World

  • BOLIVIA: Towns strike for road construction

    Steph Mawson& Karol Florek, Tupiza Beginning on October 17, the Bolivian towns of Villazon, Tupiza and Cotagaita went on strike to pressure the government to complete a "highway" asphalting project. The planned "highway" runs between these towns

  • EAST TIMOR: Problems 'left behind by UN transition'

    Tomas Freitas is the director of Luta Hamutuk (Fight Together), a research and advocacy institute focusing on economic issues, including East Timor's Petroleum Fund. The Petroleum Fund is a mechanism to regulate the expenditure of East Timor's oil

  • UNITED STATES: Libby indictment a result of Iraq war blowback

    Barry Sheppard, San Francisco The October 28 indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, US Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury are the latest blow to the already reeling administration of US

  • SOUTH AFRICA: Left candidate targeted

    Trevor Ngwane is a well-known campaigner against the ANC government's privatisation and commercialisation of basic services, like power and water. Ngwane lives in Pimville and thanks to an electricity connection provided by grassroots campaigners, he

  • VENEZUELA: Deepening Latin American integration

    Stuart Munckton In a step forward for the goal promoted by Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez of increasing the economic integration of Latin American countries, Venezuela and Bolivia have signed another round of important economic

  • INDONESIA: IMF-imposed price rises make beggars of millions

    Max Lane It has been almost a month since the Indonesian government increased the retail price of petrol by 126% and of kerosene by 300%. The increases are a part of the Jakarta government's commitments made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

  • EAST TIMOR: Concern over defamation law

    Jon Lamb Journalists and human-rights organisations within East Timor and internationally are increasingly concerned about the consequences of a new penal code on defamation, which includes the penalty of up to three years' imprisonment for

  • AFGHANISTAN: US killings spark riots

    Rohan Pearce Riots broke out in the Afghan capital of Kabul on May 29 after a US military truck crash. The truck crushed dozens of cars during peak-hour traffic, reported anti-imperialist group Left Radical of Afghanistan. According to LRA, 56

  • SCOTLAND: Labour blocks free prescriptions

    A Scottish Socialist Party statement on January 26 reported that Labour joined with the Tories and Liberal Democrats to vote down an SSP bill to abolish Scottish National Health Service prescription charges. The vote was lost 77 to 44, despite the

  • MONTENEGRO: Majority vote for independence

    Michael Karadjis Montenegrins voted for independence for their tiny republic in a referendum on May 21, in a move that essentially formalised an already existing situation. Following the collapse of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia

  • UNITED STATES: Auto-makers slash jobs

    On January 23, Ford announced a new restructuring plan for its North American operations, which includes the closure of 14 plants and the loss of 30,000 jobs by 2012. It will cut its production by 26% of current capacity by 2008. Ford also plans to