“Comfort women” survivors and their supporters will rally in Sydney on March 7, as part of a global day of action, to protest against the human rights abuses suffered by hundreds of thousands of women during World War II. An estimated 200,000 women in were forced into sexual slavery and continually beaten, tortured and raped by Japanese soldiers during the war.
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The Islamic Girls and Womens Group will make its office in Ross House on Flinders Lane available for use by Muslim Legal Services Victoria to provide free legal services for Muslims.
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On February 24, Hy Vuthy, a leader of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia (FTUWKC) was shot dead while driving home. The murder occurred shortly after Hy Vuthy successfully negotiated with a company for a one-day holiday for Khmer New Year. This was the third murder of a FTUWKC representative since the unions former president, Chea Vichea, was killed in 2004. On February 26, the International Trade Union Confederation called on the Cambodian government to investigate the crime, bring those responsible to justice, and to end the campaign of repression against trade unionists. For more information, visit <http://www.ituc-csi.org>.
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Intimidation of trade unionists escalated during February after union leaders protested the abduction early that month of three workers involved with railway workers union newspaper Akuna. One of the three was Sisira Priyankara, the papers editor, who had been involved in lodging complaints by unionists to the courts against salary hikes for senior government figures. Following the protests, the government announced that the three unionists were in custody and were being interrogated over suspicions of links with insurgents. Since then, posters targeting union leaders who protested the abductions have appeared in public places across the country, branding them terrorists and calling for their arrests. The International Trade Union Confederation is demanding an end to the harassment of and attacks on unionists. For more information visit < http://www.ituc-A HREF="mailto:csi.org"><csi.org>.
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On March 5, maintenance department workers employed at James Hardie Ltds Rosehill site took protected industrial action for 24 hours. They were supported by activists from Worker Solidarity, who organised a community picket on the day
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On February 23 and 25, US and Iraqi forces raided the head offices of Iraqs national trade union centre, the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). One of the unions security staff was arrested and later released. The soldiers destroyed furniture and confiscated a computer and fax machine. The union has condemned the attacks as unprovoked and is demanding a written apology from the occupation forces, the return of seized property and compensation for damages. Messages of protest can be lodged at: <http://www.labourstart.org/iraqraid>.
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Young people are likely to be hit hard by Work Choices, the Youth Coalition, the peak youth affairs body in the ACT, told the Legislative Assemblys select committee on working families on March 1.
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The South Korean anti-war movement is appealing for support in its campaign demanding the right to hold an anti-war demonstration on March 17, as part of the global weekend of action on the anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. The government has banned the protest. Korean Action against Dispatch of Troops to Iraq, an anti-war coalition comprising 351 organisations, is calling on international anti-war and pro-democracy groups to send letters of protest to, and organise demonstrations outside of, the South Korean consulate or embassy in your country. Messages of solidarity can be sent to <antipabyeong@empal.com>.
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The Melbourne City Council is taking steps to introduce a partnership scheme that will allow Victorian same-sex couples to have their civil unions recognised by the council.
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British band Ugly Rumours (named after PM Tony Blairs college band) has released a cover of War (What is it Good For?) (originally made famous by Edwin Starr). The single, which is performed by Tony Blair in an accompanying video clip, reached number six in Britains singles chart by March 1 and was expected to go all the way to the top. Profits go to help the Stop the War Coalition. The Respect coalition reported on its website on March 1 that the song had been banned by the BBC. The BBC Radio One Newsbeat programme was due to record a package about the single today, but pulled out at the last minute, claiming that the record was not newsworthy. However, sources at the highest level within the BBC have privately confirmed that a banning order has been instituted. The song is being distributed at <http://www.indiestore.com/uglyrumours/tracks?trackID=-12189>
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As right-wing death squads reassert their presence and gangs and organised crime with links to the highest levels of government operate freely, campesinos (peasants) and organised youth are being persecuted and beaten in the streets. On February 27, while holding a peaceful and legal protest against the regional free trade agreement CAFTA and the governments crackdown on civil liberties, 27 young activists were detained, charged with civil disobedience and brutally beaten by the civil police. Meanwhile the Popular Youth Bloc is awaiting information on the fate of Edwar Contreras Bonifacio, who was forcibly disappeared when he left college on February 7. An international solidarity campaign is underway and people are urged to write to the nearest Salvadoran consulate or embassy demanding his safe return, as well as the release of the 27 arrested youth. The youth and popular organisations are responding to this campaign of state-sponsored intimidation with the call to Answer more repression with more struggle!
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After an epileptic seizure on December 15, Sharif Assad, a Syrian being held in Sydneys Villawood immigration detention centre, was transferred to Bankstown hospital against his will and tied to a bed.
