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Barry Healy, Perth The Aboriginal community in and around Bedfordale, in the south-east outer area of Perth, is reeling under the combined impacts of a racist campaign by the local Comment News and an attempt by World Vision to impose a neoliberal
Tales from a Suitcase — Khadem Nori and Shafiq Monis, Hazaras persecuted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, escaped to Australia to be placed in Woomera detention centre. SBS, Friday, April 22, 2pm. Message Stick: The Songman/Don't Say Sorry —
Raul Bassi On March 4, four people kidnapped a woman worker from the Zanon ceramics factory outside her workplace. Bringing back chilling memories of the 1970s "dirty wars" against left-wing activists, the woman was forced into a green Ford Falcon,
A motion put to the annual shareholders meeting of Caterpillar industries to "re-evaluate selling bulldozers to the Israeli army" was defeated, garnering 3% of the vote (representing US$600 million share holdings), on April 13. Caterpillar bulldozers
Sarah Stephen The callous mistreatment of the children of asylum seekers and immigrants without valid visas by the immigration department (DIMIA) is something not widely known. Yet in early March it became part of wider public discussion after
On April 12, a shepherd in Salfit in the West Bank found small pink pellets spread across his grazing ground. He took some of the pellets to the police. A Bir Zeit University analysis of the pellets found them to be wheat seeds boiled in rat poison,
Tara Guinness, Sydney Red balloons filled the streets on April 10 as 150 refugee-rights protesters marched to the Villawood detention centre. The rally, organised by the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), was called after police popped balloons
Two men, one an Australian citizen, were sentenced two years' imprisonment by a Fijian court on April 6, for engaging in "unnatural offences" and "indecent practice between two males". The men had made a video featuring gay sex. Homosexuality is
On April 11, Botswana's parliament debated a bill to scrap the constitutional clause that allows restrictions to the free movement of the general public in order to protect the indigenous Bushmen people of the Kalahari. The Bushmen are currently
Kathy Newnam, Darwin The fight to expose the truth about the death in custody of Douglas Scott reached the NT Supreme Court on April 11 in a compensation case. Douglas' widow Letty and son Nathan brought the case against three NT prison officers,
At last at the Pearly Gates John Howard stood,St Peter with steely eyes looked at him good.He said, you've a bloody cheek comin' up here,With your fibs and no sorries and your campaigns of fear. Your "kids overboard" made us all feel quite
On April 8, the British government decided to deny visas to all 18- to 30-year-old Nigerians who have not visited the country before and have not been accepted to study in Britain. Last year, 60,000 Nigerians in that age group were granted visas.