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Jim McIlroy &Coral Wynter, Caracas On February 2, the Latin American TV channel Telesur and the Arabic channel Al Jazeera signed an agreement to exchange information and technology, formalising a growing link that was initiated when Telesur began

Eva Cheng Due to a united boycott by Nepal's opposition parties, participation in the country's February 8 local government elections was reportedly only about 20%, compared with a 60% turnout in the last municipal elections. Despite this, King
Australian oil company Baraka Petroleum has decided to cease involvement in the Cap Juby prospect off Western Sahara. Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco, which licenced Western Sahara's marine area to US-based Kerr McGee last year. The Saharawi
Karen Fletcher "Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to become themselves?" — The Feminine Mystique, 1963. In 1963 Betty Friedan published the ultimate zeitgeist book debunking the myth of women's fulfilment through household
The Lucky (for some) Country "In just 15 years the average yearly income of some of Australia's most powerful chief executives has risen 564 per cent to $3.4 million, new research shows. Between 1990 and 2005 the average annual regular cash
Rohan Pearce On January 24, Iraqi reporter Mahmoud Zaal was killed during a shoot-out between US occupation forces and Iraqi rebels in the city of Ramadi. He was the second Iraqi journalist to have been killed this year; 35 reporters and other
SYDNEY — "Captain Cook's a crook" yelled members of the Maritime Union of Australia as 50 people picketed Captain Cook Cruises at Circular Quay on February 7 to protest against the company's decision to sack an employee simply for his union
The NSW Labor premier, Morris Iemma, seems to be on a scapegoating rampage. In recent times he has set up a police task force specifically designed to harass people from Middle Eastern backgrounds, made it easier for the state to seize the children
Zoe Kenny, Sydney The day after a special sub-committee meeting of the NSW cabinet on February 7, ALP Premier Morris Iemma released the 2006 Progress Report on the Metropolitan Water Plan, which contained the announcement to "shelve" the plan to
Michael Karadjis Beginning late last year, tens of thousands of Vietnamese workers downed tools at dozens of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in southern industrial zones around Ho Chi Minh City, demanding implementation of a 40-48% wage rise
Halliburton subsidiary Kellog Brown & Root has been awarded a contract worth up to US$385 million to build temporary immigration detention centres in the US. According to the February 4 New York Times, KBR executives said the centres would be built
Pip Hinman Around the globe, anti-war activists are gearing up for the protest rallies to mark the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Across Australia, activists are doing the same, spurred on by the oil-for-food scandal, the new terror