Pambazuka News 556: G20 summit: Under the shadow of Occupy Wall Street movement

Environmental activists on Monday began a protest at the site in Mpumalanga where the Kusile coal-fired power station is being constructed. Greenpeace spokesperson Fiona Musana said the protest started in the early hours of the morning with activists locking the gates of the construction site. Six activists unfurled a giant banner declaring 'Kusile: climate killer' from the top of a crane, then climbed pillars at the site, and planned to spend the night on the pillars, she said.

The West African economic and political grouping Ecowas has described as 'unfortunate' the decision by Liberia’s main opposition to boycott the 8 November presidential runoff and urged Liberians to go to the polls. In a statement, the Economic Community of West Africa States cautioned the country's political leaders against inciting their supporters to violence and vowed to endorse any result that would emanate from a poll that would be certified by international observers.

Emotions ran high as Occupy Wall Street supporters and public officials dealt with the aftermath of protests that shut down the nation's fifth-busiest port before spiraling into chaos near the movement's downtown encampment. The movement challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth has gained momentum in recent weeks, with Oakland becoming a rallying point after an Iraq War veteran was injured in clashes with police last week. The comments section of this post contains ...read more

This video is a collage of comments made by US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on protests in Libya, Egypt and Syria. Meanwhile, footage of police action against protestors in New York City is edited into the collage with the intention of showing the hypocrisy of the US administration.

Chinese-run copper mining companies in Zambia routinely flout labour laws and regulations designed to protect workers’ safety and the right to organise, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The 122-page report, '"You’ll Be Fired If You Refuse"': Labor Abuses in Zambia’s Chinese State-owned Copper Mines,' details the persistent abuses in Chinese-run mines, including poor health and safety conditions, regular 12-hour and even 18-hour shifts involving arduous labour, and anti-union activitie...read more

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