not true of the Bilderdijkstraat (Wild Western) squat. Riot police were splattered with paint balloons as they sprayed the building with a water cannon. Officers in a shipping container were finally able to enter the building through a window on one of the upper floors while they hung suspended from a crane. A number of people were arrested.

North Carolina, U.S. - Anti-war vandals left slogans such as "STOP WAR" painted on the doors and windows of two Military Recruitment Centers in Durham and Raleigh, as well as The National Guard Armory also located in Durham. One recruiter called the actions "disconcerting." Police do not have any suspects.

Ecuador - President Alfredo Palacio has declared a state of emergency in five provinces and called on the military to suppress protests that broke out in opposition to the US-initiated Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). The declaration, which was made late on Tuesday, suspends the constitutional right to public assembly and gives police and the military broad powers to impose curfews and make arrests. Demonstrators used rocks, earth, and fallen trees to block roadways throughout the country-- much of which has been in a state of unrest for the past ten days. Inner-city protests developed into street fighting between police and demonstrators.

Protesters, many of whom belong to indigenous groups, are opposed to the agreement which they say will open the door for further economic exploitation of Ecuador by foreign-based multinational corporations. Demonstrators also called for the expulsion of the US oil company Occidental Petroleum from the country. Occidental has a notorious reputation for disrespecting indigenous communities and polluting the environment.

Athens, Greece - A group of approximately 30 anarchists attacked the National Bank of Greece branch in central Athens with molotov cocktails Tuesday. On Friday anarchists burned two surveillance camera control boxes. Surveillance cameras and banks are commonly firebombed by anarchists in Greece. The frequency of these actions has increased since the most recent state of unrest broke out in France.

Niger Delta region, Nigeria - The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is suspected to be responsible for yet another attack against foreign oil operations. Militants blew up a pipeline operated by the Italian owned Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), over the weekend. The pipeline normally carries 67,000 barrels of crude a day. Nation-wide oil production is down 25 percent but militants plan to reduce it to 30 percent by the end of the month. The estimated cost to the government has been estimated at $1 billion and is growing. MEND is demanding that the indigenous Ijaw, who live in the oil rich Niger Delta region be given control over their own resources and that the oil companies compensate them for polluting the environment.

Worldwide - Tens of thousands of protesters marked the 3rd year anniversary of the of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. For the most part marchers were tame and went in the usual circles but there were some sporadic acts of property damage. Although opposition to the ongoing occupation is at an all time high according to a number of opinion polls turnout at various demonstrations was significantly lower than in the previous years.

Mexico City, Mexico - Thousands of people took part in the "March in Defense of Water" to demand cleaner drinker water in Mexico City and elsewhere. The demonstration, which took place Thursday, was planned to coincide with the start of the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico City. The forum hosted various foreign dignitaries who came to discuss water management policies and international trade.

A large anarchist black bloc fought with riot police, undercover agent provocateurs, and damaged a police motorcycle, billboards, at least two banks, and completely destroyed a police car. Masked black bloc demonstrators also tussled with an overly aggressive Associated Press photographer and confiscated one of his cameras. 17 protesters were taken into custody during the demonstrations, which prompted another march and demonstration outside of the jail where they had been taken.

France - Nation-wide youth protests against newly-proposed discriminatory job legislation have intensified and grown in number. The law being protested would allow employers to fire workers without cause if they are 26 years old or younger and have been employed for less than two years. The country's major unions have threatened to call a general strike if the government does not back down in the next 48 hours. Union officials estimated that on Saturday, 1.5 million demonstrators took part in more than 150 protests across the country.

Lili and Eva Holland

Sacramento, California - Three admitted Earth Liberation Front saboteurs were sentenced yesterday for their roles in a number of attempted and one partially successful arson in the Sacramento area. The accused "ring-leader," Ryan Daniel Lewis, was sentenced to six years in prison. Sisters Eva Rose Holland and Lili Marie Holland were each sentenced to two years in prison. The Holland sisters cooperated with investigators in exchange for lesser charges and a reduced sentence. A third defendant, Jeremiah Colcleasure, has pled not guilty and has yet to go to trial. According to Lili Holland, Jeremiah was not aware that the other three were planning to burn down a construction site when he joined them on the night of December 24th, 2004.