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On February 25, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache in Maryland. A simple tooth extraction could have saved his life, but by the time he received medical attention a tooth infection had spread to his brain. Drivers family did not have private health insurance and their Medicaid coverage had expired. Even with Medicaid, many people have to travel several hours to find a dentist willing to treat them just 900 of the states 5500 dentists accept Medicaid patients. Figures show that fewer than one-third of children in Marylands Medicaid program received any dental care during 2005.
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On December 27, 2006, the Socialist Alliance, along with all other parties without representation in the national parliament, lost its federal electoral registration. If we do not regain registration, the name Socialist Alliance will not appear on ballot papers at the next federal poll.
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Womens rights activists in Iran have initiated a petition campaign, titled One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws. The campaign a follow-up to a June 12 protest in Tehran last year that was brutally attacked by police aims to overturn anti-women laws, as well as provide education, involve women in organising for their rights, and promote collaboration between different groups. Signatures are being collected via door-to-door contact and dialogue with individual women, in public places and at events where women gather, through seminars and forums, and also through the internet. For more information visit <http://en.we4change.com>.
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Three Iraqi women aged 25-31 face execution after being sentenced to death by the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Court for involvement in resistance to the US-led occupation of Iraq. Wassan Talib, Zainab Fadhil and Liqa Omar Muhammad denied the charges. A statement by the World Tribunal on Iraq and the Brussels Tribunal Executive Committee opposing the execution noted: “The United States and its local conspirators, in creating hundreds of thousands of widows and reducing life in Iraq to a struggle for bare survival have placed women in the crosshairs and now on the gallows.” Arguing that the women should not have been charged at all, the groups cited a 1982 UN General Assembly resolution affirming “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle”.
News
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On March 2, the day that Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks was finally charged, activists in Geelong led a shackled and hooded figure through the city streets chanting “Free David Hicks!”
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Underneath the enormous conveyor belts at the back of the Yallourn power station, 49 metalworkers from MEC Engineering, which is part of the Eliott group, have maintained a six-month protest embassy to win their jobs and entitlements back.
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Four Queensland University of Technology students were arrested on March 1 for expressing their political opinions on campus.
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On February 28, Major Michael Mori, David Hickss US military lawyer, addressed a packed Founders Hall at the University of Ballarat. The mixed crowd of at least 600 learned a whole lot more about how Hicks is the Australian governments sacrificial lamb in the war on terror.
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On February 24, 200 people rallied at the Esplanade Lagoon despite tropical rain to oppose a proposed resort and housing complex at False Cape on the coast south of the city. Until now, this side of Trinity Bay has provided Cairns with a natural setting visible from its centre.
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Anti-war campaigners around Australia are preparing for large protest rallies on March 17, the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
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Pot calls kettle black "Their [the Islamists] goal in the broader Middle East is to seize control of a country, so they have a base from which they can launch attacks against governments that refuse to meet their demands." — Lord Darth Cheney,
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Chanting ALPs hands are black, we want our future back, members of the Rising Tide environment group protested outside the ALPs NSW head office on February 27 against a proposed new coal export terminal in Newcastle.
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While Qantas workers’ job security remains uncertain if the proposed Airline Partners Australia (APA) $11.1 billion takeover bid for Qantas eventuates, executives at the national carrier stand to pocket millions.
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Pot calls kettle black "Their [the Islamists] goal in the broader Middle East is to seize control of a country, so they have a base from which they can launch attacks against governments that refuse to meet their demands." — Lord Darth Cheney,
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The NSW Public Service Association and Unions NSW have called a rally on March 15, in the lead-up to the NSW elections, against job cuts. The PSA is highighting Liberal leader Peter Debnam’s threat to cut 20,000 public service jobs if elected, and is circulating a petition calling on all candidates to “maintain public sector job levels in real terms as at 2006 state budget levels”.
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This years annual International Womens Day rally in Melbourne is being organised by the Victorian Trades Hall Council. To be held at the GPO at noon on March 8, the rally will focus on protesting against PM John Howards legislative attacks on the wages and working conditions of women workers.
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On February 28, Major Michael Mori, David Hicks’s US military lawyer, addressed a packed Founders’ Hall at the University of Ballarat. The mixed crowd of at least 600 learned a whole lot more about how Hicks is the Australian government’s sacrificial lamb in the “war on terror”.
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Angry at the brutal occupation of Iraq and the inhumane treatment of David Hicks, university students are joining anti-war and radical groups such as Resistance at orientation weeks in bigger numbers this year. The first revolution of the 21st century, in Venezuela, is also attracting a lot of interest.
