World

Coral Wynter& Jim McIlroy, Caracas More than 1000 students from the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) received their higher technician diplomas at a graduation ceremony at the Poliedro stadium on August 16, presided over by Venezuelan

In his comment piece, "Should Venezuela have entered Mercosur?" (GLW #682), Raul Bassi emphasises the incapacity of Mercosur — the "Common Market of the South" set up in 1991 between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — to

Farooq Tariq, Lahore The "Good Books" left bookshop was opened by well-known radical writer Tariq Ali on April 2. The opening of the joint venture of two radical publishers — Jamhoori Publications and Jeddojuhd Publications Lahore — was

Doug Lorimer In a September 18 national radio address — six days after ordering the expulsion of Australian high commissioner Patrick Cole — Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare accused Canberra of using aid and the presence of Australian troops

Pip Hinman, Karachi Renowned author and activist Tariq Ali was a hit, particularly with young Pakistanis, at the Karachi World Social Forum, held March 24-29. Wherever he spoke, whether at the 5000-strong opening ceremony or at seminars on

Peter Gellert, Mexico City A new stage in Mexican political life was opened last weekend with the National Democratic Convention, which brings together the broad array of political and social forces that have fought against alleged electoral fraud

Around 150 delegates, half of them from abroad, met in Hanoi late March for the first international conference on the victims of Agent Orange. Participants discussed and launched the following international appeal concerning the ongoing health and

Doug Lorimer On June 24, Iraqi resistance fighters forced US Army troops to withdraw to the outskirts of Baquba, a city with 250,000 residents located 56 kilometres north of Baghdad. The assault was part of coordinated attacks against US occupation

US Socialist Worker's Eric Ruder looks at debates about the impact of the "pro-Israel lobby" on US foreign policy and the real reasons behind US backing of Israel's wars. In March, two academics touched off a firestorm of debate with a paper called

Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rejected recent attacks by the US administration on his government, and slammed President George Bush as a "coward, murderer and responsible for genocide", in an outspoken talk on

Alison Dellit In the first week of June, the German cabinet decided to equip the army with "riot control agents" when abroad. Article 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention explicitly prohibits the use of "riot control agents as a method of warfare".

Federico Fuentes, La Paz At 4000 metres above sea level and sprawling above the capital La Paz, the inhabitants of the fastest growing city in Latin America — El Alto — have consistently shown their readiness to fight for their rights,