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In recent years there’s been a concerted campaign by right-wing Vietnamese exiles around the world to resurrect the defunct flag of the old Saigon regime.
On June 12, Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) organised a protest in front of the Lahore Press Club against the illegal detention of LPP general secretary Farooq Tariq, who was arrested on June 5 and given a three-month detention order. Braving 47°C heat, more than 300 protesters gathered, raising slogans against General Pervez Musharraf’s regime and demanding the immediate release of Tariq and all other political prisoners.
The breaking of a six-month deadlock in Bolivia’s constituent assembly has paved the way for the opening of an intense debate on the future of this politically polarised country nestled in the heart of South America. Beginning to lose the battle within the halls of the assembly, the right-wing opposition has threaten to take the fight onto the streets, announcing that it may reject any new constitution that emerges out of the body.
With opinion polls showing his government is headed for defeat in this year’s federal election, PM John Howard has been sure to pull out the, now well-weathered, “economic management” card in an attempt to regain voter support.
Following the near-complete seizure of military control of the Gaza Strip on June 14 by armed supporters of the Hamas party, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the leader of the rival Fatah party, issued a decree dissolving the PA Hamas-Fatah “national unity” government, dismissing Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh and declaring a “state of emergency” in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The 36th annual national conference of the socialist youth organisation Resistance will be an important stepping stone towards the protests against US emperor George Bush’s visit to Australia in September for the APEC summit.
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has met strong resistance in its attempts to seize areas of the island country that are controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE are fighting for an independent state in the predominantly Tamil inhabited north and east of Sri Lanka.
Since community opposition stopped plans for a national nuclear waste dump in South Australia, John Howard seems determined to now go for a site in the Northern Territory — despite promising not to and opposition from Indigenous custodians.
Bishop Fernando Lugo had a crucial choice to make on December 17. Representatives from different social groups showed up before him, carrying thick files with 100,000 properly registered signatures and a request: “Father, give Paraguay a hand”.
The public gallery of the Northern Territory Supreme Court erupted into applause on June 15 when Justice Sally Thomas handed down the sentences for the “Pine Gap Four” — Christians Against All Terrorism members Bryan Law, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie and Donna Mulhearn — who had the previous day been found guilty of 14 charges under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act of 1952.
It has become clear in recent weeks the extent to which the NSW and federal governments want to block protests at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney in September.
The NSW government is planning to give police extraordinary powers of arrest and detention around the time of the APEC summit in Sydney in September. Activists planning the protest when US President George Bush is in town say the new powers are about intimidation, not public safety.