In the last weeks of 2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced that the government would be nationalising eight banks. These banks represented 8% of the financial sector in Venezuela and held a significant percentage of Government deposits.
These Government nationalisations however have not been in response to the global financial crisis- as in some [...]

Only days after his December 1st announcement that a second surge of 30,000 troops would be sent to Afghanistan, US President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. According to Obama, “Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than [...]

“a historic failure that will live in infamy”
The UN conference on climate change (Cop15), held in Copenhagen 7-18 December, was a fiasco. The Independent called it “a historic failure that will live in infamy”. After years of preparation, the representatives of 193 countries discussed and wrangled for two weeks. In the closing hours, leaders such [...]

On 13 January 2010, a 7.3 Richter scale earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The earthquake caused great destruction and 200,000 people are thought to be dead. Further, 3 million Haitians have been rendered homeless by the quake, which also damaged many public service buildings, such as hospitals and schools.

Impoverished masses face new disaster
Disaster has struck the impoverished people of Haiti once again; a powerful earthquake, early on 13 January, toppled buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince. The 7.0 magnitude quake - the biggest recorded in this part of the Caribbean - left the capital’s 3 million people who live on hillside slums made of [...]

What has changed?
One year ago, millions of Americans were in the streets cheering the election of Obama as the end of Republican policies and the start of a new era. How quickly these hopes have been dashed. One year after Obama’s election, it’s hard to identify one positive achievement of his presidency.
Obama’s campaign was filled [...]

“Abolish functional constituencies – we want universal suffrage!”
The first day of 2010 saw Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement hit the ground running. On 1 January the crowds of demonstrators exceeded the organisers’ expectations, in a massive protest setting the tone for what could be an explosive political year in Hong Kong – and China. Instead of [...]

Savage social cuts, workers’ resistance and growth of socialist ideas
The Socialist Party extends warm New Year greetings to all of our members and supporters and to all of our sister sections and groups worldwide. We thank all those who have given assistance – large and small – to our party over the past year.
We [...]

As unrest once again spreads throughout Iran, and is met with brutal state violence, listen here to a discussion on events in Iran during 1979 and today. The two speeches by Bob Labi and Judy Beishon were delivered last month at the ‘Socialism 2009′ event held in London.
1979 Revolution: Why did it end in dictatorship? [...]

Interview with Lynn Walsh, editor of Socialism Today and member of the International Secretariat of the CWI (Committee for a Workers’ International): Economy - Is the worst over?