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Sarah Stephen, Sydney Ismail, a Sri Lankan man, was deported from Sydney's Villawood detention centre on November 23. A previous attempt to deport him on October 19 failed after he panicked and harmed himself. Ismail was diagnosed by Professor
James Balowski, Jakarta For the second time since the murder of renowned Indonesian human rights activist Munir, his family has been threatened — this time with a clear warning not to blame the Indonesian military (TNI) for his death. On
Kim Bullimore, West Bank According to the US-Israeli script, the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on November 11 was suppose to spark a violent power struggle within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and in its leading
Sarah Stephen In June 2002, the Australian immigration department claimed to have proof that Afghan refugee Ali Bakhtiyari was actually a plumber from Pakistan called Ashgar Ali. In December 2002, Ali's temporary visa was cancelled and he was
Jim McIlroy The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has slammed the decision by federal welfare agency Centrelink to cut 175 jobs from its staff in Victoria. On November 23 the union described as "utter nonsense" claims by Centrelink
Reihana Mohideen, Manila What should have been a straightforward collective bargaining agreement for a wage increase resulted in the killing of 14 people (including two children) and the arrest of 115 workers on November 16, at Hacienda Luisita, a
Dave Holmes, Melbourne Waiting for the tram at the busy Melbourne Central stop on Swanston Street, I look across at the State Library. It's a lovely building and very easy on the eye. A classic Victorian construction (it was built in the 1850s),
Selena Black, Sydney The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union said on November 22 that a 9% decline in James Hardie profits showed that the community boycott campaign against the company is having an impact. According to CFMEU NSW
Doug Lorimer A week after US Marine General John Sattler, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, claimed on November 18 that the battle for Fallujah was over, US troops were still engaged in intense battles with Iraqi resistance fighters
An October 22 Associated Press report has sparked a discussion in Haiti about the spiralling numbers of sexual assaults. The report quoted human rights lawyer Renan Hedouville reporting that his civil rights organisation CARLI, had received more than
James Petras I am reading William Shirer's Berlin Diary, a journalist's account of Nazi political propaganda during the 1930s, as I watch the US "news" reports of the violent assault on Fallujah. The US mass media "reports", the style, content
Jon Lamb, Darwin Environmentalists, traditional owners and local residents are increasingly concerned over toxic waste and poisonous mine tailings leaching from the abandoned Mt Todd gold mine near Katherine. Residents on the Edith River,