World News
Tlaib agrees to Israeli terms, then reverses herself on West Bank visit
By Barry Grey, 17 August 2019
The events of the past two days have provided a fresh demonstration of the cowardice of the Democratic Party and the absence within it of any principled opposition to Donald Trump’s authoritarian agenda.
Outrage as Colorado police returned to duty after shooting 19-year-old in the back
By Kayla Costa, 17 August 2019
The officers involved in the murder of De’Von Bailey, the 537th person killed by police in the US this year, have already been returned to active duty.
Lawyers raise questions after medical examiner declares Epstein committed suicide
By Jessica Goldstein, 17 August 2019
The New York Times has seized on the terse statement issued by the New York City medical examiner as supposed proof that any suggestion of possible foul play in Epstein’s death is the result of baseless “conspiracy theories.”
"That was our money!" Autoworkers livid over UAW corruption scandal
By Shannon Jones, 17 August 2019
Less than one month remains before the expiration of contracts covering 155,000 US auto workers, and there is growing rank-and-file outrage over rampant union corruption.
Questions continue over Russian nuclear accident
By Andrea Peters, 17 August 2019
The dangers associated with the rapidly accelerating global arms race are clear, even as questions remain over the nature of the nuclear explosion that occurred in Russia’s far north last week.
Venezuelan military court jails union official as working-class opposition grows
By Andrea Lobo, 17 August 2019
The indictment of Rubén González is part of an attempt to criminalize growing social opposition among workers and the impoverished masses.
Report reveals damning evidence of Canadian government bid to block criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin
By Roger Jordan, 17 August 2019
The report presents a picture of a Who’s Who of the Canadian ruling elite working behind the scenes with the Prime Minister’s Office to shield one of the country’s most globally active corporations from criminal prosecution.
Japan-South Korea conflict intensifies
By Nick Beams, 17 August 2019
South Korea announced this week that it has removed Japan from a list of countries that qualify for accelerated supply of South Korean products, after Japan had imposed a similar measure against South Korea on August 2.
Blackwater mercenary Nicholas Slatten sentenced to life in prison for initiating 2007 Nisour Square Massacre
By Jacob Crosse, 17 August 2019
Eight months after being found guilty a third time for first-degree murder, Slatten was sentenced Wednesday for his role in the notorious massacre in Baghdad during the height of the US occupation of Iraq.
US: Homelessness, housing insecurity top list of college student stressors as new year begins
By James Vega and Phyllis Steele, 17 August 2019
A new study on student hunger and homelessness reveals that among US college students, 33 percent reported eating less than they felt necessary because they did not have enough money for food.
UK: Record £9.2 billion of NHS budget handed to private firms
By Ben Trent, 17 August 2019
A third of hip replacements carried out in the NHS are now done privately and community health and mental health provision have seen five years of continual gains by the private sector.
German Greens prepare for participation in government
By Peter Schwarz, 17 August 2019
Fourteen years after the failure of the first Social Democrat-Green Party government, the Greens are being considered as a viable party of government in Germany once again.
New Zealand: Outrage over babies taken by the state
By John Braddock and Tom Peters, 17 August 2019
The brutal seizure of babies and infants from poor, mostly Maori families, has provoked public protests and outrage in the working class.
Australian health workers protest assaults on staff
By John Wilson, 17 August 2019
The Health Services Union limited the action and channelled workers’ anger into a demand for more security officers, not for increased funding and staffing.
Nearly five million people in the UK live in “deep poverty”
By Dennis Moore, 17 August 2019
An army of 14.3 million people are in poverty with a third (4.5 million) in “deep poverty” and living on the breadline.
State of siege in Kashmir: A warning to the international working class
By Bill Van Auken, 17 August 2019
Western governments and media have maintained virtual silence over the police state crackdown against 13 million Kashmiris.
The newest #MeToo atrocity: Opera singer Plácido Domingo comes under attack
By David Walsh, 17 August 2019
On August 13, the Associated Press posted an article by Jocelyn Gecker alleging that Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo had sexually harassed a number of women over a period of several decades.
Facial recognition technology and identity politics
By Kevin Reed, 17 August 2019
The Democrats are seeking to channel mass opposition to the wholesale invasion of privacy into a campaign to regulate and “equalize” facial recognition technology.
Indian chemical workers oppose privatisation; Bangladesh garment workers protest for unpaid wages; Australian rail and tram workers to take industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
17 August 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
New studies reveal growing epidemic of nurse suicides in the US
By Alex Johnson, 16 August 2019
Hospital conditions and the accompanying mental health strain are driving increasing numbers of nurses to take their own lives.
