World

MOSCOW — During 1996, Russia's Ministry of Defence Industry reported in January, output in the country's defence factories fell by a further 27.1% to a mere 12.8% of its 1991 level. That's not so bad, you might say — every

Last year Scottish Militant Labour combined with other forces on the left to create a new, broader vehicle for socialism in Scotland — the Scottish Socialist Alliance. National secretary of the alliance ALLAN GREEN explains why socialists in

A number of major oil projects in the Timor Sea have recently been approved by the Howard government. On February 14, BHP Petroleum and partners (Petroz, Santos and Inpex Sahul Ltd.) received permission to develop the Elang-Kakatua oil

Amnesty International issued an urgent action demand last week on the case of Irish prisoner Roisin McAliskey. McAliskey, seven months pregnant and in bad health, is being held in a British prison awaiting extradition proceedings by

Swaziland democracy strikers hold firmMass meetings of striking Swaziland workers in the vital sugar and forestry industries voted on February 16 to continue a general strike into its third week. The strikers, organised by the

Deng Xiaoping has been acclaimed by politicians, business figures and other "respectable" commentators around the world as the "architect" of China's "modernisation" following the announcement of his death on February 20. They hailed

Doublethink from Clinton and GreenspanEvery year, the president gives a "state of the union" address to Congress. It is held in the House of Representatives. The House members enter first, and then stand to applaud the

Indonesian military admits hundreds killed in West KalimantanRecent reports on the death toll following more than a month of unrest in West Kalimantan suggest that many more have been killed that the authorities first admitted.

Swaziland police have arrested trade union and opposition leaders in an attempt to intimidate the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) into calling off an indefinite general strike which began on February 3. Police opened fire

Support for the French neo-fascist organisation National Front (FN), headed by Jean-Marie Le Pen, has increased dramatically over the past few years. The election, on February 9, of FN Mayor Catherine Megret in the southern French city of Vitrolles

South Korean President Kim Young-sam justifies the ongoing attacks on the democratic rights of the country's workers on the basis that they must make sacrifices to bolster the "competitiveness" of South Korean products. He suggests

FMLN prepares for Salvadoran electionsOn March 16, Salvadorans go to the polls to elect a new 84-member Legislative Assembly and 262 local councils. The Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN)