The Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG) made the following on May 12, 2015.
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APG diplomat Pekeri Ruska (Goenpul/Yuggera) was harassed and threatened by customs officials at Brisbane international airport this afternoon after presenting only her Aboriginal passport which had been stamped on entry and exit from Honiara, Solomon Islands.
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Protests have rocked the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, after African-American man Freddie Gray died in police custody.
Gray was stopped by police while chatting with a friend in broad daylight. After being arrested Gray's spinal cord was broken, and after being in a coma he later died. Baltimore City's Police Department admitted responsibility, saying they mishandled Gray's injury and should have called paramedics earlier.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25. By May 1, 120 aftershocks had occurred. The death toll had passed 7800 by May 8 and will almost certainly reach 10,000 or more, as information trickles in from the rural areas. More than 16,000 people are injured and this number will also rise.
Thousands of German train drivers and railway workers began a week-long strike on May 5, the longest in the country鈥檚 post-war history.
About two thirds of Germany鈥檚 long distance trains and a third of regional trains have been cancelled, with trains in the eastern region around Halle, Leipzig, and Dresden reduced to about 15% of services.
Some subway systems were also affected, including in Hamburg and Berlin.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) carries a fifth of Germany's freight transport 鈥 about 1 million tonnes per day 鈥 as well as moving 5.5 million passengers daily.
Two new global developments emphasised the growing momentum of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign targetting Israel.
The campaign was launched in 2005 by more than 100 Palestinian civil society groups in a bid to isolate Israel over its polices of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.
Khury Petersen-Smith is a 32-year-old African American activist based in Boston, who is actively involved in the growing 鈥淏lack Lives matter鈥 struggle sweeping the US.
I was able to speak with Petersen-Smith, a member of the International Socialist Organization, at the Marxism 2015 conference organised by Socialist Alternative in Melbourne over Easter, at which he was a featured guest.
Demonstrators gathered outside Baltimore City Hall on May 3 to celebrate the restoration of their right to protest without harsh controls in an all-too-rare case of a step towards justice in struggles against police brutality, said the next day.
Rallies have been called in response to the federal government鈥檚 attack on education funding in the upcoming budget, and a big one is planned for Sydney on budget day, May 12.
Although Christopher Pyne鈥檚 education policies have been repeatedly defeated in the Senate, he is determined to continue to try to 鈥渇ix鈥 the education system by reducing governmental funding and pushing for fee deregulation. The next chance he will have to do this is with mass education spending cutbacks in the budget.
War planes from the US and its allies bombed the village of Birmehli in northern Syria on the night of April鈥 鈥30.鈥 鈥琔S Central Command spokesperson Major Curtis Kellogg claimed that at least鈥 鈥50鈥 鈥琭ighters from the self-styled Islamic State鈥 (鈥琁S鈥) 鈥琯roup were killed and there was鈥 鈥溾琻o indication that any civilians were killed鈥濃.
However,鈥 鈥琱uman rights groups,鈥 鈥琲ncluding the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights鈥 (鈥琒OHR鈥)鈥,鈥 鈥琱ave reported that all the casualties were civilians:鈥 鈥64鈥 鈥琾eople,鈥 鈥琲ncluding鈥 鈥31鈥 鈥琧hildren.鈥
I鈥檝e never been much of a morning person but some mornings it can be a struggle to get out of bed. Crippling depression aside, peeking at what passes for news in the mainstream media to find out what is going on in the world can be enough to send me running for the covers.
Just last week there was the announcement that after his latest pay rise, the Macquarie Bank CEO Nicholas Moore 鈥渆arned鈥 $1586 every 12 minutes. That鈥檚 roughly the same amount the average Australian worker takes home in a week.
The Moreland council in Melbourne became the first council in Australia to pass a motion last month condemning plans for forced closures of Aboriginal communities, and to send a letter of solidarity to those communities.
The motion was moved by me as a Socialist Alliance councillor on Moreland council. The motion passed unanimously, with even the Liberal party councillor voting for it.
On April 28, a second Melbourne council, the Moonee Valley council, passed the same motion. The motion was moved by Jim Cusack, a Labor councillor.
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