Washington escalates Syria intervention

By Bill Van Auken, 4 April 2013

The US and Jordanian militaries have stepped up a program to train thousands of armed fighters to send into Syria with the aim of carving out a buffer zone in the south of the country.

China appeals for calm amid fears of war over US escalation in Korea

By Alex Lantier, 4 April 2013

Chinese officials appealed for calm on the Korean peninsula yesterday, as the United States deployed missiles and further military forces to East Asia.

Largest ever welfare cuts come into force in Britain

By Paul Mitchell, 4 April 2013

This month, historic cuts in welfare provision come into force, driving millions further into destitution.

Atlanta testing scandal exposes fraud of anti-public school “reform”

By Andre Damon and Barry Grey, 4 April 2013

The types of practices exposed in Atlanta are the inevitable outcome of the reactionary drive to dismantle public education in the name of “reform.”

California governor seeks end to federal prison oversight

By Norisa Diaz, 4 April 2013

California is seeking to regain oversight of its vast prison system, arguing that it has made adequate improvements in mental health care and overcrowding.

Canada’s government suppresses scientific reporting

By Carl Bronski, 4 April 2013

Canada’s Conservative government has muzzled government scientists as part of a systematic campaign to manipulate and suppress scientific information.

European unemployment rises for 22nd consecutive month

By Stefan Steinberg, 4 April 2013

The latest figures from the Eurostat statistics office confirm that the continent’s economic recession is taking a rising toll on jobs and living standards.

French Budget Minister Cahuzac resigns over hidden bank account

By Olivier Laurent and Alex Lantier, 4 April 2013

France’s Socialist Party government in crisis after its former budget minister admitted to lying about a Swiss bank account hidden from tax authorities.

As government crisis drags on
Italian president appoints expert commissions

By Marianne Arens, 4 April 2013

The ruling class in Italy is desperately seeking to override the election result of February 25 and develop a political mechanism to continue the austerity policies that were decisively rejected by the electorate.

Malaysian PM dissolves parliament for national election

By John Roberts, 4 April 2013

For the first time since Malaysia’s formal independence from Britain in 1957, the ruling UMNO party faces the prospect of losing office.

China: Suicide and strike at Foxconn

By John Chan, 4 April 2013

Amid China’s economic slowdown and falling exports, sharpening social tensions have been expressed in several strikes by workers.

New in Italian

Italia: falliti tentativi di formare il govern

Di Marianne Arens, 4 aprile 2013

L'Italia resta senza un governo quattro settimane dopo le elezioni parlamentari nel paese.

New in French

Le coût des guerres d'Irak et d'Afghanistan pourrait s'élever à 6000 milliards de dollars

Par Bill Van Auken, 4 avril 2013

D'après un récent rapport de recherche, le coût des guerres d'Irak et d'Afghanistan pourra atteindre entre 4000 et 6000 milliards de dollars.

Les quinze ans du WSWS: 1998-2013
Année passée en revue : 2000
Pourquoi je lis le WSWS: Courrier des lecteurs

New in Afrikaans

Die verskriklike koste van Washington se oorloë

Deur Bill Van Auken, 3 April 2013

Harvard Universiteit se nuwe verslag beraam dat die VSA se oorloë in Irak en Afghanistan sal uiteindelik soveel as $6 triljoen kos en dit is nog ‘n aanduiding van die verskriklike prys wat deur werkende mense die wêreld oor betaal moet word vir die misdade van imperialisme.

Vroeëre Perspektiewe »

Nuwe Sjinese president maak Afrika die hof

Deur John Chan, 28 March 2013

Sjina se nuwe president, Xi Jinping, het Afrika vandeesweek besoek – eers na Tanzanië, en toe na Suid-Afrika waar hy aan die BRICS (Brasilië, Rusland, Indië, Sjina en Suid-Afrika) samesprekinge deelgeneem het, en toe na die Republiek van Kongo.

New in German

Der schreckliche Preis von Washingtons Kriegen

Von Bill Van Auken, 4. April 2013

Die Meldung, dass die Kriege im Irak und in Afghanistan bis zu sechs Billionen Dollar verschlingen werden, ist ein weiteres Beispiel für den schrecklichen Preis, den die arbeitende Bevölkerung für die Verbrechen des Imperialismus zahlen muss.

Gesundheitsstudie: Die europäische Sparpolitik kostet Menschenleben

Von Dietmar Henning, 4. April 2013

Die von Kanzlerin Merkel und Finanzminister Schäuble durchgesetzten Sparmaßnahmen in Europa, die sie selbst als Erfolg feiern, bedeuten für Tausende Armut, Not, Verzweiflung und nicht selten Tod.

