World News
The FBI’s police state operation against Trump
By Patrick Martin, 14 January 2019
A New York Times report aimed at reviving the anti-Russia campaign against Trump exposes a conspiracy by the political police of the FBI to negate the results of the 2016 election.
Sickouts spread, impact widens as US shutdown enters fourth week
By Rebecca Campbell, 14 January 2019
The longest government shutdown in US history continues to impact on the economy as federal workers and government contractors try to cope with missed paychecks.
Mine collapse in northern China leaves 21 dead
By Robert Campion, 14 January 2019
China is the largest producer of coal in the world and notorious for its poor safety record.
Spain’s far-right Vox party backs right-wing coalition government in Andalusia
By Alejandro López, 14 January 2019
This is the first time a far-right party promoting the legacy of fascist dictator Francisco Franco helped form a government since the Francoite dictatorship fell 40 years ago.
France’s mass “yellow vest” protests continue to grow in 2019
By Alex Lantier, 14 January 2019
Demonstrations this Saturday grew significantly compared with last week, amid rising anger at French President Emmanuel Macron.
Massive campaign to defend Israeli religious students accused of killing Palestinian mother of nine
By Jean Shaoul, 14 January 2019
The murder and its aftermath highlight the utter lawlessness and racism inherent in the Greater Israel project from which the settler movement stems.
Hypocritical outrage from media, politicians after latest racist outburst by Iowa Congressman Steve King
By Trévon Austin, 14 January 2019
The intimate ties between the Republican Party and far-right, segregationist forces have been systematically covered up by the media and the Democrats as well as the Republicans.
New York City public housing residents in the South Bronx without heat for a decade
By Katy Kinner, 14 January 2019
During the winter months, New York City’s social misery is on full display as public housing residents live without reliable heat or hot water.
Macy’s marks worst day ever on Wall Street, will shut eight stores in 2019
By Jessica Goldstein, 14 January 2019
Against the backdrop of Sears’ threatened liquidation, Macy’s and other department retailers suffered severe stock drops and announced plans for more store closures.
Australia: Casual coal miners begin week long strike in Wollongong
By Oscar Grenfell, 14 January 2019
Labor and the unions, which have spearheaded the destruction of full-time jobs, are cynically exploiting the stoppage to posture as opponents of growing casualisation.
Felix Tshisekedi declared victor in disputed presidential election in Congo
By Eddie Haywood, 14 January 2019
Heavily-armed riot police were deployed outside the electoral commission’s headquarters in Kinshasa ahead of the announcement.
Amid threat of national emergency declaration
US government workers call in sick, demand strike action against lockout and payless paydays
By Barry Grey, 12 January 2019
The growing opposition of federal workers comes together with the preparations of Los Angeles teachers to strike, the mounting opposition of auto workers to plant closures, and a rising wave of class struggle internationally.
For a united struggle to defend public education in California and beyond!
By the WSWS Teacher Newsletter, 12 January 2019
As teachers in Los Angeles prepare to strike, they confront the fact that the unions are working to undermine and isolate their struggle against privatization and other attacks on public education.
Following Oshawa GM sitdown protest, autoworkers fed poison of Canadian nationalism at Windsor rally
By Shannon Jones, 12 January 2019
Autoworkers attending a rally called by Unifor in Windsor, Ontario who were looking for a way to fight GM plant closures were instead hit with a strong dose of Canadian nationalism by union officials.
Jaguar Land Rover announces nearly 5,000 UK job losses in global restructuring
By Robert Stevens, 12 January 2019
Last October, JLR posted losses of £90 million and has seen a collapse in sales by nearly 50 percent in its main and most profitable market, China.
Security personnel at German airports continue protest strikes
By K. Nesan and Marianne Arens, 12 January 2019
The work stoppages make clear the enormous anger of security staff and their willingness to fight.
Pompeo in Cairo: The ugly face of US imperialism
By Bill Van Auken, 12 January 2019
Reflecting US imperialism’s priorities in the region, Pompeo mentioned Iran 25 times in his speech, compared to a mere dozen references to “terrorism.”
Was the hack of German politicians data supported by the state?
By Ulrich Rippert, 12 January 2019
Out of all the parties represented in parliament, only politicians from one remained unaffected by the hack: the far-right AfD.
Financial warnings point to Australia’s economic and political instability
By Mike Head, 12 January 2019
Two reports raise the spectre of a financial crisis that would blow up the pre-election claims of both the Coalition government and the Labor Party.
