News from around the world

The imminent climate crisis that we confront today is a grave threat to the preservation of life on the planet. Many academic and political works have confirmed the fragility of life on earth to temperature change. Only a few degrees can cause – and are causing – an ecological catastrophe of incalculable consequences. Now we are experiencing the deadly effects of this situation. The melting ice, the contamination of the atmosphere, rising sea levels, desertification, and the increasing intensity of the weather, are all proof.

On November 11, 2014, unorganized and informal sector workers of different trades and occupations assembled at Kolkata to march at the rally and attend the public meeting organized by the Osongothito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Mancha (Struggle Forum for Unorganised Sector Workers), a platform of trade-unions organising unorganised sector workers. Nearly 20, 000 workers brought the city to life, demanding proper wages, social security, employment guarantee, communal harmony and class unity.

Workers in all the tea gardens of Terai, Dooars and Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal observed a total strike on November 11th & 12th, 2014 bringing the industry to a halt. The strike was called by a joint forum of 23 trade unions demanding minimum wages of tea garden workers who still get paid a paltry wage of Rs 90 to Rs 95 per day.

Dear Comrades and friends of the workers’ movement in South Africa

It is a terribly sad day. NUMSA was expelled in the early hours of this morning. For the record the vote was 33 to 24. As Andrew Chriwa, President of NUMSA said, NUMSA is COSATU. It formed COSATU, with others of course. It shaped COSATU during its different phases and histories.

For instigating prisoners to protest against inhuman conditions, Baba Jan and Iftikhar Hussain gets second life imprisonments.

ISIS launched a major multi-front military campaign against the Kurdish region of Kobanê in northern Syria. This is the third ISIS onslaught on Kobanê since March 2014. As the ISIS was unsuccessful on the two previous occasions, they are attacking with larger forces and want to take Kobanê.

Following the acquittal of Alain Pojolat in a Paris court the prosecuting service has appealed. See the two NPA statements below.

Six years later, condemnation of then Sentor Franco Turigliatto for walking out of television studio in protest at the presence of fascist party leader.

During the Israeli offensive against Gaza in July the French state took the unprecedented step of banning demonstrations in solidarity with the people of Gaza. The NPA took the lead in maintaining the call for the demonstrations to go ahead. This has led to charges against a leading NPA member who will appear in court on 22 October. The following appeal for solidarity has received wide support.

All the 10 activists facing life sentence spent the Eid in Gilgit jail. They are in good spirit. Although twelve activists have been sentenced to life by Gilgit Anti terrorist court, two of them were declared absconder during the trail that lasted three years.