World

  • Labour struggles in the Urals

    The Urals region is one of the main industrial centres of Russia. However, its social infrastructure lags behind that of cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg, while such industrial centres of the region as Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk),

  • Democracy a 'farce' in India

    SYDNEY — "Human life is very cheap in India. Democracy has been reduced to a farce", according to K.G. Kannabiran, president of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee. Speaking to about 50 people at

  • CRA accused of cyanide pollution

    CRA accused of cyanide pollutionThe Environmental Youth Alliance is planning to confront the Australian company CRA over charges that it is polluting the Indonesian environment. CRA is the majority shareholder (67.95%) in

  • British Greens in crisis

    British Greens in crisis LONDON — The British Green Party is in financial crisis as its membership plummets under the control of the Green 2000 group, which swept the party's executive positions in elections last year. The party now has 8000

  • Privatisation from within

    Privatisation from within SERGEI POROSHIN works at the Lenin Metallurgical Plant in Perm. He is a member of the trade union committee, and also of the Rabochy group. Has the issue arisen of privatising the Lenin plant? The factory has been

  • Nuclear cuts reflect changing US strategy

    Nuclear cuts reflect changing US strategyThe latest US-Russian nuclear arms cuts, announced by presidents Bush and Yeltsin in Washington on June 16, reflect a continuing move by the US towards armaments more suitable to its

  • John Major and the 'tigers' of central Europe

    PRAGUE — British Prime Minister John Major's tour of central Europe in May served not only to improve the electoral chances of the Czech-based Civic Democratic Party. It also drew attention to economic and political

  • Anger over delay to PNG forest act

    Anger over delay to PNG forest act LAE, PNG — Tribal landowners, community organisations and members of the government have reacted angrily to delays in gazetting Papua New Guinea's new Forestry Act, says Sasa Kokino, director of the PNG

  • The 'self-impeachment' of Moscow's mayor

    MOSCOW — On June 5 Gavriil Popov announced his resignation as mayor of Moscow. He was a little short of 12 months into a five-year term. In statements to reporters, Popov indicated that he was quitting in order to

  • Australian spies aid Bougainville blockade

    Australian military surveillance is helping the Papua New Guinea Defence Force to blockade Bougainville by providing information on boats attempting to get through the blockade, according to a Bougainville provisional government representative in

  • Film maker killed in PNG

    Film maker killed in PNG A Swedish documentary film maker and journalist, Per-Ove Carlsson, has been murdered in Papua New Guinea. The murder took place at the end of April, while he was working on a film about the liberation movement in West

  • Growing protest against Serbian wars

    Protests in Belgrade indicate a growing opposition to President Slobodan Milosevic's attempts to create a Greater Serbia at the expense of Serbia's neighbours. The day after a church-organised procession calling for peace,