The political significance of India’s two-day general strike
By Keith Jones, 12 January 2019
This week’s general strike in India, one of the largest strikes in history, is part of a growing upsurge of the world working class.
No layoffs! No concessions!
Autoworkers call for demonstration February 9 to fight GM plant closings
By Jerry White, 12 January 2019
The Steering Committee of the Coalition of Rank-and-File Committees, which was established last month, is calling on workers and young people to march on February 9 at the headquarters of GM in downtown Detroit.
The struggle against austerity and the fight for the United Socialist States of Europe
By the Socialist Equality Party (UK), 12 January 2019
The SEP insists that the answer to austerity in the UK is not the election of a pro-capitalist Labour government, but the unification of the working class across the continent in the struggle for socialism.
US astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson targeted by #MeToo campaign
By David Walsh, 12 January 2019
Nothing that has come to light so far demonstrates that Tyson is guilty of wrongdoing. On the contrary, the published material suggests he is the victim of a virulent strain of political hysteria.
Steins;Gate 0: A sequel to the popular time-travel anime series
By Matthew MacEgan, 12 January 2019
One of the top anime series of 2018, based on a 2015 video game of the same name, deals with a small group of friends who discover a way to time travel, with dangerous consequences.
Indian fireworks workers protest over layoffs, Pakistan water treatment workers walkout; New Caledonia nickel miners extend strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
12 January 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
12 January 2019
12 January 2019
Trump at the Rubicon
By Patrick Martin and Andre Damon, 11 January 2019
A presidential declaration of a “national emergency” to override congressional opposition would mean a permanent and irreversible break with constitutional government in the United States.
Ford to lay off thousands, close plants across Europe
By Will Morrow, 11 January 2019
The company’s statement bluntly spells out the role to be played by the unions—which it correctly labels its “trade union partners”—in suppressing opposition among workers.
“We are being treated like pawns”
As payless payday looms, federal unions stage protests in US cities
By our reporter, 11 January 2019
With hundreds of thousands of federal workers facing destitution due to the budget impasse, unions staged protests aimed at dissipating anger over the impact of the government shutdown.
Widespread support for Los Angeles teacher strike as unions seek to block statewide struggle
By our reporters, 11 January 2019
Students, parents and workers expressed their support for Los Angeles teachers who are determined to walk out for improved wages and to oppose the drive to dismantle public education.
Corporate media smears WikiLeaks and Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 January 2019
A host of articles attacking Julian Assange this week are representative of what the world-renowned investigative journalist John Pilger aptly described as “Vichy journalism.”
Macron launches fraudulent “national debate” on “yellow vest” protests
By Alex Lantier, 11 January 2019
The debate is an attempt to strangle mounting opposition while continuing reactionary policies of austerity and militarism under cover of a few empty phrases.
French government witch-hunts ex-boxer who punched riot police in “yellow vest” protest
By Will Moreau, 11 January 2019
The outpouring of popular support for Dettinger has triggered a hysterical campaign by the Macron government against the ex-boxer and those supporting him.
Syriza government enforces new budget cuts in Greece
By John Vassilopoulos, 11 January 2019
Syriza is enforcing another austerity budget that reduces even further the social position of an already devastated working class.
Sri Lankan president issues bogus promise to fulfil election pledges
By K. Ratnayake, 11 January 2019
Sirisena is attempting to cement an alliance with former President Mahinda Rajapakse against the United National Party-led government.
Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in for second term amid rising social unrest and threats of intervention
By Bill Van Auken, 11 January 2019
Washington, the EU and the so-called Lima Group of right-wing Latin American governments have called Maduro’s second term “illegitimate,” inviting regime change.
After attempted coup in Gabon, government imposes internet and media broadcast blackout
By Eddie Haywood, 11 January 2019
The imposition of a complete blackout of internet and broadcast services has long been utilized as a tool of repression by the Bongo government.
Amazon hires public relations firm to counter popular hostility to headquarters project in New York City
By Clare Hurley, 11 January 2019
Amazon’s desperate public relations campaign represents an inverse reflection of mounting opposition to the conglomerate’s practices.
Landlords reap profits from dilapidated US military housing tainted with lead, mold, brown tapwater
By Zaida Green, 11 January 2019
Property developers are left free to pocket federal housing stipends under fifty-year leases whilst hazardous homes cripple soldiers’ children and send entire families to the hospital.
Germany deports more refugees to Afghanistan
By Marianne Arens, 11 January 2019
On Monday night, a further 36 refugees were deported to Kabul, including a number who had lived and worked for years in Germany and had no idea they were at risk.
