Hundreds of Bangladeshi textile factories near the capital, Dhaka, have shut because of unrest sparked by the collapse of a factory building last month, the country's textile association says.

Owners made the decision on safety grounds after many workers went on a rampage, the group's president said.

Although the organization had originally said all factories in Ashulia would be shut down indefinitely, leaders later said the closure applied only to factories where there was worker unrest.

But as the day came to an end, sweeping changes are finally on the horizon for millions of the underpaid garment factory workers of Bangladesh who have long toiled in far too often unsafe and deadly conditions.

The government says it will lift trade union restrictions amid pressure to improve workers' conditions, and Bangladesh has set up a panel to raise the minimum wage for more than three million garment workers, the minister for textiles has said.

The new initiatives are partly in response to outrage over conditions in the country’s garment sector after the April 24th collapse of a garment-factory building, Rana Plaza, in Savar, an industrial suburb of Dhaka, the nation’s capital. By Monday afternoon, at least 1,127 people were confirmed to have died in the Rana Plaza collapse, a number that could still rise, in what is now considered the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry.

The Rana Plaza in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, housed a number of textile factories, some of which were supplying Western retailers.

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Washington State:

Thousands of people marched about 2 1/2 miles from the Central District toward Seattle's downtown Jackson Federal Building on Wednesday after a May Day rally supporting immigrant rights and labor.

Many carried signs, with messages such as "We are America," and "There are no illegal humans." One sign suggested forgetting about marijuana and instead asking the United States to "Legalize my mom," a reference to Washington's recent legalization of marijuana.

The crowd chanted "Si se peude," Spanish for "Yes, we can," and a rallying cry for the United Farm Workers. Many wore bright purple, red or orange shirts, identifying them with their unions.

Also in Seattle, a May Day protester says a motorcycle cop ran over his bicycle. Also a look at May Day in Olympia, Washington.

It's May Day in Berlin! Hundreds of thousands of people were on the streets of Berlin all day on Wednesday, celebrating May Day. There were no cars, no traffic, no people at work, only people dancing, kissing, drinking and enjoying life. At least until the May Day march entered the banking district...

Clashes took place in Berlin during May Day protests. Part of the demonstrators broke the glass of Sparkasse Bank in central Berlin. Earlier on masked youth through bottles and other objects towards police vans and police officers. As a result the police came closer to the protest and accompanied them until the march ended.

Vermont:

Over 1500 people from across the state of Vermont came together on this day in historic show of unity, to say that the people of Vermont want a state that "PUT PEOPLE FIRST."

Dozens of organizations and communities united to hold the annual May Day march and a day of action in front of the State House.

Some of the sights and sounds of May Day 2013 at Union Square Park in NYC, just a fun day in the sun celebrating workers, unions...

Turkey: Clashes have erupted in Istanbul as 20,000 police attempted to cordon off Taksim Square.

Protesters are attempting to defy a government ban on May Day celebrations in the square.

Having allowed labour day gatherings for the last three years, the Turkish authorities did not grant permission due to safety concerns. The central square is undergoing major renovation. All transport to the area was canceled.

Amsterdam: May Day protesters march through the center of Amsterdam.

More video and updates on May Day 2013 to come...

Our May Day NYC demonstrations and events are coming up on May 1st!

Check out details on all the ways to get involved, such as the schedule of the day and how to support OWS May Day activities financially.

You can also RSVP on Facebook to Occupy May Day NYC 2013, and peruse the litany of Facebook pages for specific May Day actions, including: The NYC Student May Day Convergence, the Immigrant Worker Justice Tour, the People’s Puppets Celebration of May Day, the Occupy May Day Guitarmy, the May Day Rally for Worker and Immigrant Rights, as well as the May Day People’s Assembly and the Kimani Gray Memorial City-Wide Assembly.

Hope to see you there:

http://maydaynyc.org/

-- from the ‘Your Inbox: Occupied’ team

Occupy in the News

OWS Alternative Banking picketed Citigroup’s Annual Shareholders meeting. Read their rationale for ‘Why Occupy the Citi?’ on the Alternative Banking NYCGA.net blog.

Check out the organizer guide on InterOccupy.net to help anyone organize and plan actions this spring, put together by Occupy The Economy in collaboration with the upcoming Occupy Love film.

