World

  • PHILIPPINES: Working Peoples Summit launches strike campaign

    Reihana Mohideen, Manila Around 2000 delegates from factory unions and urban poor organisations attended a Working People's Summit organised by Laban ng Masa (Struggle of the Masses) on October 17. Laban ng Masa is a new left coalition that has

  • PALESTINE: 'We will never give up our lands or our liberties'

    Kim Bullimore, West Bank On the fourth anniversary of the second Palestinian intifada, the residents of the small village of Budrus once again faced off teargas, sound grenades and rubber bullets to protest the wall that is dividing their land. The

  • IRAN: Brutal repression of bus workers

    Several hundred trade unionists at Tehran's bus company Sherkate Vahed were arrested and many badly beaten following a strike on January 28. The union's leader, Mansour Osanloo, has been in prison since December 22. On January 24, the union called

  • VENEZUELA: UNT divisions cause congress suspension

    Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas The second national congress of the National Union of Workers (UNT), the main progressive union federation in Venezuela, was suspended on May 27 after factional divisions led to a walkout by groups representing a

  • THAILAND: New socialist group emerging

    A growing anti-privatisation movement, allegations of government corruption and revelations of the repression of Muslims are all causing headaches for the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, and creating new opportunities for a re-emerging Thai left.

  • INDIA: Not shining, but drowning

    John Pilger, Mumbai The crows beat their wings against the bay windows, waiting to ascend and dive. Their cries are incessant; it is their apocalyptic swarm that is different in India. They dance in the rain and wait in the yellow heat of

  • VENEZUELA: 10 million viewers to watch Telesur

    The Latin America-wide satellite television station Telesur is set to increase its broadcasting five-fold in 2006, reaching 10 million people worldwide, Telesur president Andres Izarra said on January 26 at the World Social Forum in Caracas. As well

  • VENEZUELA: Colombians, Peruvians hold joint election rally

    Jim McIlroy, Caracas The spirit of the Bolivarian revolution shone brightly in Plaza Bolivar on May 25 when several hundred people, mainly members of the local Colombian and Peruvian communities, rallied to support progressive candidates in the

  • South Korea: Labour leaders win seats

    Sarah Stephen South Korea's April 15 general election has resulted in a shift to the left. Ten representatives to the 299-member parliament were elected from the labour movement-based Democratic Labor Party. The DLP, which previously had no

  • HONG KONG: Korean farmers lead protests against WTO

    Jim McIlroy, Hong Kong Around 1000 militant protesters against the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting were arrested on December 17 in a confrontation with police, dubbed "The Siege of Wan Chai" by the December 18 Hong Kong Sunday Morning