Nearly 600 homeless died on UK streets in 2017
“We’re living in the Dark Ages—how can there be so much wealth and so much misery?”
By our reporters, 11 January 2019
Over the holiday period, WSWS reporters spoke to homeless people, charities and volunteers dealing with the escalating homeless crisis in the UK.
Unite Canadian, US and Mexican autoworkers!
Build rank-and-file committees to fight GM’s plant shutdowns in Oshawa and the US
By the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, 11 January 2019
Unifor cannot be pressured or reformed. Workers must take the struggle to stop the plant closures into their own hands.
Actors and stage managers strike against developmental work with Broadway League
By Katy Kinner, 11 January 2019
The National Council of the Actors’ Equity union announced a strike on Monday, calling for a new contract.
Mounting social anger seen in two-day strike against Indian government
By our correspondents, 10 January 2019
While the capitalist media tried to black out the strike, it was supported by broad sections of the working class.
Worker killed as Bangladesh police attack striking garment workers
By Wimal Perera, 10 January 2019
The re-elected Hasina government is mobilising heavily-armed police to suppress protests by garment workers over wages.
India’s “rise” and the savage exploitation of the working class
By Kranti Kumara, 10 January 2019
India’s rapidly expanding working class is condemned to poverty wages, Dickensian working conditions and precarious employment, and this in a country in which public services, if they exist at all, are dilapidated.
“All the teachers across the nation should come out”
California, Michigan educators call for joint action with LA teachers
By our reporters, 10 January 2019
The WSWS Teacher Newsletter spoke to teachers eager to join with LA teachers and expand the fight to defend public education nationally and internationally.
Socialist Equality Party takes legal action against surveillance by German secret service
By the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, 10 January 2019
Dr. Peer Stolle, the lawyer for the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, has submitted formal notice in writing to the German Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution, which is published here.
No deal reached in US-China trade talks
By Peter Symonds, 10 January 2019
The negotiations consisted of US officials insisting that Beijing meet a long list of demands, but offering nothing in return other than not proceeding with higher tariffs.
Report: Police gave neo-Nazi rioters free rein in Chemnitz, Germany
By Martin Nowak, 10 January 2019
An internal police report makes clear that although the police were well informed about the activities of the far right in Chemnitz, they did nothing to stop them.
Los Angeles teachers prepare to strike
By Jerry White, 9 January 2019
Teachers in the nation’s second-largest school district are engaged in a critical battle to defend the right to public education.
Sears liquidation temporarily averted, thousands more jobs to be slashed
By Jessica Goldstein, 9 January 2019
Sears Holding Corp. has put liquidation on hold as hedge fund manager and asset stripper Eddie Lampert, its primary shareholder, revised a bid to purchase the company’s assets.
US-Turkish tensions rise over Syria withdrawal plan
By Bill Van Auken, 9 January 2019
Turkey’s president denounced statements by national security adviser John Bolton on the Syrian Kurds after refusing to meet with a US delegation.
US-China trade talks extended, amid continuing obstacles
By Peter Symonds, 9 January 2019
Washington’s aggressive stance was underscored by the provocative dispatch of a US destroyer to challenge Chinese claims in the South China Sea on day one of the trade talks.
Further protests against Orbán government in Hungary
By Markus Salzmann, 9 January 2019
On Saturday, in freezing temperatures, about 10,000 people demonstrated again in Budapest against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Victor Orbán.
Actor Kevin Spacey arraigned on indecent assault charge in Massachusetts
By David Walsh, 9 January 2019
Spacey’s brief courtroom appearance on Monday, during which he hardly spoke, was the occasion for another media frenzy.
Guatemalan establishment indifferent to deaths of US incarcerated migrant children
By Andrea Lobo, 9 January 2019
The reaction in ruling circles not only reflects their disdain for the country’s impoverished masses, but also their efforts to demonstrate loyal submission to the Trump administration.
Insurgent Gabon soldiers shot dead in foiled coup attempt
By Eddie Haywood, 9 January 2019
The coup attempt occurred days after the US deployed 80 troops to Gabon to protect “US assets in the event of violent demonstrations” in nearby Congo.
New Zealand’s public healthcare crisis worsens
By Tom Peters, 9 January 2019
Reports that thousands of people are being denied hospital treatment expose the fraud of the Labour-led government’s promises to improve the public health system.
US and Canadian elites demand Trudeau government toughen its anti-China stance
By Roger Jordan, 8 January 2019
Although Ottawa has been a key partner in Washington’s confrontation with Beijing, ruling circles want Trudeau to go even further and ban Huawei from Canada’s 5G network.
