As many as 1 million people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square and across Egypt on May 27 for a 鈥淔riday of Anger鈥. The huge march showed the revolution that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak in February has reached a new stage.
The demonstrations were called by left organisations in defiance of Egypt's military rulers 鈥 as well as the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal groups that were part of the mass protests against Mubarak in February.
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A subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney on June 3 has added to a growing list of official probes into investment bank and securities firm Goldman Sachs. Reuters said on June 3: 鈥淕oldman Sachs Group Inc now faces probes by several government authorities into derivatives trades it executed in late 2006 and 2007. 鈥淥n Thursday, sources close to the matter said Goldman received a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney, who joins the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in examining Goldman's actions.鈥
British Conservative PM David Cameron told a May 26 London press conference with US President Barack Obama that the world's biggest superpowers support the 鈥淎rab Spring鈥 uprisings.
He said the main task of the May 26-27 G8 meeting in Deauville, France the following day was promoting 鈥渄emocracy, freedom and prosperity鈥 in the Middle East.
Obama also expressed 鈥渟olidarity鈥 with the uprisings. 鈥淚t will be years before these revolutions reach their conclusion, and there will be difficult days along the way鈥, he said. 鈥淧ower rarely gives up without a fight.鈥
Secret Genocide: Voices of the Karen of Burma
Daniel Pedersen
Maverick House, 272pp
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's national League for Democracy (NLD), might be relatively free, for now. There are many others in Burma, however, who are anything but free of the continual repression and brutality that is still being enacted by the nation鈥檚 military regime.
For the people of the country鈥檚 various ethnic minorities, such as the Shan and the Karen, life is little more than the day-to-day endurance of a seemingly endless civil war.
The Scottish government announced on May 20 that it was aiming to use only聽 renewable energy聽 by 2020, EarthTimes.org said on May 22 鈥 increasing its target from 80%.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, from the Scottish National Party (SNP), said: 鈥淏ecause the pace of development has been so rapid, with our 2011 target already exceeded, we can now commit to generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland's own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020.
鈥淥ffshore wind will play a key role in achieving our ambitions.鈥
The German government announced on May 30 that Germany鈥檚 17 nuclear power stations would all be permanently shut down by 2022.
Germany鈥檚 seven oldest nuclear power stations 鈥 temporarily switched off after public outcry following the Fukushima disaster 鈥 will remain off-line and be permanently decommissioned. An eighth was already off line, and will stay so.
Six of the remaining nine stations will be shut down in 2021 and the final three will be turned off in 2022.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Codrington wind farm in Victoria鈥檚 southwest, the state鈥檚 first. On May 18, planning minister Matthew Guy announced approval for the latest, the three-turbine Chepstowe wind farm near Ballarat.
But Victoria鈥檚 wind industry is threatened by the policies of the state鈥檚 new Liberal government.
The government came to power with promises to ensure no-go zones for wind farms in the Macedon ranges, Bellarine and Mornington peninsulas, and the Great Ocean Road. These are some of the best areas in the state for wind farms.
Safe sex advertisements are being returned to the city's bus shelters after widespread protests forced a ban to be overturned. Adshel, one of Australia's largest outdoor advertising companies, had taken down the ads on May 31 after a concerted campaign of complaints by the Australian Christian Lobby.
The Australian government has received heavy criticism in recent weeks for its inhumane treatment of refugees, in particular its 鈥渟wap鈥 deal with Malaysia and its mandatory detention policy.
Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt and independent MP Andrew Wilkie moved a parliamentary motion on May 30 condemning the plan to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia.
Members of climate action group NoPlanetB.org blocked the haulage of coal from Xstrata鈥檚 West Wallsend underground mine for several hours on May 30.
A climber was suspended in a tunnel entrance on a haul road, used for transferring coal to the port of Newcastle. Others stood in front of trucks.
The group sought to raise its concern about the demands from the coal industry, including Xstrata, that pollution from coalmines be exempt from the federal government鈥檚 proposed carbon tax.
In the land of desperate excuses, coal seam gas is king. The new boom industry of the Queensland and New South Wales hinterlands contaminates ground and surface waters, while taking rich farmland out of food production.
Members of various activist groups joined a roadside anti-privatisation protest in Booragoon, Western Australia on June 3.
The groups responded to the call by the 鈥淚n Public Hands鈥 campaign group to campaign for public ownership of the soon-to-be-built Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Protesters held placards reading 鈥淒on鈥檛 privatise our hospitals鈥 and 鈥淗onk if you support anti-privatisation鈥, which received plenty of responses from passers-by.
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