International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Some months away from the presidential elections, Algeria has a sick head of state, a political class which is clinging to the actions of the president and a people which has rediscovered its pride through its national football teal qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil. Is there anyting more?

A year and a half has passed since the beginning of the political case that has become synonymous with police arbitrariness and the denial of citizens’ rights in today’s Russia. Dozens of people have been or may soon be imprisoned in a country that is now preparing to showcase its prosperity and power during the Winter Olympics.

The founding conference of Left Unity, the broad left party formed in response to the call prompted by Ken Loach’s film Spirit of ’45 detailing the left-wing acts of the 1945 Labour government in Britain, took place in London on 30 November 2013. This report is republished from Socialist Resistance, journal of the British section of the Fourth International. [IVP]

October 5 marked the start of the "national congress for dialogue" on the basis of a "roadmap" prepared by the Quartet which is sponsoring this dialogue. What is really happening is the relaunching of the "national dialogue" launched by the Quartet in May, which had been suspended following the assassination of the MP and leader of the Popular Front (FP) Mohamed Brahmi.

Fourth information report on our campaign of solidarity with the victims of super-typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Philippines. December 7, 2013

This is a chapter from the book New Parties of the Left: experiences from Europe published by Resistance Books and the IIRE in July 2011.

Washington’s agreement to pursue a diplomatic route to secure the disarmament of Syria’s chemical arsenal produced sighs of relief the world over from opponents of a new Middle East war. The threat of an imminent U.S. missile attack on that nation, an attack that would undoubtedly lead to civilian deaths and a weakening of the position of the grassroots democratic elements in the struggle against Assad, has appreciably lessened.

Egypt’s Cairo Court for Urgent Matters on Sept. 23 stamped the “legal” coup de grace on the now fully unmasked face of the U.S.-backed military dictatorship. The court dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood in all respects, confiscated its assets, seized its buildings and banned all MB activities.