World

Australian oil giant Oil Search has admitted that it caused an oil spill on August 9 between Papua New Guinea and Australia after earlier telling media it was unaware of any such spill. Following an expose in the PNG press, the company issued a

The mayor of Greater Caracas, Juan Barreto, announced on March 27 that the city will confiscate some 400 buildings and sell them to the people currently renting apartments within them. "All good rented buildings which were constructed between 10

Alex Miller At its national conference last month, the Fire Brigades Union voted by 31,105 to 14,611 to break its 86-year-old tie with the Labour Party. The massive majority in favour of disaffiliation with Labour was achieved despite strong

Roberto Jorquera Workers at BHP's Escondida copper mine in northern Chile voted on August 31 to end their strike and accept a deal for a 5% pay rise and bonuses of some US$17,000. More than 2000 workers had been on strike since August 7. Chile

Allen Myers, Phnom Penh On January 29, police announced the arrest of two people they accuse of fatally shooting Chea Vichea, the president of the Free Trade Union of Workers. Vichea was killed a week earlier, as he read newspapers at a news

Rohan Pearce On March 22, US Army Sergeant Michael Smith was sentenced to six months' jail for his part in the torture of Iraq prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. The real scandal, however, is not that his pathetic sentence is such a slap in the face

Maritime Union of Australia WA secretary Chris Cain and other MUA members were joined by members of the US International Longshore and Warehouse Union in an unprecedented protest during the 41st International Transport Workers Federation conference

Doug Lorimer The UN Security Council unanimously approved a statement on March 29 urging Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment research activities, despite the fact that such activities are allowed under the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

On August 28 a judge ruled that 63 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise were not guilty of breaching the peace, which they had been charged with after a February 14 Valentine's Day "bread and roses" protest outside parliament in Harare. A WOZA

Socialist Vietnam and Venezuela, led by socialist President Hugo Chavez, have agreed to build a "strategic relationship" and to bring their economic relationships on a par with their already strong political links. The countries' two-way trade in

Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas National and state governments are attempting to tackle the threat posed to Venezuela by right-wing paramilitary groups that have infiltrated the regions of the country bordering Colombia, particularly the state

Doug Lorimer Undeterred by the erosion of public support for the war in Iraq, in an update of its September 2002 US National Security Strategy document, US President George Bush reaffirmed his policy of "pre-emptive" attacks — what used to be