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Four Queensland University of Technology students were arrested on March 1 for expressing their political opinions on campus.
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The spirit of the radical movements of the 1960-70s was reignited at the Socialist Alliance’s “Stand up for your rights” election campaign concert on March 24. Performing classic hits from artists such as Bob Marley and John Lennon, plus original music and songs, a swathe of musicians and five of the Socialist Alliance candidates in the March 24 NSW election called for a united struggle against corporate greed and exploitative governments.
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On February 23, representatives of the Murray and Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) and the NSW National Parks Association (NPA) signed an agreement for shared protection of the ecology of the Murray and Lower Darling areas.
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Underneath the enormous conveyor belts at the back of the Yallourn power station, 49 metalworkers from MEC Engineering, which is part of the Eliott group, have maintained a six-month “protest embassy” to win their jobs and entitlements back.
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Most students started on campus a week after John Howard decided to send more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. With the government under growing pressure to bring David Hicks home, the surge against the war and the so-called war on terror is growing rapidly on all campuses.
Analysis
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Serious fears are held for the safety of 83 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka who are, at the time of writing, being detained on Christmas Island. Australian, Indonesian and Sri Lankan officials are talking about returning the refugees to Sri Lanka, via Indonesia, without their asylum claims being assessed a new departure from Australias international legal obligations to refugees.
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While Qantas workers job security remains uncertain if the Airline Partners Australia (APA) $11.1 billion takeover bid for Qantas succeeds, executives at the national carrier stand to pocket millions.
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Hicks has spent five years, mainly in solitary confinement, at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, which the US set up on illegally occupied Cuban territory to ensure independence from the legal system of any country, including the US itself.
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A United Nations childrens fund (UNICEF) report released in February reveals that Australias economic growth over the last decade has done little to benefit the poorest sections of society, particularly young people. Indeed, in Australia and across the developed world, child poverty has increased in the last 10 years.
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Since the Howard Coalition government was elected in 1996 record numbers of women have entered parliament, yet womens rights are under massive attack without so much as a murmur of opposition from the female Coalition MPs and very little outcry from the ALP.
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The Howard government’s Work Choices laws “have had an overall negative effect for women in the work force”, Griffith University Professor David Peetz told Green Left Weekly on February 27. “The slow trend toward improvement in female compared to male levels of pay and conditions has been reversed under Work Choices, threatening much of the gains of the previous 10 years”, said Peetz.
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When the vice-president of the land of the free came to Sydney recently, the joke going around was that he brought a troop surge to town. A few friends are still sporting bruises from that surge, made possible by the NSW Labor governments generous provision of a large number of bullies in uniform to terrorise the local population.
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The following letter was sent by Cuban consul-general Nelida Hernandez Carmona in response to Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devines claim that, You know Australia has lost its mind on the green front when the conservative Howard government starts emulating the communist dictatorship of Cuba. Devine (the SMHs resident right-wing ranter) argued that while federal environment minister Malcolm Turnbulls plan, foisted without warning on the nation last week, to ban incandescent light bulbs from 2010 and force us to replace them with more energy-efficient fluorescent ones was presented by the government as a world first, the Associated Press soon pointed out that Cubas dictator Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago His protege, Venezuelas socialist president Hugo Chavez, soon followed suit. You might say Turnbull, Castro and Chavez are the three amigos of the climate change nanny state.
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In her 1993 book, The End of Equality?, Anne Summers admits to being puzzled by the Howard government’s concern about Australia’s low birth rate and its call for women to reproduce more while, at the same time, it refuses to provide inexpensive and quality childcare to help this happen.
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Despite having won formal equality, the lack of an organised women’s movement means that the Howard government has been able to take back a lot of the reforms won as a result of the struggles of the 1970s and 1980s. No reform is permanent under capitalism, and without a strong movement that mobilises to defend and expand reforms to improve women’s lives, the capitalist class can easily remove, or knobble, the gains that have been won.
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Strange times What strange times we live in. In the 1970s, I disagreed with Malcolm Fraser's ideas and opposed his conservative government's policies. In the 1980s and '90s I agreed with Peter Garrett on a range of political and environmental
World
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The Israeli military and security forces have killed more than 5000 Palestinians since the beginning of the Al Asqa intifada in September 2000, according to the Palestinian National Information Centre (PNIC).
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The first congress by the Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese Peoples Party (KP-PRA) was disrupted on February 28 when around 75 participants were rushed to hospital with suspected food poisoning.
