■ Mexico
Price hikes lead to protest
Thousands of people marched in Mexico City on Wednesday to protest the sharp hike of basic food products, including tortillas and milk, and to demand the government exclude food staples from the North American Free Trade Agreement. "No corn, no country," the protesters shouted in the first major demonstration to confront President Felipe Calderon since he took office Dec. 1. Participants also demanded a minimum wage increase. The Calderon administration recently hiked minimum wages US$4.30 to US$4.60 per day. The protest was triggered by Calderon's decision to raise the price of tortillas by between 40 and 100 percent.
■ United Nations
Top officials defy Ban
Most top UN officials have defied a request to submit their resignations to make way for new appointees, the world body said on Wednesday, hinting at the obstacles to reform faced by new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On. Jan. 4 Ban sent letters to 58 senior officials at UN headquarters in New York and elsewhere asking them to offer their resignations. Just 20 have done so, UN chief spokeswoman Michele Montas acknowledged. The request applied to individuals working at the level of undersecretary-general or assistant secretary-general and most are working under contracts which expire at the end of this month, she said.
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