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Alex Miller, London It was a torrid week for Prime Minister Tony Blair. On September 6, the normally Blairite defence minister, Tom Watson, resigned in protest at the PM's refusal to specify a timetable for handing over his job to a successor. The
Zoe Kenny In his documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, former US vice-president Al Gore describes global warming as the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced. Australia is singled out twice in the film, along with the US, for not joining most of
Ian Jamieson, Fremantle The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has added its support to the campaign in solidarity with the 107 construction workers facing fines of up to $28,600 each for going on strike. The ICFTU said the Howard
On September 6, thousands of residents from Orange Farm (a township south of Johannesburg) blockaded the Golden Highway, a major arterial road in Gauteng. The protesters demanded that Johannesburg's mayor address their lack of access to basic
On September 14, PM John Howard threatened to end Canberra's $85 million per year "aid" package to the Solomon Islands, upon which the Solomons' government is dependent to meet its budget. Howard's threat came shortly after Canberra imposed visa
Paul Benedek, Brisbane "Peter Beattie's axing of Indigenous affairs as a stand alone ministry, just days after the election, is a disgrace", Murri leader Sam Watson told a protest on September 15. Around 40 people rallied outside the Queensland
Doug Lorimer Following two days of talks in Vienna with Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told journalists on September 10 the discussions had been "positive" in seeking a compromise
Kiraz Janicke, Sydney Although US imperialism today is immensely powerful, it is facing some severe challenges. Unable to subjugate the people of Iraq despite a brutal invasion and occupation, the US empire also faces a continent-wide rebellion
Margarita Windisch, Melbourne The issue of decriminalising abortion is part of the ALP's platform for the November 25 Victorian state election, but Premier Steve Bracks is keen to downplay this. Pregnancy termination services (abortion) remain on
Doug Lorimer US President George Bush used the fifth anniversary of 9/11 to tell the US public that their safety from future terrorist attacks would be decided by the "outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad". "If we do not defeat these
Adam Maclean, Sydney At nationally coordinated meetings on September 14, Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) members at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation voted in favour of a campaign of
Alex Bainbridge, Sydney Fifty unionists protested outside the Korean embassy on September 12 in support of striking construction workers in Korea. The Korean workers are facing jail, injury and even death in pursuit of their demands for better