National News
Unions gearing for mass pensions strike
by Caroline Colebrook
PUBLIC sector unions moved closer to taking coordinated strike over the threat to their pensions last week in the wake of the publication of the Hutton report on pay and pensions, which recommended ending their current final-salary based pension scheme.
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Tory council tries to bulldoze Travellers
THE RESIDENTS and supporters of Dale Farm, the largest Traveller site in England, built on land they own that was once a scrap yard, are fighting plans by Tory controlled Basildon Council to evict them and trash their homes under planning laws.
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Police officer taped his own offence
A POLICE officer engaged in trying to arrest a student during one of the anti-tuition fees demonstrations at the end of last year incriminated himself, it appears, when he apparently forgot he was wearing equipment often carried to record suspects as he chased the 20-year-old.
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Dossier of social service cuts
THE PUBLIC sector union Unison last week published a dossier of cuts hitting social work departments, warning that, together with existing shortages, cuts will put the lives of children and vulnerable adults at risk.
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Tax workers ballot for action
WORKERS employed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are balloting for industrial action after new conditions were imposed that reduce annual sick leave from 10 to five days — and in some cases only three days.
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Remembering Marx At Highgate?
by New Worker correspondent
A NEW COMMUNIST Party delegation joined other communists and progressives in saluting the memory of Karl Marx at the annual ceremony in Highgate Cemetery in north London last Sunday.
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?and the Party Centre
by New Worker correspondent
THE IMMENSE contribution of Karl Marx to the cause of socialism was remembered by comrades and friends at the New Communist Party’s London Centre last Saturday at a reception to mark the 128th anniversary of the passing of the founder of scientific socialism.
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For service to the movement
by New Worker correspondent
ROBERT LAURIE’S long service on the committee of the Marx Memorial Library was recognised at a presentation at the Star pub in Highgate Village following the graveside address at Marx’ s tomb last Sunday.
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International News
Saudis invade Bahrain
by Karen Dabrowska
THE GOVERNMENT of Bahrain has responded to a month of protests by pro-democracy demonstrators by calling in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) troops to quell the peaceful popular uprising. The king also declared a three-month state of emergency.
On 14th March about 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and 500 from the United Arab Emirates were deployed in the capital Manama to guard key facilities such as oil and gas installations and financial institutions.
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Japan’s terrible new tragedy
Radio Havana Cuba
AS THE DAYS pass since the earthquake that struck Japan last Friday, world reports confirm that it is an immeasurable tragedy, parallel only to the US atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War.
A devastating earthquake of nine degrees on the Richter scale followed by a devastating tsunami destroyed cities and has everyone on edge because of the possibility of catastrophic nuclear damage in central Fukushima, where specialists are trying to cool three reactors.
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The Israeli Arms Race
Radio Havana Cuba
ISRAEL’S Defence Minister Ehud Barak says his country will ask for another $20 billion from the United States to modernise Israeli arsenals and maintain what he called its “qualitative military edge” against the Arabs.
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Vietnam: A veteran movie star still going strong
NGUYEN THE ANH may not be young and the films that carry his name belong to another era. But the 73-year-old actor is still passionate about the industry. He acted in more than 60 films, not to mention his many stage roles. But two remain close to his heart.
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Features
USA and China: compare the pair
by Rob Gowland
THE USA is the world’s biggest debtor nation. The economy at the heart of the capitalist system owes so much money that if the countries that loaned the money to the US asked for it back, the effect would be an economic disaster.
The Chinese Communists analysed the experience of the USSR and of their own chequered history, and realised afresh that any revolution that failed to raise the living standards of the people, that failed to meet their hopes and aspirations, would not last. To lift the living standards of the Chinese people, the CPC would have to rein in the population growth and create jobs for millions of people.
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Portugal: Revolt of the Generations
by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
PORTUGUESE society took to the streets in 11 cities on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and political leanings came together to send a clear message to Portugal’s political class to start implementing policies which create a future for the country’s youth. How many all over Europe are feeling the same frustration?
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Triangle Fire centennial brings new challenges:
“? a Phoenix must arise from these ashes”
by Anthony D Prince
THIS MONTH marks the 100th anniversary of one of the worst, unpunished industrial homicides ever committed. On 25th March 1911, fire roared through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on New York’s Lower East Side. In its deadly wake, 146 mostly female workers trapped behind locked doors paid with their lives to satisfy the profit lust of owners. The outrage that followed led directly to a revived labour movement and the recognition in the United States of International Women’s Day, now celebrated each March 8th around the world.
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