Government Orders

Panama has ordered United Press International to close its Panama City office and told its foreign personnel to leave the country by Tuesday. The government accused the news agency of "systematically violating journalistic ethics by publishing false reports with the obvious intention of slandering the authorities of the Republic of Panama and of damaging the image of its leaders." The order said that despite warnings, UPI had not changed its conduct.

ATHENS -- Greece's ruling coalition threatened Monday to arrest public high school teachers if they walk off work later this week, a strike that would potentially disrupt university-entrance exams for thousands of students. But the government's move only stoked the fury of civil servants, whose powerful union called for a nationwide strike Tuesday in sympathy with teachers protesting longer hours and looming job losses. The union also announced a four-hour work stoppage Thursday together with unions for private-sector employees; all told, the labor groups represent about half of Greece's 5-million-strong workforce.

Carlos Ugalde, child in hand, fixed a menacing glare upon the window of Dorian's, the fashionable department store here that caters to middle-class Mexicans and visitors from the United States. " Ratas !" he sneered, turning away from the display window and its twinkling Christmas lights. "Rats! What they're doing is no good for the Mexican people."

The Federal Reserve's latest report on regional economic activity shows that the U.S. recovery continued in June and early July, but that signs of a slowdown were evident. The Fed's "beige book" report, issued Wednesday, said two of the central bank's 12 districts — Atlanta and Chicago — said that "the pace of economic activity had slowed recently," while the Cleveland and Kansas City districts said that "activity generally held steady." The other eight districts — including San Francisco, which covers California and other Western states — reported "improvements in economic activity" from the spring, the Fed said.

To the relief of American military personnel facing possible combat in Iraq--and facing mounds of garbage as well--the Turkish government Friday ordered striking workers back to their jobs at this big air base in southern Turkey. Janitors, secretaries, gardeners, trash collectors, service station attendants, drivers and other support personnel, all members of the Harb-Bis Sendika, or War Workers' Union, trudged glumly back to work under government orders.

Will we be hearing cries of moral outrage and demands for congressional hearings over the use of "jackbooted thugs" to remove protesters who were occupying a U.S. naval base at Vieques, Puerto Rico (May 5)? Or was this a justifiable exercise of law enforcement against people who refused to comply with government orders? IRA MEHLMAN Marina del Rey

Datron Systems reported that earnings fell 36% in the fourth quarter ended March 31 to $442,000, or 16 cents a share, as sales dropped 9% to $6.7 million. For the year, profit fell 22% to $1.4 million, or 51 cents a share. Revenue increased 4% to $22.5 million. Thomas V. Baker, chief financial officer for the Simi Valley defense contractor, attributed the decline in earnings to slower-than-expected government orders.

A five-story building collapsed Tuesday, and witnesses said several street urchins who had been pilfering bathroom fittings and iron rods were trapped inside. Three people were hospitalized with serious injuries, police said. The building, which housed a garment center, restaurants and stores, was being demolished under government orders because its construction had not been officially authorized. A segment of the structure still standing caved in.

Canada's Letter Carriers Union began scattered strikes in a dispute over job concessions demanded by state-owned Canada Post, which is under government orders to get out of debt. Mail carriers walked off the job in parts of Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia provinces in the first national strike action by postal workers in six years.

MEXICAN STOCKS * The market fell slightly Wednesday ahead of today's inauguration of President-elect Ernesto Zedillo, as some investors registered disappointment with Zedillo's Cabinet appointments. The Bolsa index fell 4.82 points to 2,591.34. * Traders said the market would have slumped more sharply if not for the fact that the state development bank Nafinsa stepped in to buy.

So much for the authority of local officials. Just half of Los Angeles County residents would immediately follow local government officials' instructions to evacuate if terrorists attacked, according to a report by the Department of Health Services to be released today. One-third of those surveyed said they would want more information before they complied with government orders to relocate to a nearby school during a terrorist attack.

Segway, the two-wheeled personal transporter introduced in 2001 with great fanfare, was going to help reduce air pollution, ease traffic congestion and make riders look George Jetson-cool. But Thursday, it was looking a little less hip when the federal government ordered Bedford, N.H.-based Segway Inc. to recall all 23,500 scooters sold in the U.S. The recall was prompted by the discovery of a software glitch that can cause riders to be thrown off the vehicle.

The air was filled with dust and fear as riot police with guns forced Farisai Gatawa's husband to tear down the couple's one-room shack on the outskirts of the capital, Harare. That night they slept on cardboard in the wind. Nyasha, their baby girl of 2 weeks, grew cold, coughed and would not settle. At dawn, Gatawa, 27, sat amid the chaos and panic of the spreading government-ordered demolitions, cradling her dying baby, with not the vaguest idea how to save her.

The discovery of a new cell of Islamic militants who met in prison and planned to assassinate the judges investigating them has exposed Spain's crowded penal system as a breeding ground for terrorists, officials say.

Fluor Corp., the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company in the U.S., on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit rose about 15% as it won new orders from the U.S. government. Net income rose to $51.5 million, or 63 cents a share, from profit from continuing operations of $44.7 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier, the Aliso Viejo-based firm said. Sales fell to $2.36 billion from $2.47 billion.

U.S. Forest Service workers who claim the agency is not living up to the terms of a settlement in a sexual harassment case failed Friday to win a contempt order. Although a federal judge in Oakland turned down the contempt motion filed by plaintiffs against the U.S. secretary of Agriculture, the government was ordered to return to court in December to report on its progress in meeting the settlement provisions.

So much for the authority of local officials. Just half of Los Angeles County residents would immediately follow local government officials' instructions to evacuate if terrorists attacked, according to a report by the Department of Health Services to be released today. One-third of those surveyed said they would want more information before they complied with government orders to relocate to a nearby school during a terrorist attack.

President Alan Garcia's new government has devalued the Peruvian sol by 12% and frozen the exchange rate in an attempt to halt the currency's 250% decline over the past 12 months, the government news agency Andina reported Friday. "It is not possible to continue with the present system of mini-devaluations," Andina quoted Prime Minister Luis Alva Castro, who also is minister of the economy, as saying. "This has been the clearest sign of the instability of costs," Alva Castro said.

Xerox Corp., whose accounting is under U.S. regulatory investigation, said that its Indian subsidiary made "improper payments" to government officials and that two other overseas operations face legal or tax problems. The world's largest copier manufacturer said a majority-owned subsidiary in India, Xerox Modicorp Ltd., paid $600,000 to $700,000 during 2000 to win government orders.

A federal judge has ruled that fees collected for the "Beef: It's What's for Dinner" advertising campaign violate the free-speech rights of cattle producers, in the latest case in a long-standing dispute among farmers. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann ordered the government to stop collecting the fee of $1 per head of cattle, which amounts to about $88 million per year, to fund the research and promotion campaign. The order takes effect July 15. "I am disappointed by the ruling," U.S.