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BY RUSSELL PICKERING& ALISON DELLIT The Australian government is attempting to introduce legislation giving secret police agencies more powers, and enabling state persecution of dissidents. The legislation includes granting the attorney-general the
SAN FRANCISCO — In a recent news release, the Canadian Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC group) announced that the biotechnology industry continues to aggressively pursue the development of genetically modified seeds
Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone 9565 5522. Visit <http://www.channel31.org>
BY PIP HINMAN More than 10,100 people have signed an online petition supporting a call for a royal commission into the government's treatment of asylum seekers. Out of thousands of active petitions from all over the world listed on the
BY SAM WAINWRIGHT Only one day after an angry March 14 meeting of State Transit Authority (STA) bus drivers voted to strike for 48 hours in pursuit of their wage claim, the executive of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union has deferred the action. The
BY PETER BOYLE SYDNEY — On March 13, the Sydney Labor for Refugees group decided to oppose the attempted exclusion of members of the Democratic Socialist Party, International Socialist Organisation and other activist left groups from the
BY SARAH STEPHEN Hundreds of detained asylum seekers from Afghanistan have been denied protection visas, despite recommendations from immigration department officers that they be granted. A spokesperson for immigration minister Philip Ruddock
BY NORM DIXON On March 13, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was officially pronounced the winner of the March 9-11 presidential election with 55% of the vote. Mugabe's "victory" over opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate
BY JENNY LONG SYDNEY — Up to 400 people gathered for a two-hour protest vigil for Palestine on March 15. Well supported by the Sydney Palestinian community, the vigil was called by the Council of Australian Palestinian Organisations with the
A single private corporation — Australasian Correctional Management (ACM) — runs all six of the horrendous refugee detention camps in Australia. ACM is the Australian subsidiary of the Miami-based detention and security giant, Wackenhut.
BY ALISON DELLIT It would be easy to think, watching Channel 10's ever-so-hip coverage of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, that homophobia in Australia was in retreat. But the March 12 attack, under parliamentary privilege, by cabinet
BY MICHAEL KAMBER As dusk falls in Kabul, the streets fill with a choking gray smoke, despite the city's near-complete lack of industry. Nearly every family in this capital of one million is cooking its evening meal and trying to keep the bitter