Australia: Pro-US ideologue brands student groups as China’s “useful idiots”
By Oscar Grenfell, 15 August 2019
Clive Hamilton’s comments are a warning that Australia’s involvement in the US drive to war with China will be accompanied by political repression domestically.
Hong Kong protests met with denunciations and threats
By Peter Symonds, 14 August 2019
The muted response to the threats of Chinese intervention reflects fear in ruling circles internationally that events in Hong Kong could be replicated in cities around the world.
Portugal’s social-democratic government calls out army against truckers’ strike
By Alex Lantier, 14 August 2019
The financial aristocracy has made clear that it will not tolerate workers’ demands for a dramatic rise in wages and working conditions, proper rest times, and fundamental social change.
Bottled water distributions begin as lead water poisoning crisis erupts in Newark, New Jersey
By Daniel de Vries, 14 August 2019
After three years of cover-up, city and state officials were forced to begin distributing bottled water to residents on Monday.
020 Kashmir
14 August 2019
Argentina’s stock market crashes after Macri loses pre-election poll
By Rafael Azul, 14 August 2019
The market crash shows international finance capital’s concern that the vote reflects massive social opposition to austerity regimes.
Far-right government elected in Guatemala
By Andrea Lobo, 14 August 2019
Marked by low participation and mass protests, the vote was overshadowed by the popular outrage against the “third safe country” agreement imposed by Trump.
Italy: Democrats, Five-Star Movement call for technocratic government
By Marianne Arens, 14 August 2019
On August 20, the Senate will hold a confidence vote on the current government, after far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini broke the governing alliance.
Three-star general stands for far-right Alternative for Germany in mayoral election
By Christopher Lehmann, 14 August 2019
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has selected Joachim Wundrak, a former Luftwaffe lieutenant-general, as its candidate for the Hannover mayoral election on October 27.
Australia: Mentally-ill man carries out stabbing attacks in Sydney
By Oscar Grenfell, 14 August 2019
The alleged perpetrator was a 20-year-old man from a working-class suburb in Sydney’s west, with a lengthy history of psychological issues.
UK supermarket workers oppose new wage-cutting contract at Walmart subsidiary Asda
By Barry Mason, 14 August 2019
To fight the plans of global corporations such as Asda, workers must adopt a strategy opposed to the nationalist, pro-capitalist policies of the trade unions.
Over a third of UK’s top earners live in London while workers struggle to get by
By Thomas Scripps, 14 August 2019
London represents a grotesque concentration of all the social contradictions and inequities of British capitalism.
Autoworkers react to slap-on-the wrist sentencing of former UAW VP
By Shannon Jones, 14 August 2019
Workers contrasted the lenient treatment handed out to Norwood Jewell with the brutal conditions they face every day in the factories compounded by the ever-present threat of layoffs.
Chicago school district and union officials prepare to sell austerity contract to teachers
By Kristina Betinis, 14 August 2019
The Democratic Party “fact-finder” has come down on the side of the district’s demands for a virtual wage freeze and further inroads on teachers’ health care benefits.
From Couch to Curb film launch highlights youth homelessness in Australia
By Patrick O’Connor, 14 August 2019
More than 116,000 people across Australia, or one in every 200, are currently without a home; a quarter of these are young people aged between 12 and 24.
“Voyage of the Damned:” Hundreds of refugees stranded in the Mediterranean
By Bill Van Auken, 14 August 2019
Europe’s governments have shut their doors to refugees rescued from the sea after fleeing death and torture.
US media continues to downplay suspicions about Jeffrey Epstein’s death
By David Walsh, 14 August 2019
After days of breathless coverage, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal both removed the Epstein story from the front pages of their print editions on Tuesday.
220 San Francisco mural leaflet
14 August 2019
Stop the suppression of the San Francisco murals! Defend the right to history, art and culture!
By the Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 14 August 2019
The SEP and the IYSSE condemn the suppression of the left-wing murals painted by Victor Arnautoff at George Washington High School in San Francisco and call on students, teachers and workers to unite in their defense.
Protest sit-in shuts Hong Kong international airport
By Peter Symonds, 13 August 2019
The closure of the world’s eighth biggest airport, following on from last week’s general strike, marks a significant deepening of the political crisis in Hong Kong.
Trump imposes new class-based immigration restrictions
By Eric London, 13 August 2019
The draconian regulation change means immigrants will be denied permanent residency if they have a low credit score, for example.