Reported in Forbes, SEC commissioner Luis Aguilar thinks that investors should be able to sue their investment advisors: “In light of the SEC’s actions to shut out investors’ voices...it is now more important than ever that defrauded investors have the ability to seek redress against those who participate in defrauding them.”

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A record 6 million people -- or 27.2 percent of the population -- are unemployed in Spain, the highest level for the country since it began keeping records in 1976. Luckily, there is a silver lining: authorities say the rate of the increase has at least slowed since the recession first began. Spain’s economy -- the fourth largest in Europe -- has relied heavily on the major central banks, but the country has been left in recession by deep spending cuts. “These figures are worse than expected,” said Jose Luis Martinez, a strategist at Citi in Madrid. Spanish President Mariano Rajoy is expected to unveil a new reform plan Friday, but thousands of protesters still converged in Madrid on Thursday.

France approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and gay adoptions -- and Socialist President François Holland is expected to sign it -- despite those in the country who remain fiercely opposed to it and attacks against gays rising as the debate has raged. Polls show a majority of the French favor equal rights for same-sex couples, but center-right politicians have embraced the protests as a way of opposing Hollande. Anti–gay marriage protesters have begun calling their movement the “French spring,” with about 45,000 marching in Paris in a mostly peaceful protest that included some wrapping themselves in the French flag and others carrying children or pushing baby carriages with the sign “All born of a mom and dad.” Meanwhile, there have been several high-profile attacks against gays in the country, including the beating earlier this month of a Dutch man who was walking hand-in-hand with another man in Paris.

NYT:

Opponents shouted slogans against Mr. Hollande and wrapped themselves in the red, white and blue of the French flag. Some carried children or pushed baby carriages under a slogan that read, “All born of a mom and dad.” Opposition leaders condemned any targeting of homosexuals. The numbers on Sunday were down considerably from the 300,000 who marched last month.

But on Monday, Manuel Valls, the interior minister, accused protesters and political opponents on the right of “unleashing homophobic speech.” Speaking to Europe 1 radio, Mr. Valls conceded that opponents of the bill were “numerous,” but said they represented “a minority compared to the millions” who voted for Mr. Hollande as president a year ago, when he promised to pass a same-sex marriage bill in his first year in office.

Also on Monday, the president of the National Assembly received a letter threatening “war” and attacks on Socialist lawmakers if the lower house approved the legislation, the French news media reported. The letter was said to have contained gunpowder.

In general, politics has come to overshadow the moral and religious questions around the bill, which Roman Catholic, Muslim and Jewish leaders oppose. The bill promises “marriage for all” and more contentiously, polls show, would legalize adoption by same-sex couples. The bill does not mandate state aid for artificial insemination or other assistance in procreation for same-sex married couples, however, which many French oppose. Such a bill may be proposed separately.

France has had a "civil solidarity pact" -- a form of civil union -- since 1999, which gives couples some rights and protections, but falls short of marriage and is more often used by heterosexual couples who see it as a form of "marriage light."

Over half of the countries in the European Union have either some sort of civil union, if not marriage, that is open to same-sex couples.

Protesters converged at Swami Dayanand Hospital in New Delhi on Friday as shock spread in the Indian capital over the alleged rape and abduction of a 5-year-old girl by a neighbor. The girl, said to be in critical condition, was being taken to a larger facility.

Months after a brutal gang rape of an Indian student prompted widespread soul-searching about the country’s culture of violence against women, the attacks continue. This time, the alleged victim is just 5 years old, reportedly raped by a male neighbor and lying in critical condition in a Delhi hospital. The alleged attack triggered protests in the city, with activists and family members of the child demanding justice and better safety for women and girls. A doctor told reporters that “the next 48 hours will be crucial for her.” The child, whose family lives in a slum on the outskirts of the capital, went missing on April 15 and was found, bruised and semiconscious, in the suspect’s home on Thursday. The suspect allegedly held the girl hostage for three days, raping and torturing her. Activists have demanded tougher laws to deter sex offenders, with some agitating for capital punishment in special cases.

“If you thought just bringing in a new law will stop crimes, you are wrong,” one activist, Kiran Bedi, told an Indian TV channel. “They will reduce, but won’t stop. You need community policing to stop these crimes.”

