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INDONESIA: May Day win for strikers JAKARTA — A three-day strike by 1800 workers employed at the PT Isanti shoe factory in Semarang, Central Java, forced the company to grant 23 out of their 25 demands on April 11. The strike was organised by the
The expectation of enormous productivity gains from the rapid spread of information technology (IT) has been driving the Nasdaq, Wall Street's index which tracks the prices of key IT and other high-tech stocks, to breathtaking new highs. The US stock
Prime suspects To all men in Wee Waa: if you're innocent you've got nothing to worry about. How many men can say that! Just as soon as the results come back from the lab, you'll be among the fortunate few in Australia who we know did not bash and
Tony Cliff — a life for revolution LONDON — Tony Cliff (real name Ygael Gluckstein), founder and central leader of the British Socialist Workers Party (SWP), died on April 10, aged 82. Cliff built what is today the largest revolutionary
Martial law was declared in Bolivia in the early hours of April 8 by President Hugo Banzer. The drastic move came at the end of a week of protests, general strikes and transportation blockades that brought large parts of the Latin American country to
Smart "It's a fine sentiment, but a woolly one. It's an attempt to reduce unemployment solely at employers' expense." — Media commentator Ross Gittins arguing against a 36-hour work week (Age, April 12). Aim, focus, fire! "There'll be very
Russia: After Putin's coronation By Boris Kagarlitsky MOSCOW — In the Russian drama, a new act is beginning. Since the financial collapse of 1998, the “oligarchs” have recognised that the system they have created cannot survive
BRITAIN: Punch-drunk British Nuclear floored again British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), already punch-drunk from a series of scandals in recent months, faced another crisis on April 13 after a large number of confidential memos were leaked. One
US blocks global warming treaty deadline Environment ministers from the industrialised capitalist powers on April 9 failed to agree to a deadline for the ratification of the agreement on global warming reached in Kyoto three years ago. Ministers
ACI workers appeal for support MELBOURNE — Workers at the ACI glass mould manufacturing plant in Box Hill have been locked out for four months. Below are extracts from an appeal issued by the workers, who are members of the Australian
BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — A range of allegations have been made concerning the privatisation of the Trust Bank by the state Labor government last year. Months after the privatisation was heralded as a "win for Tasmania", it has been revealed
Howard and Burke's dirty deal While the compromise on mandatory sentencing struck between Prime Minister John Howard and Northern Territory chief minister Denis Burke may have been sufficient to quell disquiet from the Liberal