World

The word "McLibel" has been added to Macmillan's online dictionary, defined as "a British court action for libel (the illegal act of writing false statements about someone) filed by the McDonald's corporation against environmental activists". In

Maria Voukelatos US Senator John Kerry, now the sole Democratic Party candidate in this November's US presidential election, has called for an expansion of the US Army by an extra 40,000 "active service" troops. Kerry's call reflects a growing

Vannessa Hearman On June 22, East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao threatened to resign if Fretilin Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri does not resign first. Gusmao accused the Fretilin majority in the government of doing "bad things to the people". In

Eva Cheng The world was stunned when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit the shores of Asian countries in December 2004. It killed 300,000 people. But "slow-motion" disasters are unfolding every day with a killing power equal to three such tsunamis every

In New Zealand's dramatic election, a progressive coalition, the Alliance, emerged as the major winner. Although two parliamentary seats fail to reflect its 18.3% vote, it is assured of a big role in the country's political future. MATT McCARTEN, the

Eva Cheng The March 5-14 annual session of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), will be asked by the country's rulers to approve 14 changes to the country's constitution, the most important of which is to

Coral Wynter & Jim McIlroy, Caracas Maria Rosa Jimenez is a leader of the Frente Francisco de Miranda (FFM), the major organisation mobilising young people in support of Venezuela's Bolivarian revolution. She will shortly be touring Australia to

John Cleary There are about 35,000 electrical industry workers in Venezuela. They are organised in 30 unions, which together form Fetraelec. About 80% of all workers in the electrical industry are in unions. A new leadership was elected in

Merhdad Valipour Up to 500 bus drivers in Iran's capital were arrested on January 27 in an attempt by the Iranian authorities to pre-empt strike action called for January 28 by the 9000-member Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company.

Rohan Pearce& Doug Lorimer Resistance fighters have forced US troops to abandon their occupation of the Iraqi city of Fallujah, at least temporarily. According to the February 8 Washington Post, US troops abandoned fixed positions in the city,

On June 11, Suzanne Swift was arrested at her mother's house in Eugene, Oregon. Swift, a soldier in the military police, had refused to return to Iraq. The Register-Guard reported on June 15 that Swift says she will not redeploy because "she was

Margarita Windisch & Susan Price, Caracas In January, the Sixth World Social Forum will take place on three continents: Africa (in Mali), Asia (in Pakistan) and Latin America (in Venezuela). The Caracas forum is scheduled for January 24-29 on the