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Clinton, Trump post New York primary victories

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Democratic and Republican presidential frontrunners each won by double-digit margins and increased their lead in convention delegates pledged to their nomination.

Obama flies to Saudi Arabia amid rising tensions

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While friction has arisen over Washington’s dealings with Iran and fallout from 9/11, the monarchical dictatorship remains a linchpin of US policy in the Middle East.

Canada’s Liberal government finalizes $15 billion Saudi arms deal

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The foreign minister has been caught out lying shamelessly about the Liberal government’s deciding role in finalizing a $15 billion arms deal with the Saudi regime.

In Cairo, French President Hollande defends the bloodstained Sisi junta

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Hollande discussed with the Egyptian dictator his response to the November 13 attacks in Paris before deciding to impose a state of emergency across France.

Tensions rise between Italy and Egypt over Giulio Regeni murder

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Italian student and journalist Giulio Regeni was tortured to death in Egypt in January in a bestial manner.

Verizon workers confront strikebreaking operation

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While workers are determined to wage a militant battle, they have been repeatedly undermined by the telecom unions, which offered $200 million in concessions.

Steel producers summit threatens stepped-up trade war against China

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The focus of the Brussels summit on the global steel crisis was “promoting structural adjustment” through job losses, deregulation and trade war measures against China.

UK unions agree to implement pay cuts for NHS workers

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

After paving the way for years of pay freezes and erosion of conditions, the unions have colluded with the government and accepted the 1 percent cap on pay this year and until 2020.

Indian elite welcomes deal to allow US military to use ports and bases

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While the Congress and Stalinists are voicing opposition to India becoming a “full-fledged” US ally, they have been instrumental in expanding US-Indian military ties.

New Zealand government plans major increase in military spending

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The expansion is aimed at further incorporating New Zealand into Washington’s plans for war against China.

Autopsy indicates Indonesian police unit tortured and killed prisoner

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Densus 88 unit works closely with, and receives training from, the American FBI and the Australian Federal Police.

Refugee deaths in the Mediterranean: An imperialist crime

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Thousands of deaths by drowning are accepted, if not welcomed, as collateral damage required by the campaign to keep desperate refugees out of Europe.

Demolition: Take an investment banker apart, and what do you find?

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The film tells the story of Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal), a New York investment banker who experiences an emotional unraveling after his wife dies in an automobile accident.

Flint residents speak out on ongoing water crisis

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Tens of thousands of people in Flint, Michigan have been exposed to lead as a result of the city’s 2014 decision to switch its water source to the contaminated Flint River.

Seven dead, hundreds homeless in Houston, Texas flood

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Houston’s working class residents have been forced to flee rising waters with little assistance from the city or state governments.

US announces new Iraq deployments

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The US reinforcements will reportedly work with frontline Iraqi units to organize a “punishing battle” for control of the northern city of Mosul.

Hundreds feared dead as another refugee boat sinks in Mediterranean

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

According to reports, hundreds more refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea on the first anniversary of the worst refugee boat disaster to date.

Hollande sheds crocodile tears over refugees in Lebanon visit

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

French President François Hollande began his four-day trip to the Middle East, visiting Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, to boost economic and military ties amidst escalating war.

Thousands of Detroit children exposed to lead or copper contaminated water

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

One third of DPS schools are reporting lead or copper contamination of drinking water, with one sample at 100 times the EPA toxic level.

Belgian police arrest six suspects in March 22 Brussels attacks

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Mohamed Abrini’s accomplices were all known to intelligence services, as were their aliases and their movements, but they were not arrested.

Doha oil talks collapse

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The main reason for the failure to agree on an oil production freeze appears to be tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are on opposites sides in conflicts in the Middle East.

Sanders, Clinton hold final events before New York primary

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Clinton’s once double-digit lead in the state has been cut to as little as six percentage points.

Verizon strike at critical juncture

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While workers have displayed determination and tenacity, every action by the CWA and IBEW has only encouraged the intransigence of the telecom giant.

A comment on demoralized opportunists

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The anti-Trotskyist blog site of Alex Steiner and Frank Brenner recently reported on a meeting that they hosted in Brooklyn, New York, on April 12.

Rail unions declare support for UK exit from the EU

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union and the train drivers union ASLEF claim EU membership is “bad for Britain in general and bad for the railway in particular.”

Australian government to call an extraordinary “double dissolution” election

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Amid a worsening economic situation, the government is under intense pressure from big business to break the parliamentary logjam and impose its austerity agenda.

Québec Solidaire ready to govern with pro-austerity Parti Quebecois

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Québec Solidaire leader Francoise David has said her party “would perhaps be in power together” with the big business PQ had the latter implemented proportional representation.

