A group of Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic minority from western Burma鈥檚 Arakan state, is being held indefinitely at the Australian government detention centre on Nauru.
711
BRISBANE 聴 聯Australia is the only Western democracy without human rights legislation聰, James Whelan from Amnesty International told a public forum attended by 50 people on May 23.
NEWCASTLE 聴 More than 30 people attended a speak-out to express solidarity with the Pine Gap Four at the Hamilton聮s Clocktower on May 25. One of the Pine Gap Four, Donna Mulhearn, is a well-known peace activist in the Hunter region. She was among those arrested after successfully carrying out a 聯citizens聮 inspection聰 of Pine Gap on December 9, 2005. Their trial goes to court shortly.
While public support in the US for Washington聮s counterinsurgency war in Iraq has collapsed, the Pentagon has drawn up plans to almost double the number of US combat troops deployed in the oil-rich country by the end of this year.
鈥淎ustralian Tamils demand protection not persecution鈥 was the theme of a gathering of more than 500 members of the Tamil community outside the Victorian parliament on May 22.
鈥淎 social movement is essential for changing government and opposition policies to halt the climate crisis鈥, Dr Mark Diesendorf told a May 22 public meeting at the University of NSW to launch his book Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy. Diesendorf told the audience of around 200 people that individual and household solutions are not sufficient.
On May 20, a group of women activists in Indonesia聮s northern-most province of Aceh declared the formation of a new local political party 聴 the Acehnese People聮s Alliance Party for Women聮s Concern (PARAPP).
On May 10, British PM Tony Blair finally made his long-awaited resignation statement. Blair will stand down as prime minister with effect from June 27. He will also stand down as leader of the Labour Party, and preparations for the election of the next Labour leader 鈥 who will simultaneously become PM 鈥 got underway immediately.
In June, Australia will host the largest military exercises ever undertaken in peacetime. Talisman Sabre 07 will involve 12,400 Australian and 13,700 US troops converging on various locations for their biennial 聯war games聰.
Documentary maker Michael Moore has made headlines again with his latest film, SiCKO!, which premiered at the Cannes Film festival on May 23. The documentary is a loaded gun aimed at the US health-care system, which is the most expensive in the world and yet provides the worst cover in the First World, according to the latest World Health Organisation scorecard.
Between May 16 and 24, almost 100 Palestinians died and more than 340 have were injured in Gaza through a combination of renewed Israeli military attacks and fighting between Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah.
On May 23, Sydney聮s Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) issued a call for support for a Chinese asylum seeker at Villawood detention centre who has been on hunger strike for 57 days. There are reports that the man was transferred to hospital from Villawood聮s medical centre on May 22.
- Previous page
- Page 2
- Next page