By Mohamed El Hebeishy

May 11, 2011 -- Ahram online -- Five Egyptian political parties and movements unite to form the Coalition of Socialist Forces, they announced in a meeting on May 10, 2011. The newly formed coalition is made up of the Social Party of Egypt, the Democratic Labour Party, the Popular Socialist Coalition Party, Egypt Communist Party and the Revolutionary Socialists. It aims to include under its umbrella other socialist movements in Egypt, which are considered fragmented.

“We [social political activists] are optimistic that the Coalition of Socialist Forces will bring a stronger socialist presence onto Egypt’s political scene”, said Gigi Ibrahim, a political activist.

During the May 10 meeting, there were intense discussions regarding the recent turn of events in the country and how it impacts the revolution.

The Coalition of Socialist Forces has appealed to all Egyptians, irrespective of their ideologies, to amass in Tahrir Square on Friday May 13 in a bid to protect the demands of revolution and for national unity.

May 12, 2011 -- The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) denounces the recent agreement made between the governments of Malaysia and Australia, whereby Australia will send 800 asylum seekers who have been detained by Australian authorities to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 refugees currently in Malaysia.

The arrangement for this “Malaysian solution” to asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia clearly shows that the Australian government is washing its hands off its responsibility to protect refugees and is “off-shoring” or “outsourcing” the violation of refugees' rights to Malaysia, a country with no proper legal instruments to protect the rights of refugees.

Both the governments of Malaysia and Australia have not taken the plight of refugees and asylum seekers seriously, and only treat them like tradeable commodities.

Members of the Workers Democratic Party march through Tahrir Square on May Day, 2011. Photo by Mohamed El Hebeishy/ahramonline.

By Assaf Adiv

Salih Mahmoud is close to the leadership of the armed movements in Darfur.

By Osman Shinger

May 9, 2011 -- Sudan Votes, posted at Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal with permission -- Continued armed conflict, a failure to implement UN decisions, and a lack of security despite the presence of international troops are just a few of the factors contributing to the Darfur crisis. Saleh Mahmoud, a lawyer and member of the central committee of the Communist Party of Sudan, discussed these complex issues.

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Μαρξιστική Σκέψη, τόμος 2, Μάιος-Αύγουστος 2011

Ο δεύτερος τόμος της «Μαρξιστικής Σκέψης» κυκλοφορεί σε μια περίοδο όξυνσης της διεθνούς και εσωτερικής κατάστασης. Οι μεγάλες αραβικές εξεγέρσεις, το πυρηνικό ατύχημα στη Φουκουσίμα, η επιδείνωση της κρίσης στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση είναι γεγονότα-ορόσημα με παγκόσμιο αντίκτυπο, που θα μας απασχολούν σίγουρα για καιρό. Σε αυτά τα θέματα, αλλά και την παταγώδη αποτυχία του Μνημονίου στην Ελλάδα και τα 140 χρόνια από την Παρισινή Κομμούνα, αφιερώνεται το τεύχος του περιοδικού. Ταυτόχρονα, ο αναγνώστης θα βρει άρθρα και αναλύσεις για θέματα ιστορίας, φιλοσοφίας, επιστήμης και τέχνης.

May 11, 2011 – Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Mike Treen is national director of the Unite Union in Aotearoa/New Zealand and a member of the newly formed Mana Party. Socialist Aotearoa’s Joe Carolan interviewed him on the significance of the foundation of this new left-wing party.

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Joe Carolan:  Mike, can you tell us a little about the formation and programme of the new Mana Party?

Africans who spend between US$2-$20 a day are now "middle class", says the African Development Bank chief economist Mthuli Ncube.

Bolivia's president Evo Morales addresses a press conference during theWorld People’s Con

Libyan rebels.

[For more left views on Libya, click HERE.]

By Renfrey Clarke

May 3, 2011 -- The “default” response of the left to imperialist interventions of the kind now under way against the Gaddafi regime in Libya has always been militantly hostile, and rightly so. How often has imperialism, as it throws its armed weight around, acted to advance the cause of workers and the oppressed? Members of the left who apply their raw class experience in such cases will not often find themselves in error.

New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton.

By Richard Fidler

May 8, 2011 -- Life on the Left -- If New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton’s election-night speech to his Toronto supporters is an indication of what lies ahead, the NDP is going to have a hard time coming to terms with a parliamentary caucus now composed of a majority of MPs from Quebec.

To a crowded room in which nearly everyone was waving Canadian flags, the NDP leader delivered two-thirds of his remarks in English without ever mentioning the expression “Quebec nation”. The scene, televised across Canada, did not go unremarked in Quebec, where most of the NDP’s sudden support had come from nationalist-minded voters, including many sympathisers of Quebec independence.

The following article is the editorial for the upcoming edition of ML Update. It is posted at Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal with permission.

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By the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation

May 7, 2011 -- The US has proclaimed its success in its decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, culminating in the killing of bin Laden by US military operatives in a house in Abbotabad in Pakistan. As the televised triumphalism and images of hyper-nationalist celebrations in the US fade, however, Washington's heroic narrative is being subjected to uncomfortable questions.       

Ironically, Osama bin Laden’s death has come, not in the wake of 9/11 when he was at the peak of his strength, but at a time when bin Laden and his al Qaeda were effectively sidelined in an Arab world that is witnessing a democratic awakening and upsurge. This fact too robs the US narrative of some of its sheen.

By Farooq Tariq, Lahore

May 7, 2011 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- In the first four days after Osama Bin Laden’s assassination by US forces, the mass reaction in Pakistan is very mixed. In Punjab there is a general sympathy towards bin Laden, however not many are expressing it openly. In Sindh, the responses differ in different cities. For example, in Karachi there is more active commiseration for bin Laden and condemnation of the US attack.

Surprisingly, not much happened in Khaiber Pakhtoonkhawa, where bin Laden was killed. Similarly, Baluchistan responded meekly against the killings. However the reaction against the attack on the compound in Abbotabad is growing and it will spread to other areas. Many religious fundamentalists fled Afghanistan and took refuge in Baluchistan and Khaiber Pakhtoonkhawa. They ruled those provinces from 2002 to 2008.