Joyanna Zacher, and Nathan Block

Earth Liberation Front News

• Eugene, Oregon, U.S. - Joyanna Lynn Zacher, and Nathan Block have been indicted on conspiracy charges as part of the FBI's Operation Backfire case. They are now accused of being part of a an Earth Liberation Front (ELF) cell called "the family." They were arrested last month at their home in Olympia, Washington, in connection with the May 2001 ELF claimed arson at the Jefferson Poplar farm in Clatskanie, Oregon. There are now a total of thirteen people who are indicted as co-conspirators in the case which involves a total of 17 separate ELF actions. They are facing life in prison if convicted on all counts.
  
  

• Eugene, Oregon, U.S. - Former North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office spokesperson, Craig Rosebraugh, was scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury this week, but his appearance has been rescheduled for August. Rosebraugh served as a press officer from 1997 to early September 2001. This is his eighth grand jury subpoena during the last nine years. Rosebraugh has consistently resisted testify before grand juries. During a 2002 Senate hearing he refused to answer more than 50 questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right. Some of the questions he did answer often only received one word responses.
  
  

• Salem, Oregon, U.S. - Police cadets are now going door to door handing out information about the ELF that says they are a "ecoterrorist organization." Whether or not the ELF are terrorists is debatable. The FBI has never been able to classify an ELF action as violent in accordance with their own national Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system. The police say that they are taking this action in response to last weeks incident of anti-sprawl vandalism. Whatever their motive this type of information campaign in the Eugene area is not likely have any positive affects on the cases of the 13 individuals who are scheduled to go to trial next October on ELF related charges.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Montreal's tenth annual march against police brutality ended last night in violence and the arrests of 33 participants. "People [were] marching against the harassment of the homeless, squeegee kids and sex workers," said organizer Frank Ducanal of the anarchist Opposé à la Brutalité Policière (Opposed to Police Brutality) collective. Demonstrators also demanded justice for Mohamed-Anas Bennis, who was shot by a Montreal police officer in December, for reasons that have yet to be explained publicly. Protesters tore up candidate posters for the upcoming provincial elections, attacked a number of businesses, breaking windows, and dragged garbage into the street which they set on fire. The first confrontation with police took place near the scene where police officers fatally beat a homeless man in 1999. Marchers threw bottles at police, at least one officer was injured and required stitches.

Activists in Vancouver, British Columbia held a smaller less eventful march with the same theme. Demonstrators there marked up the Main Street police station with paint balloons.

Jayapura, West Papua, Indonesia - Three police officers and one soldier were killed in clashes with indigenous and environmental activists calling for the closure of the massive U.S.-owned Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold mine. 19 other police officers were hospitalized after they were attacked with molotov cocktails, stones, and machetes. There have been no reports yet on the number of demonstrators injured, but local media suggested that there were fatalities. Video footage shows undercover police officers firing live amunition at protesters, and riot police using less lethal rubber bullets and tear gas. Armed police raided Papua's main university, where many protesters were gathered, in an attempt to find protest organizers. Abouth 40 people were arrested and are being interrogated. The Indonesian government has a history of using torture during interrogations.

France - Youth protests and riots are continuing throughout France in opposition to newly-proposed age discriminatory labor laws. About two-thirds of French universities have been disrupted by demonstrations and occupations, including the elite Sorbonne University in Paris which was retaken by riot police on Saturday.

The Sorbonne was last occupied by students in the spring of 1968. After they were evicted, the protests which followed sparked a nation-wide revolt that nearly became a revolution. One of the most well-known student leaders of the '68 demonstrations is Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who since has abandoned his anti-authoritarian politics and joined the government as a member of the Green Party. He said that today's protests cannot be compared to 1968 and that when he heard about them he expressed sympathy for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

Salem, Oregon, U.S. - Three newly-constructed upscale homes were vandalized with pro-environmental slogans which read: "Stop building ant farms," "E.L.F.," "Rent is theft," "Viva E.L.F." and "Don't kill my air." Additionally, a window was broken. E.L.F. stands for the radical environmental Earth Liberation Front. According to authorities, this is the second time within the past two years that ELF vandals struck in this neighborhood.

Sofia, Bulgaria - The Federation of the anarchists in Bulgaria organized a march against the increasing prices of central heating services and goods. Marchers chanted “The prices are rising, we should rise up as well” and shouted “dirty capitalists.”

The day before about 100 demonstrators had gathered to protest a mine project initiated by Canada-based Dundee Precious metals. The mining process which includes the use of cyanide is likely to have dire implications on the environment.

