GEORGE BUSH may say the war is over, but the killing in Iraq is still going on. A 14 year old Iraq boy was seen laughing and joking on Monday of last week with a British soldier. Minutes later the boy was shot dead. The US and British soldiers' practice of killing unarmed civilians is fuelling widespread and growing fury.
TONY BLAIR'S government plans to rob 7.4 million of Britain's poorest people. Blair caused an outcry by giving pensioners an insulting rise of just 75p in October 1999. Now he wants to rob the unemployed. People on benefits are to get an annual increase of just 70p a week. People on Jobseeker's Allowance, income support and incapacity benefit get their benefits adjusted this month.
THE DAILY Telegraph is continuing to print allegations based on documents found in Iraq. Last week the Telegraph's accusations sparked the witch-hunt against George Galloway. The latest allegations are so outlandish that even the secret services have cast doubt on them.
STEEL GIANT Corus wrecked yet more lives as it slashed another 1,150 jobs on Tuesday. The company ended steel production at the Stocksbridge plant in South Yorkshire and cleared the way for another 2,900 job losses and the closure of the Teesside plant at Redcar.
"NUT NONSENSE". That is how Tony Blair dismissed the decision of teachers in the NUT union to ballot on boycotting tests for seven, 11 and 14 year olds. Blair's testing mania is damaging the health of young children. Research this week found that over one third of seven year olds in England were seriously stressed by the SATs tests.
SIXTY JOURNALISTS at the Bolton Evening News and Bury Times have been striking against miserable pay and conditions at Newsquest, a subsidiary of US firm Gannet. After two two-day strikes the NUJ union members walked out on all-out strike on Tuesday of last week.
LARGELY LABOUR-led local government employers are urging fire chiefs to rip up firefighters' conditions in anticipation of a general offensive if the government beats the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). The Local Government Association has told fire authorities to start implementing those parts of the Bain cuts package that do not require new legislation.
SCOTTISH WATER (SW) has announced 1,400 redundancies over the next two years (900 this year and 500 next year). Around 1,300 jobs have already been lost through voluntary redundancy. A year ago the four unions in SW, Unison, TGWU, GMB and AEEU,went into a partnership agreement with management.
THE ALL-Wales Coalition Against the War, supported by CND, held an anti-occupation of Iraq demonstration in Cardiff last Saturday. Demonstrators marched through the centre of town, and between 500 and 600 people from anti-war groups across Wales took part.
THE RESULT of a ballot among 30,000 postal workers over London weighting was due to be announced this week after Socialist Worker went to press. The ballot covers postal workers in London employed by Royal Mail, Parcelforce, Post Office Counters, Motor Transport and Cash Handling.
JOHN PAGE and supporters lobbied his disciplinary hearing in Hackney, east London, on Friday of last week. The New Labour council suspended John with two other Unison union activists in December 2002.
SOME 140 nursery nurses who are members of the Unison public services union in Kirklees met on Monday to discuss escalating their industrial action in support of a regrading claim.