“Some kids are hiding in their house, Anne Frank-style”
Residents compare trauma of Mississippi ICE Raid to Hurricane Katrina
By Norisa Diaz, 13 August 2019
Children are afraid to attend school or leave their parents’ side. Families are hiding in their homes.
Scores arrested in protests against ICE in New York City
By Owen Mullan, 13 August 2019
The demonstrations pointed to the collaboration between border police and US technology firms such as Amazon.
Concerns grow over global financial stability
By Nick Beams, 13 August 2019
There is now a historically unprecedented situation in bond markets where it is estimated that some $15 trillion worth of government bonds are trading at negative yields, meaning an investor who purchased the bond and held it to maturity would make a loss.
Explosions at Russian military facilities leave eight dead
By Andrea Peters, 13 August 2019
Bound up with the accelerating global arms race, blasts at a nuclear weapons testing facility in Russia’s far north and an ammunitions depot in Siberia have injured dozens.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro threatens Glenn Greenwald, ratchets up fascist rants
By Miguel Andrade, 13 August 2019
Bolsonaro is engaged in the buildup of a fascist movement based on the security forces, and feels emboldened by the wide consensus in ruling circles around his economic agenda.
Establishment figures welcome renewed anti-China hysteria in Australia
By James Cogan, 13 August 2019
The ruling elite requires Australia’s incorporation into US war preparations to be accompanied by slandering any public opposition as the product of “Chinese interference.”
Australian actor John Jarratt sues Daily Telegraph after jury throws out rape charge
By Richard Phillips, 13 August 2019
The jury of five men and seven women took just over 15 minutes to unanimously reject the #MeToo-inspired rape allegation against the veteran actor.
Persecuted Sri Lankan writer released on bail
By Vimukthi Vidarshana, 13 August 2019
Although Shakthika Sathkumara is out on bail, the threat to his freedom of expression and that of other artists remains.
Immigrant tent camps in Paris: Victims of France’s war on refugees
By Will Morrow, 13 August 2019
Every night in Paris, in sprawling tent encampments lying beneath highway overpasses, or in local playgrounds and parks, thousands of refugees go to sleep on the street.
Costa Rican public health workers strike against tax changes, privatization plans
Workers Struggles: The Americas
13 August 2019
Thousands of hospital and clinic workers across Costa Rica carried out a two-day strike last week to protest a tax reform bill that has imposed additional burdens on workers and led to underfunding of services.
Eight-hour power blackout hits Indonesian capital
By Owen Howell, 12 August 2019
The Indonesian government has failed to meet the basic infrastructure demands of the rapidly growing Greater Jakarta, a megacity of 30 million people.
Australia: Mentally-ill man shot dead by police at his home
By Martin Scott, 12 August 2019
“If there was no danger to the public, and if he was contained in his own house and not doing anything, one would have to ask ‘why in the hell is he gone?’”
The ABC documentary “Hero or Villain”: Undermining the defence of Julian Assange
By James Cogan, 12 August 2019
The program’s pernicious subtext was that Assange should be viewed as dubious, at best, and undeserving of sympathy, let alone active political support.
Five years after police murder of Michael Brown
Police have killed 5,000 Americans since Ferguson protests
By Niles Niemuth, 10 August 2019
Despite popular protests and increased scrutiny in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s killing, US police officers have continued to kill at a rate of more than 1,000 people per year.
“I begged them! I said ‘Please, I’ve never seen this country!’”
Detroit man dies after ICE deports him to Iraq
By Zac Corrigan, 10 August 2019
Jimmy Aldaoud was born in Greece to Iraqi refugee parents and arrived in the US as an infant in 1979. He was deported to Iraq in June and died this week.
Australian investigative journalist exposes Guardian/New York Times betrayal of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 10 August 2019
Mark Davis made clear that the corporate media cynically exploited WikiLeaks, before ruthlessly turning on its founder Julian Assange and joining the state campaign against him.
Following AUSMIN talks, Australian politician compares China to Nazi Germany
By James Cogan, 10 August 2019
Andrew Hastie falsely compared the purported failure of Australia to respond to the threat posed by China with France’s lack of response to the “German advance in 1940.”
Canada’s ruling elite whipping up anti-China hysteria to pave way for repression, rearmament and war
By Roger Jordan, 10 August 2019
All the organs of Canadian bourgeois propaganda—government institutions, political parties and corporate media outlets—have united to cast Ottawa as a beleaguered David confronting a Chinese Goliath.
