World

Eight governments issue nuclear declaration An initiative on nuclear disarmament was launched jointly on June 9 by the governments of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden. The joint declaration, titled

Serbian troops in the occupied region of Kosovo are carrying out ethnic cleansing on a scale not seen since the war in Bosnia. Villages have been bombed by helicopters, fighter planes and heavy artillery or completely burnt,

We were tortured, democracy activist reportsOn June 13, three leaders of Indonesia's outlawed People's Democratic Party (PRD) were released from custody. They were Mugianto (who visited Australia in 1996 under the name Robby

Following the election of a record number of radical left and ultra-right candidates in the March regional elections in France, Green Left Weekly's LISA MACDONALD spoke to PIERRE ROUSSET, a veteran socialist activist and editor of Rouge, the

Speaking in Belfast shortly before the Labour Party won the UK general election last year, Tony Blair declared, "I believe in the United Kingdom. I value the union" between Britain and Northern Ireland. Within this framework, on

East Timor protests June 2 — 1500 students take part in a free-speech assembly at the University of East Timor, despite attempts by the university rector to prevent it. June 3 — 253 prisoners in Becora Jail in Dili begin an indefinite hunger

A dream come true The following is abridged from a piece by Melbourne-based East Timorese writer ELIZEBETE LIM GOMES, which she read at an Indonesian cultural night in Melbourne on June 12. "Reformasi!", the Indonesian students chanted in the

Auto workers take on GMOn June 5, the United Auto Workers (UAW) struck in a General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan. The factory stamps sheet metal into car and truck body parts used in GM assembly plants. Six days later,

Biwater, the huge British-owned corporation that has been named the "preferred bidder" for the Nelspruit's water and waste services, in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, is threatening legal action against opponents of privatisation

RAMALLAH — An international conference in Jerusalem on June 7-10 commemorated 50 years of dispossession of the Palestinian people. The conference overwhelmingly rejected the Oslo accords and discussed the

Oil workers' union leaders Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori were among nine prominent political prisoners ordered released by the new Nigerian military strongman, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, on June 16. Others to be released include

OAU votes to ease sanctions on Libya Despite criticism by the United Nations, the 34th summit of the Organisation of African Unity, meeting in the Burkina Faso capital, Ougadougou, decided on June 10 to lift partially the UN-imposed economic