Milan, Italy - Hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators fought violent battles with police in downtown Milan's financial center. A busy shopping thoroughfare was blocked off by makeshift barricades and burning cars. The protest was organized in opposition to a march organized by the fascist group 'Fiamma Tricolore' (Tricolour flame.) The group is represented on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's ticket in the upcoming April elections.

Demonstrators, many of whom were armed with iron bars and wore protective headgear, threw flares and various other projectiles at the police. A nail bomb injured a number of officers. Protesters also caused extensive damage to a number of upscale shops and at least one McDonald's outlet. Police arrested 45 demonstrators, sometimes with brutal force.

Paris, France - Around 4 AM, riot police began an assault on a number of buildings on the Sorbonne University campus where students had fortified themselves as part of a three-day sit-in protest to a newly proposed youth labor law. The law could go into effect as soon as April and would mean that anyone under 26 years old could be fired without cause from any job that they held for less than two years. Following the police action, hundreds of the evicted protesters marched through the Latin Quarter where they smashed up a McDonald's restaurant, built barricades and clashed with police. The university was last occupied by protesters in the spring of 1968. After police invaded the campus, demonstrations spread throughout the country and morphed into a general strike that nearly brought down the government.

Mehmet Tarhan

Sivas, Turkey - Queer anarchist and conscientious objector, Mehmet Tarhan, was unexpectedly released from a military prison in Sivas on Thursday, March 10th, following an order by the Military Court of Appeals in Ankara. Mehmet, who has been in jail since April 2005, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for refusing to serve in the military, and was repeatedly beaten and tortured by military and prison officials. In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all men up until the age of 40.

After his release from the military prison, Mehmet was brought to the local recruitment office in Sivas, where he was given an order to present himself to his military unit. Mehmet Tarhan did not follow this order, and is presently visiting his family. He will be officially classified as a "deserter", and could be re-arrested any time.

The Military Court of Appeals' reason for the verdict was that if Mehmet Tarhan was re-sentenced, his new sentence would unlikely be higher than the time he had already served. The decision is a surprise, however, because normally the Court of Appeals does not have the power to order the release of a prisoner - it can only refer cases back to the lower military courts or judge on the validity of a ruling by a military court. Many believe that the Court of Appeals decision in Mehmet's case was heavily influenced by Turkey's recent conviction in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, of violating the human rights of fellow Turkish conscientious objector, Osman Murat Ülke. Osman was imprisoned eight times for a total of 701 days for refusing to serve in the military and this decision by the ECHR was expected to have a positive impact on Mehmet's case.

Mehmet's release is seen as a victory by many of his supporters, which consist of anti-authoritarians, anarchists, gays-lesbians, and anti-militarists in Turkey and worldwide. An International Day of Solidarity was organized on December 9th, 2005, and demonstrations were organized around the world.

Ecuador - Government troops fired teargas in clashes with workers and students after state employees downed tools and took to the streets demanding that the government break of trade negotiations with the U.S. around the controversial Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Workers who are currently considered contract employees were also calling on the government to grant them full-time worker status. Disturbances primarily took place in the capital, Quito and Lago Agrio, 118 miles east of there. The unrest caused oil exporters to to shut down more than 70% of their operations. Ecuador is South America's fifth-largest oil producer.

Zeralda, Algeria - Rioters, in a seaside suburb of Algiers, attacked government buildings and looted and burned the state bank. Unrest broke out after news spread that a 34-year-old man named Faycal was shot and killed by police. Faycal reportedly went to the police station to confront an officer about a matter involving the man's girlfriend. According to police he threatened them with an axe.

San Bernardino, California, U.S. - Neo-Nazi skinheads disrupted the "British Invasion 2K6" punk rock concert by chanting white supremacist slogans. Angry fans shouted back "Fuck White Power" and attacked the group. One Nazi was stabbed and another needed medical attention. When police arrived on the scene they fired teargas into the packed venue agitating the crowd further. Police came under attack and were forced to withdraw and call for additional backup on two occasions, before they were able to extract the injured Nazi. Punks destroyed two police cars, set dumpsters on fire and smashed up businesses.

Portugalete, Basque Country, Spain - Masked Spanish riot police attacked a march planned by Basque separatist ETA supporters to honor the deaths of two of the groups jailed members. Igor Miguel Angulo, killed himself Monday in a prison in the central city of Cuenca. Roberto Saiz, is said to have died of natural causes in a prison near Madrid on Friday. A government spokeswoman who talked to the press about the police incident refused to identify herself by name.