Italien: Napolitano ernennt Expertenkommissionen

Von Marianne Arens, 4. April 2013

Die herrschende Klasse Italiens bemüht sich krampfhaft, einen politischen Mechanismus zu entwickeln, mit dem sie die Austeritätspolitik fortsetzen kann, der die Wähler eine empfindliche Abfuhr erteilt haben.

Drohungen Südkoreas erhöhen Gefahr eines militärischen Konflikts

Von Peter Symonds, 4. April 2013

Die südkoreanische Präsidentin Park Geun Hye gab ihren Militärführern am Montag grünes Licht und freie Hand nach eigenem Ermessen gegen eine Bedrohung aus Nordkorea vorzugehen.

Other Languages

Perspective

Class war in Europe

4 April 2013

The punitive measures imposed on Cyprus mark a qualitative deepening of the European bourgeoisie’s class war offensive.

Earlier Perspectives »

Fifteen Years of the World Socialist Web Site: 1998-2013

The WSWS is posting a year-by-year Chronology, selected from its archive of more than 45,000 articles, to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the critical events of years 1998 to 2013.

We urge our readers to study the Chronology and review how the great events, political issues, social processes, and cultural and intellectual controversies of the last 15 years were reported on and analyzed by the WSWS.

The year in review 2005

We publish today the eighth installment in the year-by-year Chronology. The year 2005 unfolded under the impact of two great natural disasters that exposed the failure of world capitalism: The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed nearly 300,000 people, and Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States, inundating New Orleans and killing more than 1,800.

15th Anniversary page »

History

Understanding Lincoln: An interview with historian Allen Guelzo

3 April 2013

Leading Abraham Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo recently spoke with Tom Mackaman of the World Socialist Web Site.

Commentary

SYRIZA makes political pact with the nationalist right

By Christoph Dreier, 4 April 2013

The alliance with right-wing nationalists clearly shows SYRIZA’s class character.

The terrible cost of Washington’s wars

By Bill Van Auken, 3 April 2013

US escalates military tensions over North Korean nuclear program

By Alex Lantier, 3 April 2013

Three years since West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine disaster
Sequester cuts pose new threat to US mine safety

By Kate Randall, 2 April 2013

Workers Struggles

Australia: Sydney University staff strike over jobs and conditions

By Oliver Campbell, 4 April 2013

Union officials covered up the role of the federal Labor government and its pro-market “revolution” in university education.

Arts Review

The Gatekeepers from Israel and a film version of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road

By Joanne Laurier, 4 April 2013

Dror Moreh’s new documentary is a glimpse into the crisis wracking Israeli society. Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles has brought Jack Kerouac’s Beat novel to the screen.

Letters to Trotsky: A remarkable play at Bielefeld’s Theaterlabor in Germany

By Sybille Fuchs, 30 March 2013

Socialist Equality Party

David North to speak at WSWS anniversary meetings in San Diego and Toronto

30 March 2013

These meetings, on April 11 and April 21, will review the political and theoretical basis for the WSWS and its roots in the struggle for revolutionary socialism. In reviewing this history, they will address the most fundamental question in contemporary politics: the struggle to build a socialist movement of the working class in a new epoch of war and revolution.

World Socialist Web Site 15th Anniversary Meeting in Detroit
Mobilizing the working class against the bankers’ dictatorship

We call on workers and young people throughout the region to attend this important April 14 meeting on the 15th anniversary of the WSWS

Mehring Books

Into the Maelstrom: The Invasion of Iraq and the Crisis of American Imperialism
New pamphlet available from Mehring Books

28 March 2013

This pamphlet contains three major statements from the World Socialist Web Site on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including two essays by David North.

Fund Appeal

SEP National Secretary Joe Kishore: Support the WSWS!

26 March 2013

This Week in History: April 1-7

25 years ago: Honduran protesters killed at US embassy

On April 7, 1988, five protesters were shot to death outside of the US embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

More »

50 years ago: Mass arrests in Mississippi, Alabama civil rights struggles

On April 3, 1963, 19 blacks were arrested in Greenwood, Mississippi, where they were marching in a demonstration led by the comedian Dick Gregory in support of a voter registration drive.

More »

75 years ago: Lerida falls to Franco

On April 3, 1938, the Republican-held town of Lerida, capital of the west Catalan province of the same name, fell to General Yague’s Moroccan Army Corp.

More »

 

100 years ago: First trial run of the auto assembly line

On April 1, 1913, the moving assembly line, which revolutionized production in the United States and throughout the world, was first tested at the Ford Highland Park Factory in Michigan.

More »

Correspondence

Letters from our readers

4 April 2013

A selection of recent letters to the World Socialist Web Site.