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James Balowski, Jakarta The new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has barely been in office one month but has already broken a key election promises — to seek a peaceful solution to the prolonged conflict in Indonesia's
Tony Iltis, Melbourne On November 24, peace activist Reta Kaur was acquitted in the Melbourne Magistrates Court of criminal damage after she wrote "The killing has started" in red paint and placed red hand prints on two statues outside the US
Just a couple of weeks ago, on November 11, anti-nuclear whistleblower Mordecai Vanunu was re-arrested in Jerusalem by Israeli police. The Socialist Alliance has joined the call for his immediate release, and the removal of all restrictions on his
The Korean Federation of Trade Unions pulled off a one-day strike on November 26, in protest at a new bill that will attack the rights of temporary workers. The federation estimated that 600,000 workers participated in the strikem, which closed
Despite the US Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that it is a violation of a woman's constitutional right to privacy for any US public authority to ban abortion, the US government bans the performance of abortions at all US military medical
Kathy Newnam, Darwin In an unprecedented move, Letty Scott has brought private criminal charges against three NT prison officers — Barry Medley, Michael Lawson and Harold Robertson — for the assault and murder of her husband Douglas Scott on
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