Birmingham Follow

A packed meeting of south west Birmingham Respect took place on Tuesday of last week, in order to select a candidate for the May elections.

Over 200 local residents and health workers in Birmingham met on Wednesday of last week to vent their anger at proposed cuts in services and plans for a "super" hospital that will be built under the Private Finance Initiative.

Some 60 people struck at Denso Manufacturing in Birmingham last Thursday.

Some 160 workers at Denso manufacturing in Birmingham are involved in a series of strikes over pay.

Respect members in Birmingham have started selecting candidates for the May council elections. In each ward one council seat out of three is up for re-election.

Birmingham councillor Abdul Aziz has joined Respect. Councillor Aziz had been an independent in the council chamber after he recently left the Liberal Democrats.

The fight moves on at STVA Vehicle handlers who are employed by the French-owned firm STVA struck on Wednesday of last week over pay. The 35 workers, members of the T&G union, are based at sites in Scotland, Birmingham and Oxford.

Civil liberties Some 25 people protested outside Birmingham airport last Saturday as part of a national day of protests against the use of British airports for extraordinary rendition flights, where people kidnapped by the CIA are flown to Guantanamo and other illegal detention facilities. Protests also took place in London and in Edinburgh, where former British ambassador Craig Murray was among the 30 protesters.

At her first council meeting, Respect councillor Salma Yaqoob touched a raw nerve in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition that runs Birmingham.

HP Sauce workers: no outsourcing Up to 500 people marched through Aston in Birmingham last Saturday to save the 125 jobs at the local HP Sauce plant. The jobs are due to be transferred to Holland following a take-over by Heinz.

Mikey Powell died on 7 September 2003 after being struck by a police car, hit with a baton and sprayed with CS gas in the Lozells area of Birmingham.

Mikey Powell died in the early hours of 7 September 2003 after being struck by a police car, hit with a baton and sprayed with CS gas in the Lozells area of Birmingham.