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UNITED STATES: Just say yes

The first state-funded evaluation of the impact of the US abstinence-only approach to sex education in Texas has found that more teenagers were sexually active after taking the program than before it. The evaluation, which involved surveying all

Religious right pushes abortion debate

Lara Pullin Women's access to abortion is back on the political agenda as the religious right attempts to whip up controversy. But the anti-abortion forces may have misjudged the amount of support that a woman's right to choose has throughout the

SUDAN: Western oil greed trumps 'genocide' concerns

Norm Dixon After four months of virtual silence and tens of thousands more deaths, the January 31 release of the report of the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur has prodded US spokespeople into repeating the charge that

The Habib injustice - a threat to us all

Sarah Stephen &Aaron Benedek, Sydney Consider this scenario: an Australian citizen travels to another country, is kidnapped by the military of a third country, receives absolutely no assistance from the Australian government, is imprisoned for

Doomadgee family: 'inquiry will be a whitewash'

Dave Riley, Brisbane With the coronial inquiry still pending into the November death-in-custody of Cameron Doomadgee, the Queensland government and its police force have been able to avoid taking responsibility for the death. The inquest will

Write on: Letters to the editor

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Rachel Freeman (Write On, GLW #612) perceives the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations from a Zionist perspective whereas Kim Bullimore and Doug Lorimer see it from a Marxist standpoint. Freeman stresses the different

BRAZIL: Chavez wows WSF

Federico Fuentes The spirit of two familiar figures, one old and one new, dominated this year's World Social Forum. The old was the ever-present Che Guevara whose spirit not only lives on in the form of his images plastered across buildings and

This week in history

January 10 1879: Ned Kelly's Jerilderie letter recounting his reasons for revolt is published. 2000: Blockades temporarily halt logging on the Errinundra Plateau, Gippsland. 1932: CNT general strike in Spain leads to insurrection. 1990: 800

Black sisters singing up a storm

The SapphiresBy Tony BriggsBelvoir Street Theatre, SydneyUntil February 20 REVIEW BY BRENDAN DOYLE Was it because of the tsunami and the sombre mood we've all had to get used to lately? In any case, the Sunday afternoon audience was really pumped

NICARAGUA: Constitutional crisis threatens

The scheduled beginning of the school year in Nicaragua came and went without schools opening. The strike begun on February 2 by 80% of Nicaragua's 35,000 teachers is just one example of a growing political crisis. The teachers were demanding the

Reclaim the streets

SYDNEY — One-thousand people reclaimed a main street of inner-city Sydney to dance to music and have fun on January 29. Speakers on the open mike discussed the war in Iraq. A prominent banner announced "Welcome Mamdouh" Habib. Photo by Norman

TAHITI: Taui at the crossroads

Lorenz Gonschor, Honolulu On February 13, voters in Tahiti will once more go to the polls, less than a year after the last general elections on May 23, 2004. Even though this upcoming assembly election is only called a "by-election", it will be