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Doug Lorimer On January 26, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported an increase in cases of encephalitis — a viral disease that causes swelling of the brain — among children in Baghdad over the preceding
Naomi Klein If you believe the White House, Iraq's future government is being designed in Iraq. If you believe the Iraqi people, it is being designed at the White House. Technically, neither is true: Iraq's future government is being engineered in
On February 1, pop singer Janet Jackson opened the half-time entertainment at the 2004 Super Bowl (the US football grand final) in Miami, singing her hit song "Rhythm Nation", which refers to a number of social injustices, including racism. During
Dave Riley, Brisbane With its majority only slightly trimmed at the February 7 state poll, the Labor government's expected electoral success may have obscured some interesting political trends evident in the poll. Standing in 72 of the 89 seats,
Australian and US government representatives finally agreed on a free-trade agreement (AUSFTA) on February 9, after 11 months of negotiations and widespread protest and controversy in both countries. Amid claims and counterclaims about which national
Michael Shaik What are we to make of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's extraordinary talk of relocating almost all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and 10 settlements in the West Bank as part of a "disengagement plan" from the Palestinian

Edinburgh's Pension Appeal Tribunal Service has ruled in favour of an appeal by 1991 Gulf War veteran Kenny Duncan. Duncan is the first British soldier to win recognition for depleted uranium poisoning.

The Last SamuraiDirected and written by Edward ZwickWith Tom Cruise and Ken WatanabeShowing at major cinemas REVIEW BY DAVE RILEY Any serious examination of The Last Samurai must consider the historical context in which the film places its
Sarah Stephen & Andrew Hall, Albury NSW In one of the few national gatherings of any of the refugees' rights organisations which formed in the wake of the Tampa affair at the end of 2001, 320 people attended the second conference of Rural
Alison Dellit After a sustained campaign by anti-death penalty activists, Californian death-row prisoner Kevin Cooper was granted a stay of execution on February 9 — less than eight hours before his murder was scheduled to happen. The 11th hour
North of Capricorn: The untold story of Australia's northBy Henry ReynoldsAllen & Unwin, 2003220 pages, $50 (hb). REVIEW BY IGGY KIM Bustling multiculturalism is today associated with the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, while the common

France has been absorbed by a debate over the right of young Muslim women to wear the hijab, which includes the Islamic headscarf, in state schools.