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The Great Barrier Reef off Queensland's northern coast came within a few metres of disaster on May 19 when a broken-down bulk sugar carrier drifted just over Shark Reef, north-east of Cooktown. The 26,000-tonne ID Integrity was blown off course after its engines broke down. Crew dumped ballast to allow the vessel to pass over the reef, until tugs could reach the ship.
Planning has started for the Resistance National Conference, to be held this year in Adelaide, South Australia, over July 20-22 at the University of Adelaide. With the Arab Spring in the Middle East, anti-austerity protests across Europe and the Occupy movement in the US, last year was a year in which people鈥檚 movements around the world stood up to take centre stage in world politics. The theme of this year鈥檚 conference, 鈥淎 Time of Revolution鈥, was inspired by these uprisings.
Across NSW, dozens of local groups have organised to campaign against coal seam gas (CSG) mining. After years of using official channels of protest, they have been frustrated by the lack of response from the government and feel that they have no choice but to change tactics. In the Pilliga state forest south of Narrabri, 92 wells have been drilled to explore for CSG. In June last year, 10,000 litres of untreated saline CSG water were leaked into the environment.
A by has drawn attention to important research on the alarming health effects of coal burning on the Port Augusta community, reaffirming the case for a speedy transition to solar thermal power for the region.

Qantas cuts 500 more jobs Qantas said on May 21 it would axe more than 500 engineering jobs from Tullamarine and Avalon in Victoria. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the company had to cut maintenance costs to match its competitors, and that newer aircraft 鈥渞equire less maintenance, less often鈥.

About 4000 unionists at six coal mines in Central Queensland have struck for a week from May 24 after enterprise bargaining talks with employers BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi again broke down. The 18-month-long dispute between the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) and mineowners the BHP-Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) centres on a push by the company to replace union-appointed mine safety officers with management officials.
In Occupy-style, they are pop-up and pop-out protesters on Montreal's streets. A jester threw juggling clubs high in the air, a masked face beamed 鈥 the sweat of the warm day glistening over her make-up 鈥 and the nose of a clown tilting up to figures on stilts, occasionally twisting round in a dance-trot. An impromptu band shook beans in glass bottles and beat drumsticks, while an accordion played old favourites. Whistles tried to organise the crowd. Dogs menaced one another, tying themselves up in their leashes as their owners passed by.
3CR invites its listeners and the Melbourne community . Buy your share of the media and donate to 3CR this Radiothon. 3CR鈥檚 progressive alternative coverage of social, economic, cultural and political issues has never been more relevant.
Premier Campbell Newman'a Liberal National Party (LNP) government wasted no time launching an all-out attack on gay rights and on community services in Queensland. The May 20 Courier Mail said the government was preparing to overturn the civil unions law passed under the previous Labor government earlier this year.
The released the statement below on May 24. * * * The NATO announcement on May 21 that it will 鈥渨ithdraw鈥 troops from Afghanistan in 2013 is an admission of defeat. But there are no victors in this war. The country is no closer to peace and security today than when the Taliban were forced out in 2001.
Protest against NATO in Chicago on May 20.

Greece's Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) sent a message of solidarity to the thousands of people who protested against the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20.

Australian supporters of WikiLeaks announced nationwide protests after news that Britain鈥檚 supreme court will decide on Julian Assange鈥檚 final appeal against extradition to Sweden on May 30. The protest rallies will take place in most capital cities the next day, May 31. The rallies will take place regardless of the court鈥檚 decision. Even though Assange has spent , protest organisers say the campaign to defend Assange and WikiLeaks is only just beginning.