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News briefs

News briefs Record profit for BHP NEWCASTLE — Mining and steel production giant BHP is set to reach record profits again this year, announced within days of the confirmation that more jobs are to be slashed in the Hunter area Rod and Bar

Despite Hollywood, still a giggle

Tank Girl A Rachel Talalay film Reviewed by Jen Crothers In the future of Tank Girl, the world is struck by a comet, turning the whole planet into a desert. It hasn't rained in 11 years, and water is power. The Water and Power Company just

Watch out for the Stupid Old Man

Moving the Mountain Directed by Michael Apted Sydney Film Festival Reviewed by Eva Cheng The pro-democracy student protests in China in 1989 are the best-documented people's movement, audio-visually, in Chinese history. This rich

Thousands oppose nuclear test resumption

By Michelle Armstrong and Tony Iltis CANBERRA — The French government's decision to resume nuclear testing in Moruroa Atoll has met an angry response here. A rally on June 18 at the French Embassy attracted 1000 people. The crowd marched

On the box

On the box Actively Radical TV — Community television's progressive current affairs program tackles the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Friday, 10.30pm. In a Time of Violence — The second part

Waiting for the fire

James Baldwin: A Biography By David Leeming Henry Holt & Co, 1995. 442 pp., $26.95 (pb) Reviewed by Phil Shannon Australian censors, in their own perverse way, have guided many Australians to good, challenging writers. James Baldwin,

Action updates

Action updates AGL strike NEWCASTLE — Employees of the AGL natural gas company in the Hunter region struck from June 22 to 26 in response to company plans to shed 53 of its work force of 163 by June 30. A redundancy plan offered by

Ukraine crisis ends in overthrow of constitution

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — The parallels with Russia in 1993 were uncanny. As the economy crashed, the president demanded a speeding-up of free-market reforms as the only solution. And if these reforms were to be implemented, an essential

New union-environment coalition in SA

By Emma Webb ADELAIDE — The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Building Division and the Conservation Council formally established the Coalition of Unions and Environment Groups (CUE) on June 5, World Environment Day.

Uranium: leave it in the ground!

Uranium: leave it in the ground! By Jennifer Thompson The Australian government's gentle protests over French nuclear testing plans cannot conceal Australia's role in creating and maintaining the nuclear danger. Australian diplomats were

The nuclear threat

The nuclear threat The latest move, led by the French government, to consolidate and strengthen the world's nuclear weapons capability makes a mockery of the so-called New World Order. If this is indeed an era of diplomacy and negotiated peace,

Report on human rights abuses in Tibet

By Kath Davey A new report from Amnesty International, titled Persistent Human Rights Violations in Tibet, indicates that repression of dissent there has increased. Hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, some of them child novices, are