Bil'in, The West Bank, Palestine – Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers brutally attacked and dispersed a group of Palestinian, Israeli, and international demonstrators during their weekly protest against the separation wall. At least one protester locked himself to the partially constructed wall with a tubular metal device. Soldiers choked another man until he passed out.

Following the violence 150 activists protested their treatment outside of the Kiria army base in Tel Aviv. At that demonstration a 17-year-old member of Anarchists Against The Wall, Matan Cohen, was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet. Doctors preformed surgery but are not sure if he will ever regain sight in that eye. Four others were arrested and beaten at that demonstration.

South Korea - More than 16,000 union employees of state-run Korea Railroad (Korail) walked off the job Wednesday in what the government is calling an "illegal strike." The strikers are demanding better pay, conditions and the repeal of a controversial new bill on non-regular workers passed by a parliamentary panel.

Police raided union offices, where they confiscated computers and boxes of documents. Arrest warrants were issued for a number of union leaders and police were seeking the authority to arrest more than a dozen others. 231 workers were arrested for illegally staging a sit-in protest.

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) workers clashed with police outside the National Assembly in Seoul and 62,000 staged a solidarity walk out at 75 workplaces, including 38,000 workers of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. The police crackdown came once KCTU, which is the parent labor umbrella group, suspended its general strike leaving the railroad workers isolated. Now nearly half have of them have already gone back to work and the strike looks does not look like it can succeed.

India, Kashmir, and Pakistan - Violent riots and strikes greeted U.S. president George W. Bush at each stop of his Asia tour. Protesters chanted anti-U.S. slogans and burned effigies of the president. A number of demonstrators were shot or beaten to death by police who threw rocks at demonstrators. Among the casualties was a 14-year-old boy named Shanu.

Trenton, New Jersey U.S. - Six animal welfare advocates associated with the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) were convicted in federal court of conspiring to cause financial damages to an animal testing company. The defendants were commonly known as the SHAC 7 before the government dropped charges against one of their co-defendants. The company Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) performs vivisection experiments on about 75,000 beagle puppies, rabbits, mice, and other animals each year, and kills 500 animals a day. The defense was not allowed to present any evidence that related to the cruelty of vivisection or reflected on the virtues of the SHAC protests.

The crux of the government's case was that SHAC used its website, which was taken offline following the verdict, to encourage others to commit crimes against HLS and its supporters. The group's campaign to get HLS to stop testing on animals or close down has had a large degree of success. Dozens of large companies, including The Bank of New York, Stephens Inc. and Marsh Inc. have pledged in writing to never have anything to do with HLS again.

Five of the defendants, Kevin Kjonaas, Joshua Harper, Lauren Gazzola, Jacob Conroy, and Andrew Stepanian were taken into custody immediately upon receiving the verdict. Darius Fullmer is free pending their sentencing, which is scheduled for June. Defense lawyers said that the verdict will likely have a very chilling effect on free speech. Pamelyn Ferdin, the current president of SHAC Inc., told the jury that "for the government to say you can't say this and you can't say that is going down a very scary path of going toward fascism." The defendants expect to receive sentences of between 3 and 8 years in jail.

The Americas - Protests against the U.S. business initiated trade agreements CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) and the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) took place in both San Salvador, El Salvador and Bogota, Colombia. Salvadoran protesters who have been demonstrating regularly throughout the past week clashed with police. Anarchists attacked police with iron bars and rocks before being fired on with rubber bullets. Venezuela also saw anti-FTAA protests earlier in the week.

Jakarta, Indonesia - West Papuan environmental activists attacked riot police that stood between them and a building that houses the U.S. company Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc in Jakarta. Demonstrators were able to break through police lines and smashed the building's first floor windows. Police used a water cannon to disperse protesters. "Snatch squads" of undercover police officers infiltrated the crowds and picked off individuals who were then brutally arrested. The days action was a culmination of four days of marches and road blockades that closed down the world's largest largest gold and copper mineing operation.

The Indonesian government has been investigating reeport for violating environmental and tax laws. The company is accused of poisoning fish through waste which was dumped in the ocean. Some protesters are conncerned about the Freeport's waste for another reason. Many "illegal miners" make a living sifting through the Freeport mine's waste. These miners were prohibited from doing this recently but the company gave into pressure and has agreed to allow the "illegal miners" access to their refuse. Many want to see the mine and its owners closed down for good.