Students protest in Burkino Faso
OUAGADOUGOU — Hundreds of students demonstrated on November 16 to demand the reinstatement of their colleagues who where expelled from Sabou and Koudougou high schools, 100 km outside the capital.
The angry students burned tyres on the main streets of Ouagadougou and disrupted traffic for several hours.
They attacked government vehicles and gave education authorities until November 15 to reintegrate their expelled colleagues, saying failure to do so would lead them to resume the strike.
The strike forced most secondary schools in Ouagadougou to close.
Some 22 students were expelled in Sabou and Koudougou following student demonstrations in 1998-9 to protest against the assassination of journalist Norbert Zongo on December 13, 1998.
Age of consent equalisation fails
SYDNEY — A private member's bill to equalise the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual couples was defeated in NSW parliament on November 18. Right-wing bigot Elaine Nile was sick on the day but made it into the chamber for the vote. Public supporters of the bill failed to turn up to vote for it.
Currently there is no law in NSW for lesbian couples, heterosexual couples are legally able to have sex at 16 and gay men at 18. These laws clearly discriminate against gays and lesbians and have been the target of a sustained campaign for change. This defeat is a setback, but the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby has vowed to continue the campaign next year.