World

Doug Lorimer The December 5 directive issued by US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz provided a clear indication of what the Bush Doctrine is all about. It barred French and German companies from competing for US$18.7 billion in contracts for

Brett Prowse, Sanaa As the first day of the European Union-sponsored Arab Regional Conference on Human Rights and the Role of the International Criminal Court got underway here on January 10, Yemeni activists outside were being intimidated and

Leslie Feinberg An inordinate amount of imperialist media attention on Afghanistan has focused on the wording of a new constitution approved by the Loya Jirga, or grand assembly. Like a huckster at a carnival shell game, the more the big-money

Ahmad Nimer The Geneva Accords, an unofficial framework for negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, were released in mid-October 2003. Despite a relative lull in media attention, the accords are an extremely significant development. Top

Norm Dixon On January 4, while addressing British troops in Basra, British Prime Minister Tony Blair attempted to defend his government's participation in the US-led war against Iraq. In an embarrassing Freudian slip, Blair referred to "weapons of

Shane Bentley Britain's National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), with 67,000 members, made headlines in December when its Scottish regional council voted overwhelmingly to end its long-standing links with the Labour Party and

Pip Hinman On January 14, the Aceh high court upheld the verdict of a lower court which last year convicted five Free Aceh Movement (GAM) negotiators of treason and terrorism and sentenced them to long prison terms. The maximum penalty is death.

Doug Lorimer As the number of US troops killed in Iraq steadily climbed toward 500, Coalition Provisional Authority chief Paul Bremer claimed that guerrilla attacks had fallen dramatically in the wake of Saddam Hussein's capture on December 13.

Matthew Cookson A successful and important conference took place in Cairo in Egypt on the December 13-14 weekend. The Second Cairo Conference Against Capitalist Globalisation and US Hegemony brought together anti-war activists from across the

Raul Bassi, Sydney Many times, we will read in newspapers, or hear on the radio or TV, of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army. Sometimes, these killings are "explained" by the claim that the victims were militants, or "didn't follow soldiers

Rohan Pearce On January 12, US-based Human Rights Watch criticised house demolitions carried out by US forces occupying Iraq. According to HRW, at least four houses have been demolished by US forces over the past two months to punish relatives of

Joel Beinin, Cairo As the Israeli army reimposed a nearly complete lock-down on the West Bank in the aftermath of the Christmas Day suicide bombing outside of Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reportedly deputised a top general to