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The new constitution of Afghanistan formally grants equal rights to women and men. The government has also endorsed the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which, according to development agencies, is significant progress on gender equality policy advocacy. The first time I arrived in Kabul the women I saw on the streets were wearing scarves on their heads and those wearing full chador were a minority. Maybe, at a superficial glance, the situation had improved for the women of Afghanistan?
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In Venezuela, after decades of class polarisation, neglect of the needs of the majority, corruption on a massive scale and unbridled bureaucracy, the magnitude of problems that Venezuelas Bolivarian revolution led by socialist president Hugo Chavez is attempting to tackle is enormous.
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During a visit to Venezuela, Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner signed an agreement with Venezuelas socialist President Hugo Chavez that will launch the Bank of the South (Bancosur) within four months, reported a February 22 Venezuelanlaysis.com article. Bancosur is part of the push, led by Venezuela, for Latin American integration to challenge US corporate domination. Chavez has promoted the bank as a source of cheap credit for countries in the region and a non-exploitative alternative to the First World-controlled International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
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Australian soldiers fired on three youths in Dili on February 23. One youth died at the scene a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) near Dili Airport. The others were injured; one later died in hospital.
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China’s much increased economic activities in Africa in recent years — investments in energy and natural resources extraction and loans to African governments — have provoked accusations that it is becoming a new neocolonial power in the continent.
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The Israeli army continued to terrorise residents of the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian National Authority’s International Press Centre (IRC) reported on February 28. IPC reported that at 2.30am that day, an Israeli occupation contingent of 120 armoured vehicles, jeeps and bulldozers stormed into the city for a second time, and began conducting house-to-house raids, removing dozens of residents for interrogation.
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An extraordinary mobilisation of Rainbow Solidarity for the Cuban Five is extending around the world.
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Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolas Maduro and London Mayor Ken Livingstone signed an agreement on February 20 for Venezuela to provide discounted oil to London authorities. In return, London will assist with city management and environmental protection in Caracas.
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On February 21, senators Franco Turigliatto from the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC) and Ferdinando Rossi from the Party of Italian Communists (PDCI) disobeyed party instructions and abstained on a vote in support of the foreign policy of the government of prime minister Romano Prodi. Because of their action the vote was lost and, although not obliged to, Prodi chose to resign, throwing his nine-party Union coalition into crisis.
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IPS — Nearly two months since UN troops began launching heavy attacks that they say are aimed against gang members in poor neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince, roadblocks and barbed wire remain in place and the atmosphere is grim.
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An opinion poll conducted in early February by the Washington-based Pew Research Center found that 53% of US voters surveyed agreed that the US “should bring its troops home as soon as possible”. This sentiment explains why the leading Democratic Party presidential hopefuls are trying to convince voters they have a plan to end the US war in Iraq.
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Seventy-three-year-old Aisha Amin, a Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) activist from Shahdra Lahore, was declared dead three days after being listed as missing after the February 18 Delhi-Lahore train bomb blast.
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Through its Vietnam ambassador, the Bush administration announced on February 9 that it will fund 40% of a US$1 million plan to study how to clean up a former US military base in Vietnam that is contaminated by dioxin, a class-one human carcinogen. Dioxin was a key ingredient in Agent Orange, a defoliant that Washington used extensively in the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.
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On February 24, 60,000 anti-war protesters took to the streets of central London in a demonstration against the US-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and against the threat of military action now hanging over Iran. On the same day, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Glasgow, demonstrating against the Labour Partys plans to upgrade the Trident nuclear weapons facilities based in the Clyde estuary.
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Luis Britto Garcia was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1940. He is the author of a vast work that encompasses 47 titles, eight of them narrative fiction. In 1970, he won the Casa de las Americas Prize with his collection of tales Rajatabla. In 1979, he won that international distinction again with his novel Abrapalabra.
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On February 26, a US consular official in Hong Kong announced that Washington was ready to begin taking steps to lift financial sanctions on North Korea by resolving a dispute over Macaus Banco Delta Asia. In September 2005, the US Treasury designated BDA a primary money-laundering concern, accusing it of being a willing pawn in North Koreas alleged distribution of counterfeit US dollars and sales of illegal tobacco products.
Culture
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Sex 'n' Pop: Homosexuality & Pop Music — Hits the dance floor and traces the history of lesbian and gay emancipation. SBS, Friday, March 9, 10pm. Human Cargo — Set in Canada and central Africa, this takes an unflinching look at the world of
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Walala Wasala: the fabric of African politics & Images of Western Sahara
Bundoora Homestead Gallery, Melbourne
Until March 25
<http://www.bundoorahomestead.com>
Free admission -
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Pans Labyrinth
Written & directed by Guillermo del Toro
With Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez & Ariadna Gil
In cinemas