World

  • VENEZUELA: Opposition 'strike' collapses

    BY MARIA VICTORIA VALDES-RODDA After two months of trying to bring down President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's right-wing opposition on February 2 announced the end to its "general strike". The opposition alliance, the Coordinadora Democratica (CD),

  • PAKISTAN: Fighting for women's rights

    LAHORE — The first thing I did after crossing the border into Pakistan was catch a bus into the city. Buses in Pakistan are divided in two by a barrier. The first quarter of the bus is reserved for women and their

  • PHILIPPINES: 'War on terrorism' targets the left

    The Philippines government, in alliance with Washington, is using the "war on terror" as cover for a full-scale assault on the revolutionary left. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US, Manila announced its backing for

  • IRAQ: Powell's dishonest case for war

    "Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions", US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured the UN Security Council on February 5. "These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of

  • SCOTLAND: Scots prepare warm welcome for Blair

    GLASGOW — Tens of thousands of Scots anticipate giving British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair a warm welcome on February 15. Scotland is set to become one of the pivotal points of protest against the impending war on Iraq.

  • AFGHANISTAN: Has the US liberated women?

    "Many people outside the country believe that Afghan women and girls have had their rights restored. It's just not true" — that's the conclusion of Human Rights Watch official Zama Coursen-Neff, co-author of a report released in

  • VIETNAM: 'Not a market economy country'

    HANOI — The United States Department of Commerce (DoC) ruled on January 24 that Vietnam is "dumping" catfish on the US market. The ruling was based on a decision made by the commerce department last November that Vietnam is

  • BRAZIL: WSF calls for anti-war protests

    PORTO ALEGRE &#151 This year's World Social Forum (WSF), a countersummit to the corporate elite's World Economic Forum, held in this southern Brazilian city, January 23-28, attracted 100,000 participants, including 20,763

  • ISRAEL: Elections reveal fractured society

    RAMALLAH — January 28 was a typical day in the life of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Nine Palestinians — including a 13-year-old girl — were shot dead by Israeli soldiers. Three others were killed by an

  • BRAZIL: Challenging the global corporate elite

    PORTO ALEGRE — At the first World Social Forum (WSF) in 2001, delegates assembled to challenge the elite World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with a live debate via videoconference. "[T]he best gift that the 2000 corporate

  • BRAZIL: A tale of two presidents

    PORTO ALEGRE — Brazilian President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva spoke to tens of thousands of people at the World Social Forum (WSF) on January 25. It was the first time that Lula, a former factory worker and union leader,

  • BRITAIN: Making a difference

    NOTTINGHAM — On January 25, 500 people gathered here to rally against the impending US-British war on Iraq. The action was organised by the local Stop the War Coalition. There were many banners from the groups in attendance, but