US defence secretary, NATO chief visit New Zealand to strengthen military ties
By Tom Peters, 10 August 2019
The visits by US defence secretary Mark Esper and NATO general secretary Jens Stoltenberg were aimed at incorporating New Zealand further into the military build-up against China, Russia and Iran.
Italy: Salvini seeks coalition with fascist Fratelli d’Italia
By Marianne Arens, 10 August 2019
In a surprise coup, the leader of the Lega is attempting to carry out a shift to the right and to prepare fascistic forms of rule.
German government and Greens promote military mission in Persian Gulf
By Johannes Stern, 10 August 2019
The German ruling class is intensifying its campaign for a European war mission in the Persian Gulf. Especially aggressive are the leaders of the Green party.
More strikes called off by UK airline unions
By Margot Miller, 10 August 2019
Airline staff in many different countries, who are determined to fight to defend their wages, jobs and conditions, face sabotage by trade unions working to isolate and suppress their struggles.
New York judge orders Fordham University to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine club
By Fred Mazelis, 10 August 2019
The decision is a small but significant blow against the campaign to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
Study finds workplace injuries increase risk of death by suicide, drug overdose
By Jessica Goldstein, 10 August 2019
A recent study found a relationship between work-related injuries and the rapid growth of deaths caused by suicide and drug overdose among workers in New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the US.
New Delhi’s assault on Kashmir and the fight against communal reaction, imperialism, and war
By Keith Jones, 10 August 2019
With the aim of inciting communal reaction against mounting social opposition and strengthening its hand against Pakistan and China, India’s BJP government has illegally stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Wall Street financial vultures: Please be nice to Puerto Rico
By Genevieve Leigh, 10 August 2019
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has intervened to attempt to contain growing social unrest and anger.
Book Review: Red State Revolt – Part II
The Democratic Socialists of America shows its hostility to socialism
By Nancy Hanover, 10 August 2019
Part II of the review of a new book by Eric Blanc of the DSA. See Part I
Bangladesh municipal workers still on strike; Indian telecommunication workers demand salaries; New Zealand vehicle testing workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
10 August 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
The Mississippi raid: Trump’s attack on immigrants and his Democratic enablers
By Patrick Martin, 9 August 2019
Hundreds of children have been traumatized by having their parents ripped away from them and, in many cases, shipped to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison 150 miles away.
Chelsea Manning faces $441,000 in fines and another year in jail for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks
By Niles Niemuth, 9 August 2019
A federal judge rejected Manning’s motion to reconsider daily fines, which will bankrupt her as she refuses to testify before a grand jury impaneled to bring frame-up charges against WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange.
John Pilger warns: “Do not forget Assange. Or you will lose him”
By Oscar Grenfell, 9 August 2019
The well-known journalist outlined the WikiLeaks founder’s deteriorating health, and the draconian conditions in which he is being held in a British prison.
UN: Global food and water crisis threatens 3 billion people
By Bryan Dyne, 9 August 2019
A new report by the United Nations warns that anthropogenic climate change, if left unchecked, will render a steadily increasing portion of Earth essentially uninhabitable.
Indo-Pakistani conflict sharpens with New Delhi’s assault on Kashmir
By Keith Jones, 9 August 2019
In response to India’s aggressive and patently illegal moves to tighten its control over disputed Kashmir, Pakistan has taken a raft of retaliatory measures and issued thinly-veiled war threats.
“We are in a war with social injustice that cannot be reversed without an uprising”
Oshawa autoworker speaks on wildcat strikes, Unifor treachery
By Marcus Day, 9 August 2019
An autoworker at a supplier factory for GM’s Oshawa Assembly Plant in Canada, which is set to close later this year, spoke to the WSWS about last week’s wildcat strikes.
Peak District residents speak on Toddbrook dam collapse in UK
“That dam could have gone in the middle of the night and at least 600 people would have died”
By our reporters, 9 August 2019
Those evacuated from Whaley Bridge and other areas after the nearby dam collapse were sent to Chapel High School in the town and were allowed to return home on Wednesday.
Australian High Court scraps free speech for workers
By Mike Head, 9 August 2019
The judges’ support for the sacking of a public servant is part of an assault on free speech under conditions of escalating social, geo-strategic and war tensions.
Jennifer Robinson, a leading member of Assange’s legal team, speaks with the WSWS
By our reporters, 9 August 2019
“It speaks volumes about Australia’s position in the world that it’s not willing to take a stand against the United States and protect an Australian citizen.”
