Martial Law

Acting President Vicente Gutterres declared a state of emergency today after attacks on the country's top leaders, a failed coup that left the president in "extremely serious" condition with gunshot wounds to the chest. In a televised address, Gutterres said the order would allow authorities to ban demonstrations and raid homes without securing judicial permission for the next two days.

Armenian police said eight people were killed and 33 officers injured in clashes between police and protesters demonstrating over alleged election fraud. Police spokesman Sayat Shirinian announced the deaths in a statement today. He did not say whether the eight killed were protesters or police, or give other details. Outgoing President Robert Kocharyan imposed a state of emergency late Saturday night after a day of violence between police and about 15,000 demonstrators.

Thailand's beleaguered Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Thursday declared a state of emergency around two Bangkok airports occupied by protesters but insisted he wanted a peaceful resolution to the crisis. "I do not have any intention to hurt any members of the public," he said in announcing the targeted restrictions on civil liberties aimed at reopening the country's main international airport.

After weeks of mounting political violence, Bangladesh's president declared a nationwide state of emergency Thursday and indefinitely postponed elections that had been scheduled to take place in less than two weeks. President Iajuddin Ahmed also said he would step down as interim head of a caretaker administration in the impoverished South Asian nation but would retain the largely ceremonial post of president. No new date was set for nationwide balloting that had been scheduled for Jan. 22.

Somalia's acting parliament authorized martial law Saturday as the fledgling government struggled to assert authority over a country that has known little but clan warfare and chaos for more than 15 years. The vote will allow the U.N.-backed government to impose a state of emergency for as long as three months in this Horn of Africa nation, deputy parliament Speaker Osman Ilmi Boqore said during a legislative session broadcast live on a state-owned radio station.

Guinea's military enforced draconian martial law measures across the West African nation, quashing protests and arresting people who broke curfew to halt a revolt against President Lansana Conte. At least two people were killed in the northern town of Labe when soldiers opened fire on protesters, witnesses said. The U.S. government said it would airlift some American citizens out of the riot-torn country.

Unions called off talks with the government aimed at ending protests in which more than 120 people have died, saying they would not negotiate until President Lansana Conte lifted martial law. Union leaders had been due to meet senior government officials amid growing international calls for Conte to end his 5-day-old state of emergency and negotiate a political settlement with unions opposed to his 23-year rule. The U.N. allocated $2.

Martial law ended overnight, and there were fewer soldiers on the streets of the capital, Conakry, but many residents fear trouble this week after the army ordered an end to a nationwide strike. Union leaders say President Lansana Conte is unfit to govern and have initiated strikes to force concessions from him.

After the driest year on record, the governor Thursday declared a state of emergency in Riverside County after severe, prolonged drought conditions caused an estimated $4 million in crop damage and reduced public water supplies. The unrelenting dry spell has heightened fire danger throughout Southern California's tinder-dry foothills, triggered voluntary water conservation in some parts of the state and has been unforgiving to many farmers, especially in inland counties.

San Bernardino County supervisors Wednesday asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a local state of emergency in Lucerne Valley after authorities impounded several unlicensed trucks that supplied much-needed water to far-flung desert communities. A spokesman for the governor's office said that at least three replacement trucks had been ordered to begin providing water immediately and continuously.