Over 130 people were led away and ticketed by police in Chicago as thousands of teachers, parents and students protested against a decision to close 54 public schools. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has refused further negotiations, apparently making the closings a done deal.

Via:

CTU President Karen Lewis was cheered when she took the microphone at Daley Plaza late Wednesday afternoon and repeated her argument that the Chicago Public Schools' decision to close schools with predominantly African-American enrollments is racist.

"Let's not pretend that when you close schools on the South and West sides, the children affected aren't black," Lewis said. "Let's not pretend that's not racist."

In an event rife with political symbolism, the size of the crowd was anybody's guess. The official police estimate was 700 to 900 people, according to the department's news affairs office. A CTU spokeswoman said the union was "appalled" by the department's number, saying between 5,000 and 6,500 were on hand.

Those at the protest were loud but disciplined, sticking to a script the CTU provided earlier in the day in a news release. Most of the vitriol was aimed at Emanuel, with protesters carrying signs included "Rahm's brain is underutilized" and "School Closings = One Term Mayor."

127 protesters were led away peacefully by police after sitting in the street at the intersection of Washington and LaSalle outside City Hall. Their hands were behind their backs, but not handcuffed. Despite earlier warnings from CTU that the protesters would "risk arrest," police made a point of noting that 127 people were issued tickets on site, and not arrested.

The district says that the 54 schools slated for closure are "underenrolled," and need to be shut to deal with a $1 billion dollar deficit.

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Detroit has undergone a coup. Plus new proof comes out that far right-wing front groups are purchasing the opinions of media talking heads, and I go over ways to fight back.

Cyprus will have to find some other way to come up with the money they need to qualify for a bailout. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to reject a plan that would have seized part of people's bank deposits, even after altering the plan to protect small deposit holders. Protesters outside Parliament cheered the news. The European Union said before the vote that they would withhold €10 billion in desperately needed bailout loans unless Cypriot depositors shared the cost of the rescue.

Reuters:

Cyprus overwhelmingly rejected a proposed levy on bank deposits as a condition for a European bailout on Tuesday, throwing international efforts to rescue the latest casualty of the euro zone debt crisis into disarray.

The vote in the tiny legislature was a stunning setback for the 17-nation currency bloc, angering European partners and raising fears the crisis could spread; lawmakers in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy have all accepted austerity measures over the last three years to secure European aid.

With hundreds of demonstrators outside the parliament chanting "They're drinking our blood", the ruling party abstained and 36 other lawmakers voted unanimously to reject the bill, bringing the Mediterranean island, one of the smallest European states, to the brink of financial meltdown.

Banks in Cyprus will remain closed on Wednesday in order to prevent a run on the banks. The island stock exchange will remain closed as well.

It's been tough week for the city of Detroit. The city has a $327 million deficit and owes $14 billion, says the Detroit Free Press. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in March that he would appoint a emergency manager to oversee city finances. Detroit's City Council had 10 days to file an appeal, which they did, says The Detroit News. Then Thursday, the governor announced that Kevyn Orr, a Washington, D.C., attorney who handled Chrysler's bankruptcy, would take charge. Emergency management is a touchy subject in the Motor City; the appointment caused some local residents to protest a controller who will take over the city reins from elected officials.

To express frustration and draw attention to state-appointed emergency management, the otherwise peaceful protesters planned traffic jams that were organized in the city this week, says WWJ CBS Detroit. WWJ's Chopper 950, flying over the city on Monday, noted three cars on major highways crawling along (driving under 5 miles per hour). This caused traffic to back up. Slowdowns were staged on I-75, I-94, and the Lodge Freeway. One participant dubbed it a "freedom flash mob."

Meantime, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, is continuing to offer support to an emergency financial manager, whoever that may be.

The mayor posted on Twitter Monday morning, “An emergency manager can’t come in here and run this city without the help and support of teammates, I’ll be a teammate. My executive staff will be a teammate. What we need to figure out is not fighting the person but how do we get along to make wins for the citizens in the city of Detroit.”

Other demonstrations occurred at Detroit's City Hall and at the attorney general's office downtown in connection with the governor's EM announcement. Protesters have vowed to continue their efforts, and have a federal lawsuit prepared.

Further fueling protesters concerns, a report on Saturday evening revealed that the newly appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr has tax liens placed on his $4 million Maryland home. Full details here.