World

The Human Rights Commission of Northern Ireland has expressed concern over a trial of Taser guns. On March 23 the Policing Board of Northern Ireland invited a two-week "consultation", stating it is "proposed that the use of Tasers be introduced on a

Alex Miller On September 2, close to 400 members of the Scottish Socialist Party attended a Glasgow rally dedicated to "Unity, integrity and socialism". It took place in the wake of the announcement that two former SSP platforms, those controlled by

In the last few years, the NZ Alliance has undergone big upheaval. Green Left Weekly's Sibylle Kaczorek spoke to Mike Treen, the foreign affairs spokesperson of the NZ Alliance, when he was in Australia for the Socialist Alliance's third national

Floods and mudslides killed more than 1000 people in one weekend in north and north-west Haiti as Tropical Storm Jeanne brushed by the nation on September 18-19. Tens of thousands are left homeless and destitute, their shops, livestock and crops

Stuart Munckton "A wave of condemnation swept through Bolivia today after the terrorist attacks that killed two people and resulted in the arrest of a U.S. citizen", Prensa Latina reported on March 22. Two bombings occurred at low-cost tourist

Alex Miller, London It was a torrid week for Prime Minister Tony Blair. On September 6, the normally Blairite defence minister, Tom Watson, resigned in protest at the PM's refusal to specify a timetable for handing over his job to a successor. The

The severe oppression of women in Afghanistan suddenly became a issue when Washington decided to invade the country in 2001. But how much has improved? According to human rights activist Dr Nazir Gul, a former UN officer in Kabul, Afghan women are

Kim Bullimore, West Bank As you pass through the West Bank, you can't help but notice the illegal Israeli settlements dotted high up on the hills. They are easily identifiable: red tiled roofs, Western-style houses, barbed wire, checkpoints and

Tim Anderson In late 2005, while war raged in the Middle East and oil prices rose drastically, governments and oil companies repeated the "market forces" mantra, saying there was nothing they could do about oil prices. However, the Venezuelan

Chris Slee Since December 2005 there has been an escalating armed conflict between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Sri Lankan armed forces have carried out a series of brutal massacres of Tamils, such

Doug Lorimer On April 20, as the death toll of US troops in Iraq passed the 700 mark, US President George Bush nominated John Negroponte, currently Washington's ambassador to the UN, to replace Paul Bremer as US ambassador to Iraq. If his

Norm Dixon On September 16, at least 800,000 government workers, including 300,000 teachers, took part in what the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) described as the "largest strike in South Africa's history". Members of eight public