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NEW ZEALAND: Tens of thousands march for 'GE-Free NZ'

Tens of thousands of people across New Zealand marched on October 11 to oppose genetically modified crops. A moratorium on GE crops is due to lapse at the end of October. The biggest march was in Auckland, where up to 35,000 people took part in what

BASQUE COUNTRY: Madrid exploits terror fears to deny rights

BY URKO AIARTZA BILBAO — The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and the media impact they made, created a climate in which governments around the world — by fanning and exploiting fears of "terrorism" — have been able to implement

WORLD ECONOMY: Why is the US putting pressure on China's currency?

BY EVA CHENG Since July, Washington has launched an unprecedented campaign to blame China's currency regime for declining US manufacturing jobs and pressuring Beijing to end its nine-year peg of the yuan (renminbi in Chinese) to the US dollar. US

Laughing all the way to the guillotine

Vive La Revolution: A Stand-up History of the French RevolutionBy Mark SteelScribner, 2003299 pages, $29.95 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON On June 20, 1789, Dr Guillotin made a significant entry into history. Locked out of their meeting place by

Join the Solidarity brigade to Cuba

BY NICK RAWSON The 21st Australia-New Zealand Work/Study Brigade will travel to Cuba in December. Organised annually by the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society, the brigade provides an opportunity for people to express solidarity with Cuba's struggle

INDONESIA: 'East Timor syndrome' sparks spat

BY MAX LANE JAKARTA — On October 13, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) announced the cancellation of a November 6 visit to Australian Defence Force facilities in Perth by a TNI delegation. The decision was in response to the Australian

Health workers campaign against privatisation

BY JANE BECKMAN NEWCASTLE — NSW Health and Research Employees Association (HREA) branches throughout the Hunter region have unanimously condemned the NSW Labor government's decision to privatise new facilities to be built at the Newcastle Mater

CUBA: Bush announces aggressive new measures

BY DOUG LORIMER At a White House press conference on October 10, US President George Bush announced new punitive measures against socialist Cuba, including new steps to enforce Washington's 41-year-old trade embargo against the island, stricter

Anti-Palestinians campaign to overturn peace prize

BY KIM BULLIMORE SYDNEY — Palestinian legislator and human rights activist Hanan Ashrawi is scheduled to receive the Sydney Peace Prize from NSW Premier Bob Carr on November 6 at Parliament House. Ashrawi, a long-time campaigner for the rights of

IRAQ: UN backs US-led occupation

BY DOUG LORIMER After weeks of haggling, France, Germany and Russia on October 16 finally voted in the UN Security Council for a US-sponsored resolution mandating the creation of a "multinational" occupation force in Iraq under US command. While

Is Syria socialist?

Syria: Neither Bread Nor FreedomBy Alan GeorgeZed Books, 2003 REVIEW BY CHRIS SLEE Israel's government on October 5 launched a missile attack on Syria, the first strike into Syrian territory in 30 years. US President George Bush immediately

The Tamworth boy who exposed Howard's lies

BY TIM BYRNES CANBERRA — Andrew Wilkie, the former senior intelligence officer at the centre of a storm following his resignation in protest at Prime Minister John Howard's government's stance on Iraq, admits to having a soft spot for Tamworth.