North Africa

General strike rocks Tunisia

Thousands massed in Tunis for the funeral of slain opposition leader Chokri Belaid, with the city shut down in a general strike called by the main union federation, the UGTT. 

East Asia

Shanghai workers seize electronics plant

More than 1,000 migrant workers in Shanghai went on strike and held 18 managers hostage for a day and a half following the introduction of a draconian speed-up policy.

The Caribbean

Dominican Republic: Haitian workers protest

About 100 Haitian immigrant workers protested in front of the Labor Ministry in Santo Domingo, while hundreds more blocked a bridge at the border in the northwest.

Southern Cone

Argentina: massive looting returns after 11 years

Argentina’s first wave of store lootings since 2001 started with people with covered faces breaking into six supermarkets in San Carlos de Bariloche, an Andean ski resort town.

Mexico

Mexico: new details emerge on Wal-Mart scandal

Following up on an exposé last April of bribery by Wal-Mart de México,  NY Times reporters  have identified 19 Wal-Mart stores whose construction was aided by corruption.

The Andes

Colombia: petroleum workers leader murdered

Two men on a motorcycle gunned down a labor leader as tensions grew in a dispute between petroleum workers and their employer—as police try to implicate the union.