Brazil’s impeachment crisis and the debacle of the Workers Party

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The vote to proceed with the impeachment of Rousseff marks the end of a political era and the opening up of a new period of intense class struggle in Latin America’s largest country.

A conversation with Stephen Parker, author of Bertolt Brecht: A Literary Life

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

WSWS writers Sybille Fuchs, Stefan Steinberg and David Walsh recently spoke to the author of a valuable new biography of the famed German playwright and poet.

Sanders makes a pilgrimage to Rome

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Democratic presidential candidate and the Catholic pope are engaged in similar missions: both seek to put a “left” face on deeply reactionary institutions.

A closer look at the faculty union’s deal that halted the California State University strike

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The agreement by the California Faculty Association is a wolf in sheep’s clothing that abandons educators’ demands to recoup previous wage and benefit concessions accepted by the CFA.

US-Russia tensions flare in Baltic Sea

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Washington’s aggressive military build-up throughout Eastern Europe, in close collaboration with its NATO allies, has brought the entire region to the brink of war between nuclear powers.

Brazilian congress votes to impeach PT President Rousseff

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The PT’s inability to counter the reactionary alliance of forces with a “there will be no coup” campaign leading up to the vote is an indictment of the party and its politics.

Earthquakes in Japan kill 42 people, injure 1,000

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The response of the Japanese government has been a military one—despatching some 20,000 troops as part of rescue and relief operations.

Unions try to isolate embattled Verizon strikers

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

As 39,000 workers fight the telecom giant, the trade unions are doing everything they can to isolate workers and force them into submission.

Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant stumps for Sanders at New York rally

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Sawant’s remarks on Saturday underscored the integration of Socialist Alternative into the Sanders campaign and the Democratic Party.

Ecuador earthquake kills hundreds

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Hindered by an absence of earthmoving equipment, desperate residents dug through debris with their hands, as those trapped under rubble called out for help.

VW hands out massive bonuses to company executives

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The granting of bonuses to executives at VW illustrates how management is reacting to the exhaust emissions scandal, which has resulted in losses and potential fines.

Verizon workers speak as strike enters new week

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The WSWS Verizon Strike Newsletter spoke to workers on the picket lines in Northern Virginia and New York City.

People’s Assembly London demonstration: Protesters speak on austerity, war and EU referendum

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to participants in Saturday’s People’s Assembly march in London.

Eighteen teachers jailed as police crack down on protests in Mexico

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Thousands of teachers mobilized across the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán and Veracruz against President Peña Nieto’s education reform plan.

People’s Assembly demonstration promotes Corbyn’s anti-austerity fraud

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Large numbers of junior doctors currently involved in industrial action took part in the protest, which also included student nurses and steelworkers.

Moody’s warns Australian government of credit downgrade

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The warning highlights the crisis of the Coalition government which is under mounting pressure to implement deeply unpopular austerity measures.

Wave of closures and job cuts under way in New Zealand

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The global slowdown is impacting across the board with jobs being destroyed in the public sector, manufacturing and retail.

The political significance of the campaign for an active boycott of the Brexit referendum

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The SEP urges a rejection of both the defenders of the European Union and the advocates of a British exit from the EU in the official Remain and Leave campaigns.

Stephen Parker’s Bertolt Brecht. A Literary Life—a welcome biography that raises big historical issues

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

One of the most talented and influential playwrights of the 20th century, Brecht adapted to Stalinism, with pernicious consequences for his career and work.

This week in history: April 18-24

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

This Week in History provides brief synopses of important historical events whose anniversaries fall this week.

US defence secretary sends menacing message to China

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Carter used his visit to the Philippines to unveil the basing of US military forces in the country and again blame China for mounting tensions in the South China Sea.

Where’s the socialism in the Sanders campaign?

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In Thursday’s debate in Brooklyn, as throughout his campaign, Sanders offered nothing more than minor reforms of the capitalist system.

Australian prime minister skirts controversy in China

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Turnbull carefully avoided any contentious public remarks on the US-China confrontation in the South China Sea.

UK Brexit referendum campaigns officially begin

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The referendum on the UK’s membership in the European Union is taking place under conditions of a deepening crisis for the Conservative government of David Cameron.

Tensions mount as Verizon strike continues

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Striking workers said they are determined to continue the struggle in the face of open strikebreaking by the company, which has trained 20,000 nonunion management personnel as replacements.

Stimulus measures ease slowdown in Chinese growth

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

While government stimulus measures helped to ease the slowdown in Chinese growth, trade figures continued to slump, reflecting stagnation in the world economy as a whole.

