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Palestinian Authority鈥 (鈥琍A鈥) 鈥琭oreign minister Riyad al-Maliki has described Venezuela as鈥 鈥淧alestine's most important ally鈥濃,鈥 鈥 on May鈥 鈥19.鈥 鈥珹l-Maliki made the comments while in Caracas for bilateral talks with鈥 鈥琕enezuela's socialist government.
The new British Conservative government has launched an ultra-conservative political agenda that could unravel the peace process in six counties in Ireland's north still claimed by Britain. Tory plans include scrapping the 1998 Human Rights Act, which underpins a key aspect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The GFA peace deal included a measure that Britain integrate the European Convention of Human Rights into law in the six counties, a process included in the Human Rights Act.
A new popular uprising has started in Peru at the port of Callao,鈥 鈥琧rucial for international trade and the handling of the majority of the country鈥欌瑂 seaborne cargo.鈥 After鈥 鈥10鈥 鈥琺onths of unresolved negotiations with transnational company,鈥 鈥珹PM Terminals Peruvian longshore workers from the port of Callao,鈥 鈥瑆est of Lima,鈥 鈥琩ecided to take to the streets and march.鈥 This latest demonstration follows an earlier strike against the company on May鈥 鈥13,鈥 鈥瑆ith workers demanding鈥 鈥琾ay鈥 鈥瑀ises in鈥 鈥瑀elation to the company's profits,鈥 鈥琭ull healthcare coverage,鈥 鈥琣nd training.鈥
鈥淎lmost a third (33%) of the UK population - 19.3 million people - fell below the official poverty line at some point between 2010 and 2013, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics,鈥 the Press Association reported on May 20. The article said 鈥淭he ONS records someone as being in poverty if they live in a household with disposable income below 60% of the national average, before housing costs. Persistent poverty is defined as being in poverty in the current year and at least two of the three preceding years.
More than 300 migration experts and academics have condemned the European Union's plan of military intervention against the surge of smuggling boats heading to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. The academics鈥 strong condemnation of the plan comes after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi compared the current migrant crisis to the 18th and 19th century slave trade. In a recent article for the New York Times, he wrote that 鈥渉uman traffickers are the slave traders of the 21st century, and they should be brought to justice鈥.
The case of yet another death at the hands of US police of an unarmed Black man 鈥 in this case teenager Ariston Waiters in Georgia 鈥 will be re-opened after new evidence emerged on May 17. The new evidence revealed Waiters was shot twice in the back when already on the ground. Dalton County District Attorney Paul Howard reopened the case after Channel 2 Action News revealed new evidence and witnesses. The new elements proves Union City police officer Luther Lewis shot the unarmed 19-year-old Waiters twice in the back, after he already had him on the ground.
A new video has surfaced of the arrest of 25-year-old Black man Freddie Gray by Baltimore police that contradicts previous police accounts and features an extra stop made by police on the way to the station, the Baltimore Sun reported on May 20. Gray died on April 19 from injuries sustained in the back of a police van. He was arrested after he made eye contact with police and then ran away. The newspaper obtained the extra cell phone video footage and testimony from neighbours who said they saw the police van stop one block away from where Freddie Gray was arrested April 12.
A student action against education cuts was held at the University of Sydney on May 20. It was organised by the National Union of Students. Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon talked about the fantastic campaign in Chile for free education and how students here should take inspiration from the mass campaign there that made it happen. Photo: Pip Hinman.
If you want to meet the best Australians, meet Indigenous men and women who understand this extraordinary country and have fought for the rights of the world's oldest culture. Theirs is a struggle more selfless, heroic and enduring than any historical adventure non-Indigenous Australians are required incessantly to celebrate. I know this to be true, because I have been reporting from and filming in Indigenous communities for most of my life. In 1984, I met one of the best Australians, Kwementyaye Randall.
Socialist Alliance's Merri-bek City Councillor Sue Bolton.

Socialist Alliance councillor Sue Bolton spoke to Dave Holmes about her work as a local councillor in Moreland, a municipality in Melbourne. This is the third of a series of interviews with Sue Bolton.

You would not have thought it possible, but Tony Abbott appears to be degenerating 鈥 in literacy skills as well as morality. Having campaigned on a simplistic three word slogan, in office, he's that's two too many, and has cut 鈥淪top the boats鈥 to 鈥淣ope, nope, nope.鈥
BRISBANE Watch a film: Roque Dalton 鈥 Let鈥檚 Shoot the Night on Saturday May 30 at 12.30pm. Hosted by Latin American Community Association. Marooka Community Centre, 40 Gainsborough St, Brisbane. GEELONG Come to a film: Ivory Tower on Thursday Jun 4 at 5.30pm. The film examines the recent student debt crisis through a broad spectrum of institutions and startling statistics that directly address concerns for the future of higher education. Geelong Trades Hall, 127 Myers Street. Bookings visit eventbrite.com.au. Presented by the NTEU.