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Howard's education funding swindle

BY VIV MILEY John Howard upped the election stakes on January 29 when he unveiled his $2.9 billion innovation action plan, Backing Australia's Ability. The plan was applauded by business circles, university administrators and research bodies, but

Looking out: Warm and insightful

“Something that did concern me in your letter, however, was to read that since there was not 'a hint of Baldwin's sexuality' in the African American encyclopaedia you felt 'that is as it should be'.” — Sean Denis D'Arcy. The words above

INDIA: Communists join earthquake relief

BY EVA CHENG The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has taken an extraordinary series of measures to contribute to the efforts to relieve the devastating impact of the January 26 earthquake in Gujarat, in India's north west. The

UNITED STATES: Bush and Big Oil threaten world environment

BY NORM DIXON An international gathering of scientists in Shanghai mid-January presented a report revealing that global warming caused by the emission of greenhouse gases could result in the atmosphere's temperature rising by almost 6°C by

NUS votes against on-line education

BY SHUA GARFIELD HOBART — The National Union of Students (NUS) education committee met on January 25 to plan its campaigns for 2001. One of the main issues discussed was how NUS should respond to the Labor Party's federal election policy

BURMA: Military begins talks with opposition

BY SEAN HEALY The Burmese military regime has revealed that it has been in secret talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi since October, the first face-to-face meetings between the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the generals since 1994. But

Honeymoon uranium mine put on hold

BY JIM GREEN Federal environment minister Robert Hill announced on February 1 that he requires further detailed information before making a final decision on the Honeymoon uranium mine proposal. The Honeymoon project, located 80km west of Broken

Why Resistance left the National Broad Left

BY GRANT COLEMAN At the national conference of the National Union of Students (NUS) in December, the socialist youth organisation Resistance walked out of the left-wing faction called the National Broad Left (NBL). Instead of participating in this

Lift sanctions against Libya

With the verdict handed down on January 31 by the judges presiding over the trial of the two Libyans accused of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, the conditions imposed by the United Nations Security Council for the

PALESTINE: Israeli army used depleted uranium

Palestinians have submitted a report to the United Nations saying weapons used by Israel to quell the four-month-old intifada in Palestine contained depleted uranium, the January 19-20 Jordan Times reported.

Legionella outbreak in the health department

BY PHIL SHANNON CANBERRA — The federal Department of Health and Aged Care has been publicly embarrassed by a recent outbreak of legionella in one of its Canberra buildings. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) reports that staff in the

CHINA: Greenhouse science firms

BY JIM GREEN Government delegates from 99 countries met in Shanghai, China, from January 17-20 to finalise and unanimously approve a report on climate change science, which presents new and deeper evidence of the human impact on the world's weather