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White van abductions and Sri Lanka's terror regime

“Soldiers, our race salutes you!” state the Sinhala-language slogans on huge placards plastered across Sri Lanka’s countryside.

Genocide in Sri Lanka while Australia looks on

I am a Sinhalese from the majority community in Sri Lanka, not from the brutalised Tamil community. I have campaigned for five decades for the right of the Tamils to live with equality, dignity and safety in the country of their birth.

Rail unions oppose station cuts

The NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has criticised RailCorp plans to decimate station staff numbers.

NTEU members take strike action

Members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) from five Victorian universities took strike action on May 21.

Afghani feminist MP condemns civilian massacres

Malalai Joya is the youngest elected representative to Afghan’s parliament. In 2007, she was unjustly suspended for “insulting” other members of the parliament. Joya is an opponent of the US-led occupation and a strong supporter of women’s rights. She opposes the brutal, misogynistic polices of both the Taliban and the fundamentalist forces the US have installed. Her memoir, Raising My Voice: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, is due to be released later this year.

Unions settle West Gate Bridge dispute

A three month long industrial dispute at the West Gate Bridge strengthening project in Melbourne has ended. Unions and construction giant John Holland reached a settlement on May 15.

Latin America's socialist feminism revival

There is a revival of socialist feminism in Latin America, spearheaded by the Venezuelan and Cuban revolutions.

Friends in the struggle for a better world

Friends in deed
By Heather Saville
Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Inc., 2009
337 pages, $24.95 plus postage (pb)

Fidel's declarations of resistance

The Declarations of Havana
By Fidel Castro, with an introduction by Tariq Ali
Verso, 2008
138 pages, $26.95 (pb)

Epic tale of love and tragedy

Samson and Delilah
Written and directed by Warwick Thornton
With Marissa Gibson and Rowan MacNamara
In cinemas