World

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on January 12 restored the powers of the speaker and deputy speaker of the Sindh provincial assembly. The federal government of Nawaz Sharif had dismissed the Sindh provincial government, ruled by Sharif's Pakistan
US Threat to gay rights in Fiji SUVA — Right-wing political forces and conservative church groups in Fiji are attempting to reverse a constitutional provision that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. A clause in the Bill
Airline passengers and crew can be exposed to hazardous pesticides without their knowledge, according to a report by the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP). “Flyers Beware: Pesticide Use on International and Domestic
Dita Sari rejects bail offer THE INDONESIAN MEDIA announced on December 13 that Indonesian political prisoner Dita Sari had been offered early bail by the Habibie government. Dita, a labour activist and leader of the People's Democratic Party, was
By Farooq Tariq LAHORE — In a drastic move to curb trade union activity in the power and water sector, the Pakistan government last month "suspended" the trade unions covering the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA)for two years. On
Hamba kahle (farewell) Simon Nkoli By Ken Davis On November 30, Simon Tseko Nkoli, one of Africa's most prominent gay and AIDS activists, died in hospital in Johannesburg. His death was front-page news, among the feature stories on World AIDS
Vietnam launches action plan for women By Reihana Mohideen The women of Vietnam have been described as showing a greater sense of independence than women in other south-east Asian countries. During the war of national liberation, first against
Two leaders of the New Left Front in Sri Lanka were brutally assaulted on January 13 while campaigning in provincial council elections. Dr Vicramabahu Karunaratne, the general secretary of the Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), Patrick Fernando, the NLF
CANADA — Canada has topped the United Nations' Human Development Index for the past five years. However, a new report, released by the UN on December 4, condemns Canada's federal and provincial governments for exacerbating poverty and homelessness
'I will always strive to engineer a better society' By Sue Boland The Indian revolutionary movement has suffered a double blow with the deaths of Vinod Mishra, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) on December 18,
Following is a letter to the Chinese government from XU JIN, daughter of arrested pro-democracy activist XU WENLI. JANUARY 5 — On Monday, November 30th, you jailed my father, Xu Wenli, yet again. This time you accuse him of "subverting the
As schools decay, Russian teachers protest By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — When Russian authorities learned on December 15 that striking teachers had blocked an important rail line, it may finally have dawned on them that the situation in the