Around the world

Several demonstrations are planned to protest against the World Bank’s Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) Conference in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, 24-26 June.

THOUSANDS OF building workers downed tools and walked off sites throughout Germany to demand a 4.5% pay rise. The strikers are also demanding a rise in the minimum pay rate for workers in the former […]

Results from last week’s parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic show that the social democrats (CSSD) won with 30.4%, followed by the communist party (KSCM) (18.8%), which is the highest vote for the KSCM since […]

Council elections in Sri Lanka have reinforced last December’s general election results with the United National Party strengthening its position further. It was bolstered, above all, by the cease-fire deal with the separatist Liberation Tigers […]

On 20 June, workers in Spain will strike for 24 hours against the imposition of a law that drastically cuts unemployment benefit.

Anti-capitalist protesters, trade unionists, and socialists will be demonstrating against the upcoming European Union summit to be held in Seville on 20-21 June 2002. CWI members and supporters from Spain and also from a number […]

The results of the June 2 first round of the national assembly elections are not simply a right wing success and do not give a full picture of French politics.

The second round of local elections affecting 25% of Italy’s electorate confirmed a big electoral swing against the Berlusconi forces after a year of his belligerent right wing government. Even in the North, the center-left […]

"The latest is that yesterday, three youth, including children aged 16,12,and 8 were killed in the heaviest shelling in Nakyaal sector, where the prime minister of Pakistani Occupied Kashmir is holed up unable to move […]

Over the last few days, sectarian conflict has increased in various parts of Belfast. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the recent trouble. But what is the real cause of the outbreak of […]

An anti-war demonstration of hundreds organised by socialist and left activists in the Jammu and Kashmir National Awami Party (NAP) and National Student Federation (NSF) was attacked by members of the reactionary Islamic Hizb-Ul Mujahadeen […]

THIS WEEKEND’S Golden Jubilee celebrations survived a crisis – Buckingham Palace started burning down. After the public were evacuated and firefighters efficiently got the blaze under control, TV commentators asked the question on everyone’s lips: […]

The first-round success of far-right leader, Jean-Marie le Pen, in the French presidential elections shocked the world. Hardly discussed, however, were the votes for the Trotskyist parties. Socialism Today interviews Alex Rouillard, organiser for Gauche […]

Some ’lasting good’ will come out of the war against Afghanistan, promised Tony Blair last year. But promises given by capitalist politicians are usually written in sand, especially the kind made in wartime.

In a whole series of elections in Europe, far-right parties have made significant gains. The recent votes for Le Pen in France and the Pim Fortuyn List in the Netherlands have rocked the establishment parties […]

THE RECENT Dutch elections were nothing short of an earthquake, expressing frustration and disappointment with the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). The winners were the Christian Democratic Party, which was in government from 1918-94 (longer than […]

The world is nearer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The United States and the Soviet Union came close to a nuclear exchange, when Khrushchev based nuclear-armed […]

FOR THE people of Kashmir, India and Pakistan, the prospect of a war which may escalate into a nuclear conflict is terrifying. George Bush and Tony Blair claim to be horrified but the US and […]

Kashmir, India and Pakistan stand on the edge of a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. Two unstable regimes with nuclear weapons threaten to bring destruction to millions of people already suffering from poverty, disease and mass […]

A CONFERENCE of CWI members in Kazakhstan earlier this month was a great success. 20 comrades attended from Karaganda, Zhambul, Pavlodar, Uralsk and Almata. Visitors from Russia and from the CWI also attended.

AN ATTACK on an Indian army camp in Kashmir by Kashmiri separatists has increased tensions between India and Pakistan threatening a potentially horrific escalation in the region’s long-running conflict.

It is clear that the liberal/social-democrat Purple government has been severely punished. The government parties lost in total 44 seats in the 150 seat parliament.

ON SATURDAY, 18 March thousands will march through the streets of London to protest at Sharon’s and the Israeli state’s murderous assaults on the Palestinians.

“The government accidentally helped us with their new economic plan. You get political discussions every time you buy cigarettes as they now cost more. There was a lot of anger in the street that we […]

On the 31st of May, 2002, thirty-two countries will begin a competition to determine who wins the World Cup, a trophy to determine the best footballing nation in the world so to say. While Nigeria […]

In a few weeks time, it will be three years since the military were forced out of power. Looking back, it has been a period of pains and pangs for most layers of the working […]

David Nellist, 1417, 52.8%

“SO MUCH has been transferred to the national level, and so much of the financial control is retained there, that being asked to vote in a local election is like being asked to select which […]

“THIS IS a disaster” – that was Burnley Labour leader Stuart Caddy’s response to the BNP winning three council seats in Burnley. That feeling is echoed throughout the country.

The extreme right Dutch politician, Pim Fortuyn, was shot dead 6 May, on the premises of the national radio station in Hilversum. This single act has shaken Dutch society, including the complacent Dutch establishment who […]

CWI Kashmir and Jammu section celebrates May Day.

Local authority elections took place in most parts of England on 2 May. We contested 30 seats. In general our votes increased [see table below]. By comparison, we received more than double the average Socialist […]

DURING PEACEFUL protests last year on May Day in London, the Metropolitan police at Oxford Circus penned thousands of people in, for several hours. Two of those held are to sue the police for wrongful […]

Le Pen’s success in reaching the second round of the French Presidential elections has highlighted the series of setbacks the so-called "centre-left" governments have recently suffered in European elections. This follows recent election gains for […]

Turnout

The Israeli army has withdrawn from Jenin, leaving a trail of destruction. People the world over have been shocked by the brutality of the invasion, including attacks on Red Cross/Crescent staff and reports of Palestinians […]

Devastation. Whole areas of Palestinian cities, from Bethlehem to Nablus, and especially Jenin, have been laid to waste. The siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters continue as we […]

Toronto, 15 April – Over 8,000 public sector workers marched on the provincial legislature at the swearing-in ceremony of the new premier. Forty-five thousand workers from Ontario Public Service Employees Union have been on strike […]

As all the first-hand reports make abundantly clear, 16 April 2002 in Italy was a day like no other. The first 8 hour general strike in the country for 20 years was solid. The response […]

As was expected, the purple government has just fallen (16/04/02) over the report about ’Dutchbat’, the Dutch army unit, and its operations in Srebrenica in 1997.

The celebrations by the ruling elite in Venezuela and the White House on Saturday 14 April following the removal of Hugo Chávez from power by a military coup were premature. Within a matter of hours […]

Elections to the Verkhovnaya Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) last week have left workers with little to celebrate. Six parties (The Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the United Social Democratic Party, the United Ukraine block, the Our […]

Today saw Italy’s first united general strike in 20 years.  All the unions were involved, even the CGT, a very right wing union. First reports are saying 95% of public sector workers took strike action. […]

Sharon’s bloody war of reoccupation in the West Bank and Gaza has destroyed whatever hopes lingered for the ‘peace process’ in the Middle East. Many working people around the world will now be asking if […]

"AS THE United States tries to mediate a truce in the Middle East, Israeli military planners are preparing for a major assault on Palestinian cities, towns, and refugee camps that would be broader and deeper […]

The signing of a peace accord between the Israeli government and the PLO leadership, which promises limited self-government in Gaza and Jericho, represents an extremely important change in the situation in the Middle East.

4,000 people, Palestinians and Jews, took part in a demo at A-ram junction on Wednesday 3 April at the IDF checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah. The event, organised by radical women organisations, was meant […]