THE Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) recently organised at Kolkata its two-day 13th West Bengal state conference, which got off to a flying start on Saturday, January 18, 2014, with a big colourful procession of bank employees, numbering about 2,000. The procession started from outside the Bengal Chambers of Commerce building in BBD Bag area in Kolkata and headed towards the Mahajati Sadan, the venue of the conference, thus covering a stretch of about two km through the main thoroughfares going towards the northern part of the city.

BARELY two and a half years after South Sudan joined the community of independent nations, the bloody sceptre of a civil war has once again cast its shadow. The latest cycle of violence erupted on December 15. According to reports, the trouble started when a clash took place between two sections of the presidential security guards. The fighting was said to be on ethnic lines, with the Dinka clashing against the Nuer. The Dinkas constitute around 15 per cent of the population and the Nuer around 10 per cent.

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on January 23, 2014, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) gave expression to its deep fury and protested against the move of the UPA government to open up the sale or acquisition of agricultural land to foreign direct investment (FDI). The AIKS said it would resist this treacherous move against the sovereign interests of the nation and its people tooth and nail, by joining hands with all progressive and democratic sections of the people. The Congress led Manmohan Singh government is all set to allow foreign corporates and realtors to put the country for

RIGHTWING social forces have once again revealed their influence in the wake of the declining social reform role of the neo-liberal state. Incidents of the last few weeks have shown up the underbelly of neo-liberal corporate capitalism and the challenge of governance associated with it. In the first instance was the vigilante action undertaken by a responsible minister of Delhi to show his accountability to the people. In the process he revealed not only his own social conservatism but also the conservatism of the ‘masses’ who can rule the country.

A few days back, the health minister of South Africa, Dr Motsoaledi, characterised an elaborate plot hatched by large multinational drug companies as "genocide" and a conspiracy of "satanic magnitude". He was referring to public disclosures of a detailed plan to derail proposed reforms of South Africa’s patent system.