News from around the world

The Los Angeles Times say half a million. People in the crowd were saying that the police estimage was a million. Whichever it was, this was clearly the largest protest of any kind in the history of Los Angeles. It was spectacular and it was inspiring to be present.

Hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the war on March 18, in dozens of marches and rallies worldwide.

For the sake of maintaining a united front, the call for action coming from Monday’s meeting of union and student leaders was not clearly for a general strike. For the moment the government is not backing down.

Brick kiln workers in Pakistan are fighting attempts by employers to reintroduce bonded labour.

The demonstrations called by student and workers’unions on 18 March against the CPE labour law were a big success - estimates ranged from half a million to one and a half million nationwide.

The government’s proposed “First Job Contract” would make it possible to sack young people under 26 in the first two years they were in a job, without giving any reason. The mass student movement against this measure has the government worried.

The Greek seafarers’ strike was a hard fought battle against the neoliberal reform of the sea transport system.

This resolution on the cartoons controversy was adopted by the Socialistisk Arbejderparti (Denmark) at its February national conference.

On February 24, the 20th anniversary of the ouster of the brutal Marcos dictatorship, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo put the Philippines under a state of national emergency, consigning the whole country once again to the direct rule of a police state.

The Labour Party Pakistan demonstrated in Lahore and Karachi on March 2 against President Bush’s visit to the country. The protests were joined by the main radical social movements.