In a July 7, press conference in Dili, Luta Hamutuk a prominent civil society activist group in Timor Leste condemned the new Australian policy on refugees as "racist".
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Socialist Alliance Senate candidate for the upcoming federal election, Sharon Firebrace, has dismissed Labor鈥檚 proposal, to send asylum seekers to an off-shore processing centre in Dili, as 鈥渁nother chapter in our country鈥檚 racist shame".
In a July 6 speech to the Lowy Institute Gillard announced that her government was pursuing a regional agreement for offshore processing of "unauthorised arrivals".
Seven oxygen machines donated to the Palestinian Authority by a Norwegian development agency were seized by Israeli officials, Ma鈥檃n news agency said on June 25. The Ramallah-based PA health ministry said the machines were en route to hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank.
The ministry said in a June 24 statement that Israeli officials confiscated the machines, claiming the generators attached 鈥渃ame under the category of possible use for non-medical purposes鈥 if they were delivered to Gaza.
The June 26-27 Toronto summit of the exclusive Group of 20 club, to which the world鈥檚 richest countries invited the heads of state of the major emerging countries, raised great expectations 鈥 but it ended as empty as previous meetings
As in London in 2008 and Pittsburgh in 2009, the Toronto G20 discussions focused on a way out of the economic crisis. But a capitalist way out 鈥 favouring creditors and great powers.
For the past two years, global financial regulation has been an elusive sea serpent, unsurprisingly resulting in no concrete measures.
On June 29, the US-based National Labor Committee released a report documenting the illegal and harsh sweatshop conditions at the Jabil Circuit factory in Guangzhou, China. At the factory, more than 6000 workers 鈥 many of them illegal temporary workers 鈥 produce hi-tech products for US companies HP, IBM, Intel, Cisco and Jabil.
The report, which can be read at www.NLCnet.org, found the workers at the Jabil factory work 84 hours a week.
Thirty one Rohingya refugees in a detention centre in Darwin ended their 12-day hunger strike on June 25. They were protesting against the Australian government鈥檚 delay in processing their asylum claims, an average of nine months after their boats鈥 interception.
On July 1, striking workers at a Japanese-owned electronics factory in the Chinese city of Tianjin stalled production for a third day and vowed to continue their fight until bosses agreed to better pay and conditions, the Morning Star said that day. It is the latest in a spate of work stoppages to hit foreign transnationals operating in China.
Workers have hung large banners outside the factory gate reading: 鈥淗uman traffickers are not welcome鈥, 鈥淲e want a pay rise鈥 and 鈥淲e want fair treatment鈥.
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) released a statement on June 28 reaffirming its commitment to the Honduran people鈥檚 struggle for a return to democracy one year after the coup that overthrew president Manuel Zelaya.
ALBA is an anti-imperialist alliance founded in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela. Its members include Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Under Zelaya, Honduras joined ALBA, which suspended Honduras鈥檚 membership after the coup. The regime has since withdrawn from ALBA.
A nearly two-month-long student strike that shut down all 11 campuses of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) ended in a decisive victory for the students.
The students鈥 inspiring unity, determination and creativity serve as a magnificent example of how to fight and win in the face of neoliberal attempts to balance budgets in this era of global austerity.
The strike began April 21 as a 48-hour stoppage at UPR鈥檚 main campus of Rio Piedras to protest US$100 million in budget cuts, a sharp increase in student fees and the administration鈥檚 unwillingness to negotiate with student activists.
In 2006, the Victorian government committed to introducing a 鈥渓andmark鈥 Climate Change Bill. At this time, there was growing momentum around the world for legislation that would cut greenhouse gas emissions. This momentum was largely in response to the glacial pace of the international climate change negotiations.
The Punjab government has been given three months to decide the fate of 68,000 hectares of agricultural land. The land is owned by the government and has been cultivated by tenants for more than 100 years.
The tenants have demanded land ownership rights. Despite government promises, the land has not been allotted to them.
The three months鈥 notice was given at the end of a huge peasants rally on June 29 at Okara. The rally was organised by the Punjab Tenants Association (AMP) on the eve of the anniversary of 10 years of the tenants鈥 struggle for land ownership rights.
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