World

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 As US and British occupation troops fought fierce street battles with rebel Shiite cleric Sayed Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in four cities, Iraqi resistance fighters assassinated Izz al Din Salim, the president of the

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

Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas A feature article in the August 21 Newsweek International criticised the role of state-owned oil companies (dubbed the "Seven Sovereigns") that compete with privately owned oil multinationals in the world market.

Bert Brauer, Christchurch NZ National Party leader Don Brash's speech attacking Maori rights just before Waitangi Day (February 6) ignited a racist backlash. Racially motivated verbal and physical attacks, especially on Asian immigrants, have

Doug Lorimer On September 21, while the US government was considering freeing notorious right-wing Cuban emigre terrorist Luis Posada Carriles from detention for illegally entering the US, supporters of five Cuban men convicted in 2001 of spying on

Rihab Charida & Nikolai Haddad If the olive branch is the symbol of hope, then Israel's uprooting of hundreds of thousands of ancient olive trees from Palestinian land is a fitting metaphor for the current situation. With each passing day,

Protests were held in some 30 of Nepal's 75 districts on July 26, organised by the Citizens Movement for Democracy and Peace, an umbrella body of non-party organisations. The protest in the capital, Kathmandu, reportedly attracted 2000-3000.

Rupen Savoulien A series of bombings and shootings on March 29 left at least 19 people dead and dozens more wounded in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, according to official reports. There were also unconfirmed reports of numerous other

Sami Ramadani was for many years an exile from his native Iraq as a political refugee from Saddam Hussein’s regime. Today, he is an outspoken opponent of the U.S. invasion and occupation. At an international antiwar conference in London in

Send messages of concern and protest to: Juan Manuel ArbelaezDirector de recursos humanos Panamco Colombia S.A.(Coca-Cola Company in Colombia)Fax: 091-4011687Mail: Cra 94 No 42-94, Fontibon Bogot  D.C. Coca Cola FemsaJuan Manuel Arbelaez