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MADRID-Spain and Malaysia tightened security on Thursday to stop strikes against soaring global fuel prices turning violent, as well as snarling road networks and slowing deliveries of food and raw materials. Spain promised "zero tolerance" for violence by striking truckers after a string of incidents including an arson attack on a strike-breaking truck that left the driver with burns to 25%of his body."The government is going to have zero tolerance for any act of intimidation or violence," Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.The government said it had arrested 71 picketers for offences including intimidating non-striking drivers since the stoppage by 75,000 truckers began on Sunday night to call for government help to cope with high fuel prices.Malaysia boosted security in the capital to halt a rally the opposition hopes will bring more than 20,000 people onto the streets after Friday's Muslim prayers as anger mounts over the price rises and the government's attempts to soften the impact.Kuala Lumpur Police Chief, Muhammad Sabtu Osman, said 1,500 to 2,000 security personnel have been put on alert to stop the planned march from a mosque in a poor, mainly ethnic Malay part of the city to the iconic twin towers in the city centre.Oil prices have risen by roughly 40 percent since the start of the year to all-time high above $139 last week, hitting economies and sectors already battling the global credit crunch and the prices of other commodities rising.Strikes have spread around the globe, forcing governments to offer concessions to truckers and other industries struggling with rising prices at the pumps.To read more go to:
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