Ottawa
Liberal coup: Canadian opposition parties are threatening to oust the Conservative government that was re-elected just two months ago. The center-left Liberal Party and the leftist New Democrats, upset over what they see as the government’s inadequate response to the financial crisis, have agreed to form a governing coalition. The two parties together have only 114 seats compared with 143 for the Conservatives, but the separatist Bloc Québécois, which has 49 seats, said it would support the coalition for at least a year. If Canada’s governor general approves the new arrangement, the coalition could unseat Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority government without an election and create Canada’s first coalition government since 1925. “We will use all legal means to resist this undemocratic seizure of power,” Harper said.
Tijuana, Mexico
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Murderous weekend: Tijuana fired its police chief this week after a record 38 people were murdered in the Mexican border city in a single weekend. Nine of the victims had been decapitated. State authorities said an army officer would be appointed to replace Alberto Capella, who has been unable to cope with three months of mounting violence by drug gangs. Capella, a lawyer and anti-crime activist with no policing experience, had been a surprise choice as police chief when he was appointed last December. At the time he was seen as a refreshing change, an honest man from outside the often-corrupt ranks of the police. Capella received numerous death threats during his tenure, and his family has been living in hiding.
Camagüey, Cuba
First beatification: In a sign of reconciliation between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church, President Raúl Castro last week attended the first beatification to take place on Cuban soil. Thousands of Cubans attended the outdoor ceremony at which Friar Jose Olallo Valdes, a monk who died in 1889, was put on the road to sainthood. Castro sat in the front row for the service, a strong gesture by a man whose brother, Fidel, expelled many priests and closed religious schools when he took power, in 1959. Pope Benedict XVI released a statement saying he hoped Olallo’s beatification would “give renewed apostolic vitality” to pious Cubans.
Caracas, Venezuela
Russian navy shows off: Russian warships trained in the Caribbean Sea this week for the first time since the end of the Cold War. The Russian squadron—including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, and two support ships—held exercises with the Venezuelan navy. Russia announced the maneuvers in August, soon after the U.S. sent warships into the Black Sea, Russia’s sphere of influence, to deliver aid to Georgia. The U.S. professed to be unconcerned about the exercises. “I don’t think a few Russian ships in the Caribbean with the Venezuelans is really going to raise anybody’s eyebrows,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
