448

Municipal elections in France, which took place on March 11 and 18 and are an important litmus test for the mood of the country, have brought a few surprises. The conservative right has lost the two most important local government positions, the
In the weeks leading up to the M1 protests against corporate tyranny, the big-business media waged psychological warfare against those who might be thinking of attending, arguing that the protests were useless, violent, undemocratic and
BY VIV MILEY Twenty thousand people marched through Istanbul on May Day in support of left-wing hunger strikers in Turkey's jails. Twenty two prisoners have starved themselves to death since October, in a protest against authorities' decision to
BY PHIL HEARSE LONDON — Ten thousand police were mobilised here on May 1, against the "threat" posed by 5000 anti-capitalist demonstrators. This grotesque overkill was accompanied by a weeks-long barrage of press hysteria, warning of "anarchy"
BY LISA MACDONALD SYDNEY — It rained hard on May 6, the day scheduled for the traditional May Day rally and march. But, determined not to let the weather deter them, hundreds of activists nevertheless turned up to the assembly point in Hyde Park
BY MELANIE SJOBERG If you are one of the estimated 1.8 million low-paid workers in Australia reliant on an award for your wage, your pay packet will soon receive a $13 (before tax) boost, courtesy of the national wage case decision handed down by
BY JOHN PASSANT "We have a great objective — the light on the hill — which we aim to reach by working for the benefit of mankind." So spoke Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley half a century ago. Now Kim Beazley, celebrating the 100th anniversary
BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — A report into the mysterious concentration of illnesses at the Capalaba Post Office, south-east of the city, has been described by former workers as "superficial" and "a farce". Up to 40 current and former Australia
BY SONNY MELENCIO MANILA — While President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formally lifted the week-long "state of rebellion" she had declared on May 7, the "terror effect" remains. The police and army are still maintaining checkpoints around this city
It is not fashionable today to write something good about an ex-convict. Nevertheless, that is what I am setting out to do in this essay. I received a letter recently from a correspondent who lives in Wales. In it, she relates having met a
BY BRONWEN BEECHEY ADELAIDE — The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has claimed victory after a strike at Mobil's Port Stanvac refinery. The strike was part of a long-running dispute with Mobil over plans to reduce the work force at Port
BY KATHY NEWNAM ADELAIDE — Following the overwhelming success of Adelaide's M1 blockade of the Australian Stock Exchange, more than 500 people joined the annual May Day parade here on May 5. A spirited contingent of Socialist Alliance members