Europe
France: Former president Jacques Chirac to stand trial for corruption
By Antoine Lerougetel and Alex Lantier, November 11, 2009
Former President Jacques Chirac’s indictment is a major blow to the credibility of the political establishment.
London postal workers condemn strike sell-out by Communication Workers Union
By our correspondents, November 11, 2009
Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site have been talking to postal workers in London about the decision by the Communication Workers Union to call off the national postal strike.
Lockerbie: Human rights lawyer states Megrahi was framed
By Steve James, November 11, 2009
Leading British human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce believes that Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the only man accused and convicted of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, was fra...
Ratification of Lisbon Treaty provokes crisis for Britain’s Conservatives
By Julie Hyland, November 10, 2009
The Czech Republic’s ratification of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty created a political maelstrom in the UK, exposing major divisions within the Conservative Party and the crisis facing Britis...
Germany: The Left Party in power implements massive job cuts
By Ludwig Weller, November 10, 2009
Following their long-standing collaboration with the SPD in Berlin, the Left Party has now entered a coalition with the SPD in the state of Brandenburg, pledging to axe thousands of public sector jobs...
The fall of the Berlin Wall
By Peter Schwarz, November 9, 2009
The contradiction between the official celebrations and the lack of public enthusiasm over the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall speaks volumes about the real significance of the events ...
British government mounts world’s largest bank bailout
By Jean Shaoul, November 9, 2009
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has just announced the world’s biggest bailout for a single bank in a bid to rescue the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Opel workers in Germany protest threatened mass redundancies
By our reporters, November 7, 2009
On Wednesday, thousands of Opel workers took part in protests throughout Germany directed against the massive job cuts to be implemented following General Motors’ decision earlier this week not to s...
Fire Brigades Union capitulates to South Yorkshire management
By Simon Whelan, November 7, 2009
With just two hours to go before the next in a series of strikes by South Yorkshire firefighters, the Fire Brigade Union capitulated to management demands and called off the stoppages.
Britain: Communication Workers Union sabotages postal strike
By Chris Marsden, November 7, 2009
All strikes by Britain’s 120,000 postal workers were called off until at least the New Year, on the evening that two days of action were about to begin.
France: The affairs the Clearstream trial aims to suppress
By Alex Lantier, November 7, 2009
A decades-long series of corruption scandals, bound up with oil and arms deals, constitute the essential legal background to the Clearstream Affair.
The Clearstream trial: a conflict in the French bourgeoisie
By Alex Lantier, November 7, 2009
The month-long Clearstream trial, hearings for which ended on October 23, is a cynical judicial façade for ruthless state politics.