Sri Lankan plantation workers oppose company-union attempts to impose sell-out
By our reporters, 8 January 2019
There is widespread hostility to the plans for a new collective agreement that would reject workers’ demand for a 100 percent wage rise.
Bolivian doctors strike ends amid turmoil over Morales’ bid for fourth term
By Cesar Uco, 8 January 2019
The doctors strike is an expression of the larger problem of pervasive poverty in Bolivia and the continuing turn by the MAS government to the right.
US Senate confirms top-level political “fixer” as ambassador to Australia
By Mike Head, 8 January 2019
Culvahouse’s appointment underscores Washington’s determination to ensure there is not the slightest deviation in Australia’s front line role in any conflict with China.
Evacuated Opal Tower residents in Australia express anger and dismay
By our reporters, 8 January 2019
Residents of Opal Tower in Sydney have been living in temporary accommodation since the discovery of large broken concrete panels in the building.
Austin Beutner—Wall Street’s Superintendent of Education in Los Angeles
By Alan Gilman, 7 January 2019
Beutner is renowned as a financier who has had a lucrative career extracting huge profits by privatizing public assets and slashing the wages and benefits of workers.
US shutdown could leave millions without food stamps
By Kate Randall, 7 January 2019
More than 19 million households face the cutoff of SNAP benefits—partially in February and completely in March—if the government shutdown drags on.
China’s moon landing to exacerbate tensions with US
By Peter Symonds, 7 January 2019
Like the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and the first manned space flight in 1961, China’s landing of a probe on the moon’s far side has provoked consternation in Washington.
Trump deploys troops to central Africa following disputed Congo election
By Eddie Haywood, 7 January 2019
Washington is making it clear that it intends to install a pliant government in Kinshasa that will ensure that America’s economic interests are secured.
Growing “yellow vest” protests defy French police repression
By Anthony Torres, 7 January 2019
The protest Saturday, the first day of action of French “yellow vest” protesters in 2019, mobilized substantially larger forces than the last protests of 2018.
German media demand accelerated rearmament
By Peter Schwarz, 7 January 2019
Editorials in leading German publications are marked by a mixture of fear and aggression as the new year begins.
UK Integrity Initiative heavily involved in Skripal affair
By Robert Stevens, 7 January 2019
Leaked documents indicate that the moves against Russia over the Skripal affair were scripted well in advance.
Sri Lankan Central Bank governor calls for extended IMF program
By Saman Gunadasa, 7 January 2019
The IMF suspended the final $500 million installment of its $1.5 billion loan to Sri Lanka last November after bitter infighting erupted within Colombo’s political elite.
Opal Tower structural flaws expose rot in Australian construction industry
By John Wilson, 7 January 2019
Residents have been told they must wait at least another week before they can reoccupy the building because the specific cause of the cracking has yet to be identified.
As government shutdown enters third week
Trump threatens to declare national emergency to build border wall
By Niles Niemuth, 5 January 2019
Legal options are reportedly being seriously considered within the Trump administration for circumventing Congress, including redirecting funds already appropriated to the Department of Defense.
Ecuador unveils “special examination” of Julian Assange’s asylum
By Mike Head, 5 January 2019
The Moreno government’s investigation into the granting of the WikiLeaks founder’s asylum and Ecuadorian citizenship is clearly designed to repudiate both.
Scuffles in German city of Amberg exploited to incite right-wing campaign
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 5 January 2019
Politicians from Bavaria and Berlin have been lining up to outdo each other with proposals for more restrictive asylum laws.
NBC journalist resigns, blasting media as “defender of Washington and the system”
By Bill Van Auken, 5 January 2019
William Arkin, a veteran reporter and security consultant for NBC, delivered a scathing critique of the corporate media as stenographer and apologist for the military-intelligence apparatus.
UAW lawsuit against GM pits temporary part-time workers against laid-off Lordstown workers over jobs
By Shannon Jones, 5 January 2019
In an effort to divert anger over its refusal to fight impending GM plant closures, the UAW has filed a lawsuit to force the dismissal of hundreds of temporary part-time workers in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Report: 452 child workers died in the US from 2003 to 2016
By Jessica Goldstein, 5 January 2019
The number of children working and killed at work in the US reveals the stark reality that in one of the most advanced capitalist economies in the world, child labor is not eradicated.