Australian spy and police chiefs say raids on journalists must continue
By Mike Head, 8 August 2019
In a blunt intervention, Director-General of National Intelligence Nick Warner used the language of war to defend the targeting of journalists.
New Zealand: Maori nationalist parties exploit protest against property development
By Tom Peters, 8 August 2019
There is broad support for one of the country’s most significant archaeological sites, but the organisers are promoting illusions in the political establishment and the Maori tribal elites.
General strike signals entry of working class into Hong Kong protests
By Peter Symonds, 7 August 2019
The mass protests in Hong Kong, which have continued for more than two months, are part of the resurgence of the working class internationally.
Layoffs in global auto industry hit Mexico, India, China and the US
By Jerry White, 7 August 2019
Global automakers are destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs as sales fall and a brutal competition unfolds to dominate the market for electric vehicles and other new technologies.
In wake of El Paso slaughter, Mexican government continues to do Trump’s bidding
By Don Knowland, 7 August 2019
The Mexican president said on Sunday, “We don’t want to interfere in the affairs of other countries; we’re going to continue sticking to the principles of non-intervention.”
Washington orders international embargo on Venezuela, threatens invasion
By Andrea Lobo, 7 August 2019
US envoy Elliott Abrams declared: “If you told George Bush Sr. in 1988 that he would invade Panama, he would have called it madness. But two or three years later, it happened.”
Britain to join US naval blockade of Iran
By Jean Shaoul, 7 August 2019
The decision signifies a further intensification of the drive to war against Iran.
French-backed Libyan militia airstrike kills 42 civilians
By Alex Lantier, 7 August 2019
The bombing in the city of Murzuq was carried out by Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which relies on support from Paris and Washington as well as Egypt.
Protests in Australia continue to break official silence on Julian Assange
By our reporters, 7 August 2019
The sentiments of ordinary people stand in stark contrast to the refusal of all of the official parties to take any action in defence of the WikiLeaks founder.
Bowing to House Democratic leadership, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez purges staff
By Genevieve Leigh, 7 August 2019
The purge came after staff members criticized Democratic Party leaders over the passage of a bill funding Trump’s war on immigrants.
Kentucky coal miners continue protest as Blackjewel assets auction proceeds
By Naomi Spencer, 7 August 2019
The determined resistance of the miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, has demonstrated once again that the dividing line in America is class, not race or ethnicity.
Canadian auto parts workers stage wildcat strike as Oshawa GM plant closure looms
By Carl Bronski, 7 August 2019
The short strike was organized by rank-and-file workers independently of the pro-company Unifor union, which spent the day telling workers to get back to work.
085 Jacksonville power privatization effort
7 August 2019
Grenfell fire campaigner Amanda Beckles died by suicide
By Barry Mason, 7 August 2019
The coroner’s inquest heard that Amanda, a witness to the Grenfell Tower fire, had sought therapy after showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and was struggling financially.
095 Police violence in Nantes
7 August 2019
Sri Lankan parliamentary parties back extension of emergency rule
By Saman Gunadasa, 7 August 2019
The endorsement came four days after President Sirisena declared that the railways and public transport were essential services, effectively banning strikes in those sectors.
Australia: Melbourne rail workers vote for strike action
By Patrick O’Connor, 7 August 2019
While privatisation has provided new and lucrative profit opportunities for corporate operators, it has proven a disaster for rail workers and commuters.
Large turnout to view George Washington murals slated for destruction by San Francisco school board
By Toby Reese, 7 August 2019
The George Washington High School was opened for two hours for a viewing of the 13-panel mural by left-wing Depression Era muralist Victor Arnautoff depicting the “Life of Washington.”
South African jazz musician Abdullah Ibrahim returns with The Balance
By Hiram Lee, 7 August 2019
This latest work stands out as an unusually open and humane collection of songs in a genre that has been lacking in those elements far too much in recent years.
Fascist violence and the politics of race and racism
By Joseph Kishore, 6 August 2019
Evading the political causes of the reemergence of fascist violence, the New York Times promotes a racialist narrative of American society, centered on “whiteness,” that legitimizes the reactionary claims of the extreme right.
Tens of thousands of workers strike throughout Hong Kong
By Ben McGrath, 6 August 2019
The ruling class throughout the world is deeply fearful of the spread of social discontent as the working class moves into open struggle for its democratic and social rights.
US-China trade conflict escalates to currency war
By Nick Beams, 6 August 2019
Stock markets fell sharply around the world yesterday, amid fears of a currency war, after China allowed its currency, the renminbi, to pass through the benchmark of 7 to the US dollar.
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