South Asia
Sri Lanka: Plantation workers oppose wage sell-out
By our correspondents, September 16, 2009
Tens of thousands of plantation workers are defying the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and continuing their go-slow actions in protest at the sell-out wage deal struck by the union and employers on Sat...
Sri Lanka: Reject wage sell-out by plantation unions
By W.A Sunil, September 15, 2009
The union agreement is in effect a substantial wage cut, as the agreed increase does not even compensate workers for the 55 percent rise in the official cost-of-living since the last agreement in Marc...
Afghan presidential candidate demands “caretaker government”
By James Cogan, September 15, 2009
It is almost certain that no final result in the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan will be announced on Thursday, as was scheduled.
Demands to curtail war reporting after raid to free New York Times journalist
By Julie Hyland, September 14, 2009
Controversy over the SAS-led operation to free a New York Times journalist held captive in Afghanistan is being used to make demands that will curtail any objective and honest reporting from the war z...
Fighting rages across Afghanistan as US military buildup continues
By Patrick Martin, September 14, 2009
Attacks by anti-occupation forces spread across Afghanistan over the weekend, with major armed clashes, bombings and other incidents in at least 10 provinces.
Sri Lankan government expels UNICEF spokesman
By Sarath Kumara, September 11, 2009
The Sri Lankan government has expelled UNICEF’s spokesman in Colombo in a crude attempt to cover up its war crimes and hide the squalid conditions in which Tamil civilians are being detained.
Sri Lankan government opens up captured territory for investors
By Sampath Perera, September 10, 2009
Since the defeat of the LTTE in May, the Sri Lankan government has pressed ahead with extensive plans to attract foreign investors and set up Special Economic Zones inside captured rebel territory.
A socialist program for Sri Lankan plantation workers
By Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), September 9, 2009
The SEP warns plantation workers that the trade unions are preparing to impose a poverty-level wage deal in collaboration with employers and the government. Workers need to mobilise independently to d...
Massacre in Kunduz bares real nature of Afghanistan war
Statement by the Socialist Equality Party
September 9, 2009
The latest massacre of civilians in Afghanistan is not the result of “bad decisions”, an alleged “disregard of NATO rules” or an “unclear situation”. It is rather the inevitable result of ...
UN-backed panel denounces fraud in Afghan election
By Tom Eley, September 9, 2009
As official vote-counting indicated that President Hamid Karzai was nearing victory in Afghanistan’s recent elections, a UN-backed electoral commission issued an order for a large-scale recount.
Afghanistan: Further evidence of massive electoral fraud
By James Cogan, September 8, 2009
Amid further widespread evidence of fraud, the Afghan presidential election has become a political debacle for the US-led occupation.
Sri Lankan police detain three JVP journalists
By W.A Sunil, September 8, 2009
Sri Lankan police have arrested three journalists from Lanka, a Sinhala weekly, under the country’s draconian emergency laws.
