World

Below is an abridged statement by the US-based Venezuelan Information Office. Visit http://rethinkvenezuela.com.

“The announcement by the Prime Minister of increasing the price of fuel by 78 sen and increasing diesel by RM1 added with the increase in electricity as well lifting the cap on chicken prices tantamounts to a declaration of war against the ordinary people of Malaysia”, S.Arutchelvan, the secretary general of the Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) declared in a June 5 statement.

On June 1, the eastern Bolivian provinces of Beni and Pando followed the May 4 referendum in Santa Cruz, holding referendums for “autonomy” from the national government. Together with Tarija, whose “autonomy” referendum is scheduled for June 21, these four eastern provinces, known as the “half moon”, are a stronghold of the right-wing oligarchy that is attempting to destablise the government of President Evo Morales.

There is a trial currently taking place in Belfast that seems to explain plainly how nothing makes any sense.

According to a June 5 Prensa Latina report, Cuba condemned the Declaration of the Rome Summit on Food Security, describing it as "the result of the lack of political will of the countries of the North" to promote a fair, lasting solution to the

Hector Antonio Ventura and 13 others, now known as the Suchitoto 14, were arrested in July last year for their participation in an anti-water privatisation forum in the town of Suchitoto.

On June 4, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the US issued its ruling upholding the convictions of the five Cuban nationals being held in US jails, including the espionage and murder conspiracy convictions. The “Cuban Five” had infiltrated right-wing Cuban exile groups in Miami to help prevent terrorist attacks. At the same time, the US government has refused demands from the Cuban and Venezuelan governments to extradite convicted terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, responsible for blowing up a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed all passengers, to Venezuela where he escaped from jail. Below, is an abridged statement at a May 20 press conference by Gloria La Riva on behalf of the US National Committee to Free the Cuban Five. For more information, visit http://freethefive.org.

The below appeal for solidarity was posted on < htt. Please send messages of support to [email protected].

Below is a June 3 statement from the International Trade Union Confederation. Visit http://www.ituc-csi.org.

Following the December 2 constitutional reform referendum defeat — the first for the forces of the Bolivarian revolution since the election of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 1998 — and facing popular discontent at the problems holding back the advance of the process of change, the pro-revolution forces face a big challenge in securing an overwhelming victory in the November regional elections in order not to lose ground to the US-backed opposition.

South Africa, up until the recent outbreak of xenophobic violence, was one of the rare, relatively stable African countries where refugees like myself could expect their basic rights to be protected.

Pedro Antonio Marin, better know as Manuel Marulanda and “Tiro Fijo” (Sure Shot), was the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army (FARC-EP).