Mumia Abu-Jamal wins right to reargue appeal of his 1982 conviction
By Fred Mazelis, 5 January 2019
The internationally known prisoner has steadfastly maintained his innocence of the murder of a Philadelphia police officer.
India’s unions to hold two-day “general strike” next week
By Deepal Jayasekera, 5 January 2019
While millions of workers will join the protest strike to oppose Modi and his class-war policies, the Stalinists and their union allies are intent on channelling social opposition behind the Congress and other rightwing parties.
Fifteen Indian coal miners trapped, likely killed, in mine disaster
By W. A. Sunil, 5 January 2019
Rescue efforts after the “rat-hole” mine flooded have been hampered by inadequate equipment and the indifference of the government authorities.
Protests against poverty, housing evictions and repossessions spread across Ireland
By Steve James, 5 January 2019
Figures released by the Department of Housing last July showed that nearly 10,000 people in Ireland are living in emergency accommodation. Housing campaigners suggest the real figure is double that.
Growing signs of Australian economic fragility
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 January 2019
A marked slump in the property market is one expression of broader recessionary tendencies.
Australian stripped of citizenship despite being made stateless
By Mike Head, 5 January 2019
Prakash’s case has set a far-reaching precedent because the government has proceeded even though Fijian authorities rejected Canberra’s declaration that he is a citizen of that country.
Wall Street rules
By Andre Damon, 5 January 2019
The Federal Reserve, responding to Thursday’s stock market selloff, declared it was “listening” to the markets and ready to scrap its plans to raise interest rates.
The New York Times’ #MeToo smear against Bernie Sanders
By Barry Grey, 5 January 2019
The Times wants the next Democratic campaign, like the last, to be dominated by the politics of gender, race and sex—not class.
Netflix’s The Innocent Man: The American injustice system
By Joanne Laurier, 5 January 2019
The six-episode documentary released in December is based on bestselling novelist John Grisham’s only non-fiction effort. The miniseries chronicles the wrongful incarceration of four men in the 1980s in Ada, Oklahoma.
The global slowdown: US trade war comes home
By Andre Damon, 4 January 2019
The economic warfare pursued by the Trump administration with the support of broad sections of the US political establishment is coming home to roost in the form of a global slowdown spreading to the United States.
US House Democrats reaffirm right-wing program of austerity, bipartisanship
By Niles Niemuth, 4 January 2019
Nancy Pelosi’s re-election as Speaker was welcomed by President Donald Trump, who expressed his hope that they would work together on infrastructure and “so much more.”
Democrat Elizabeth Warren enters US presidential race
By Patrick Martin, 4 January 2019
The Massachusetts senator, a former longtime Republican, is seeking to capture the “left” lane in the nomination contest with populist demagogy directed against big business.
French police arrest “yellow vest” spokesman Eric Drouet
By Anthony Torres, 4 January 2019
The ruling elite is sending a signal that it aims to criminalize and persecute all expressions of genuine political opposition.
Trump says there is no set date for Syria troop withdrawal
By Bill Van Auken, 4 January 2019
While Trump bemoaned Washington’s “never-ending war,” his acting Defense Secretary told the Pentagon to focus on “China, China, China.”
US-China tensions to rise over Taiwan
By Peter Symonds, 4 January 2019
New US legislation calls for regular arms sales to Taiwan and urges top US officials to engage in exchanges with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Silence follows Trump attorney’s statement that Julian Assange did nothing “wrong”
By James Cogan, 4 January 2019
Not a word about Rudy Giuliani’s Fox News interview has been said by the political and media establishment in the US, Europe or Australia.
British government dispatches Royal Navy to stop cross-Channel refugee boats
By Paul Mitchell, 4 January 2019
A right-wing anti-immigration campaign is being manufactured around the minuscule number of desperate souls—539 in total—who tried to cross the Channel in 2018.
Los Angeles school officials hire strikebreakers as teachers prepare for walkout
By Dan Conway and Jerry White, 4 January 2019
Teachers in Los Angeles should reach out to educators in Oakland and across California to prepare a statewide walkout to defend the right to high quality public education.
As one-year anniversary of lockout approaches
Alcoa intensifies attack on Quebec ABI workers
By Laurent Lafrance, 4 January 2019
The United Steelworkers’ systematic isolation of the ABI workers’ anti-concessions struggle has encouraged management to escalate its takeaway demands.
Federal government threatens takeover of NYC Housing Authority
By Philip Guelpa, 4 January 2019
There is no “excess capacity” in the available housing inventory that could absorb tens of thousands of additional low-income people looking for a place to live due to the loss of NYCHA housing.
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