Conflicts over European financial policy point to coming attacks on workers

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Criticisms by German officials of easy-money policies at the European Central Bank were bitterly denounced by British, French, and US media and politicians.

New testimony exposes Mexican government’s complicity in Ayotzinapa massacre

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Previously unreported testimony shows that federal police were involved in the September 2014 attacks that resulted in the disappearance of 43 student teachers.

Microsoft sues US Justice Department over secret data requests

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The company’s complaint makes clear that it regularly receives requests from the government for its customers’ private data stored on Microsoft’s remote servers.

The business of baseball and the Cuban national pastime

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The defection in 2015 of almost 150 players, most of them to the US, has hollowed out Cuba’s winter league Serie Nacional.

Canada: Attawapiskat First Nation declares state of emergency over attempted youth suicides

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Even sections of the corporate media have had to concede that Parliament’s emergency debate on the Attawapiskat crisis will do nothing to end chronic poverty and social deprivation.

Cost of elderly care increasing throughout the UK

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

In the period from 2004 to 2014, state funding for care of the elderly plunged by a third.

Hundreds demonstrate in London against proposed Housing Bill

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Set to be passed this month, the bill would put an end to secure tenancy agreements for new social renters and impose higher rents.

Police attack student protests in Sydney and Melbourne

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The violent actions of the police against a handful of student protesters are a warning of the preparations for a broader crackdown on any opposition to austerity cuts and war.

IMF attaches harsh austerity measures to Sri Lankan bailout

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

“Reforms” demanded by the IMF will produce further attacks on working class living standards.

German Chancellor Merkel gives green light for prosecution of satirist Jan Böhmermann

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The prosecution of Böhmermann for his denunciations of the Turkish president sets a precedent for censorship and political repression in Germany.

Colonia: Under Pinochet, a disposal center for enemies of the state

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

German director Florian Gallenberger’s political thriller Colonia takes place during and after the US-backed Chilean military coup in September 1973.

Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Financial crisis panel urged Obama administration to prosecute top bankers

Sat, 16 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Not a single bank executive or government official referred by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to the Obama Justice Department for criminal investigation has been prosecuted.

US corporate tax cheats hiding $1.4 trillion in profits in offshore accounts

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

A report by Oxfam found that the 50 largest US corporations are evading $111 billion in US taxes per year—enough to wipe out child poverty in America.

Panama Papers reveal New Zealand is a tax haven for world’s elites

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Successive Labour and National governments are responsible for New Zealand laws that allow foreign trusts to carry out massive tax avoidance.

Verizon workers discuss political issues in strike

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

On picket lines in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania reporters from the WSWS talked to strikers about the significance of the walkout by 39,000 Verizon workers.

Video: Striking Verizon workers speak out

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

On the picket line in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, striking Verizon workers speak out against intolerable working conditions and cuts to health care and pensions.

Thousands attend Sanders rally in New York ahead of primary

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

There is an enormous chasm between the aspirations of workers and youth attending Sanders rallies in large numbers and the proposals advanced by the Vermont senator.

Protests in Chicago after police kill 16-year-old boy

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Pierre Loury was shot in the chest while climbing a fence in the Homan Square neighborhood of Chicago.

Brussels air traffic controllers restart work amid growing scandal over March 22 attacks

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Unions are negotiating with Belgocontrol and the state over a reactionary contract calling for a three-year increase in the retirement age, to 58.

Labour’s Corbyn pledges to lead pro-EU referendum campaign in UK

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The intervention by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in favour of Britain remaining in the EU is vital for the ruling elite amid growing popular hatred of the Cameron government.

South Korea’s Democrats narrowly defeat ruling conservatives in national election

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The Minjoo Party of Korea’s victory is not an endorsement of their policies but a sign of frustration with deteriorating economic conditions.

White Paper 2016: Blueprint for a new German police and military state

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The paper dispenses with the limitations imposed on German imperialism following its defeat in two world wars and amounts to a blueprint for a new German police and military state.

Zika, social inequality and capitalism

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

The criminal indifference of the US Congress to the spread of the Zika virus stands as an indictment of a social system that subordinates the vital needs of humanity to the accumulation of wealth by a tiny oligarchy.

Midnight Special: “Shining the light” on unfreedom in America

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special is a disturbing science fiction thriller that conveys deep anxiety about the state of the world.

Ex-car czar Steven Rattner touts Obama’s “pro-worker” record

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 05:00:00 GMT

Investment banker and New York Times columnist Rattner, former head of Obama’s Auto Task force, cynically portrays Obama as a tireless advocate of the working man.