World

MAE SOT, Thai-Burma border — Heavily pregnant, Ma Thi Da brings out the plates that she, and 500 other Burmese women, made and then hand-painted in a factory in this border town. They'll fetch a pretty penny in the export markets

PT Caltex workers go on strike On November 21, 3000 workers at PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Pekanbaru, in the South Sumatra province of Riau went on strike to demand a 360% increase in wages and benefits. Recently PT Caltex has been hit by a

JAKARTA — Demonstrations and protests are a daily feature of life in Indonesia today. "Traffic jam, pak, two demos today" is a common refrain from taxi drivers. The TV news and newspapers are also peppered with reports of different

On November 21, some 400 East Timorese refugees were repatriated from West Timor. This was the first coordinated return of refugees since the murder of UN workers in the West Timor town of Atambua on September 6. The return of these

According to the US business magazine Forbes, "There has probably never been a better time for capitalists in modern China", and China's "long-awaited admission soon to the World Trade Organization will galvanize the economy more

SAN FRANCISCO — Corporate racism suffered a defeat on November 16. In the largest settlement ever in a corporate racial discrimination case, the Coca-Cola Company agreed to pay more than US$156 million to resolve a federal lawsuit brought by black

The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) on November 19 pulled out of negotiations with the Papua New Guinea government. The militant pro-independence group was frustrated at the slow pace of talks and the PNG government's

For the first time since the overthrow of former President Suharto, the Indonesian government has arrested and charged a human rights activist under the notorious "sowing hatred" articles of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The

The governments of Cuba and Venezuela are seeking the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, a notorious Cuban terrorist with a long record of attacks against the Cuban Revolution. Posada has close ties with the US Central Intelligence

The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions, backed by South Africa's trade union movement, has announced that a three-day blockade of the tiny southern African country's border crossings will begin on November 29. The goal of the action is to force

At the time of writing, Israeli military forces continue their brutal assault on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

DILI - Five women considered to be "indecently" dressed were chased by a mob of mainly young men near the Mercado Lama (Central Market) here on November 10. Four managed to hide in an NGO-run clinic which was then stoned by the mob.