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Trouble flared across Ireland's north on the night of July 12 as sectarian Orange Order marchers insisted on marching through nationalist areas, the Morning Star said the next day. It said serious rioting followed a unionist (supporters of Northern Ireland's union with Britain) parade through the the largely Catholic and Irish nationalist working-class suburb of Ardoyne in north Belfast.
A huge march by striking miners and their supporters on July 12 was attacked by riot police. Huge crowds of protesters, marching on the offices of the ministry of industry, came under attack from police firing rubber bullets. The ministry is a focus for protest because it is cutting subsidies to the mining industry by 63%. This will lead to thousands of miners losing their jobs. Unions estimate that as many as 30,000 jobs will be scrapped.
Paraguay coup cartoon by Latuff.

The June 22 coup carried out against Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo was an important blow to progressive movements across Latin America.

Operation Miracle, a humanitarian social program created by the governments of Cuba and Venezuela, has made it possible to carry out over 1 million eye surgeries in the South American nation over the last eight years, the Cuban News Agency said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e operating some 5000 patients a week, the same amount of patients who benefited annually in Venezuela before the beginning of the program,鈥� said national coordinator Manuel Pacheco, cited by the Venezuelan News Agency. Operation Miracle began in July 2004, taking care of patients with few economic resources who had eye problems.
Paraguay coup cartoon by Latuff.

Whether Paraguay's infamously right-wing local oligarchy and its parties that seized an opportunity to bring left-leaning President Fernando Lugo down by itself, or whether the push came from the United States government, is yet to be confirmed.

Mission Culture, a social program that aims to transform cultural education in Venezuela, celebrated its seventh anniversary on July 10, the state-run Venezuelan News Agency (AVN) said. The program was created on July 10, 2005, by the government of President Hugo Chavez. It has since trained more than 12,000 people in different areas of the arts to foster a renewal of popular creativity.
One aspect of the drive by the super rich to make working people bear the brunt of the new Depression is to attack the social wage. Part of this attack is the serious erosion of public education. This predates the crisis that began in 2007, but the recession that followed has been met with a sharp increase in such attacks. The failure of the federal government to adequately fund public education cascades down to the states and cities, who all cry there is not enough money, so cutbacks are necessary.
MELBOURNE 鈥� Supporters of the Coles warehouse workers on strike for equal pay across the company's sites held a protest at Coles' Footscray outlet on July 14. They called on shoppers to boycott Coles until it met the workers' demands
Coles warehouse workers met two days into an indefinite strike on July 12 and voted unanimously to reject the latest offer from their direct employer Toll Logistics. Hundreds had gathered on a picket line to prevent trucks entering the site. Striking workers outside the warehouse, which owner Coles outsources to Toll, told 91自拍论坛 Weekly that the offer wasn鈥檛 really 鈥渘ew鈥�, but was only tweaked slightly from the old offer.

Susan Price, trade unionist and Socialist Alliance national co-convener, speaking at a solidarity protest with striking Toll Holdings workers at the Coles warehouse in Somerset, Victoria. The action outside Coles in Sydney CBD on July 13 was initiated by Socialist Alternative.

About 300 people rallied for equal marriage rights outside today's Liberal National Party Queensland state conference in Brisbane July 14. Protesters waved banners and signs opposing the recently elected Campbell Newman government's recent attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGTBI) people鈥檚 rights.
Yolngu.

I have mixed feelings each time I see a 鈥淐lose the Gap鈥� bumper sticker. The number of Australians supporting the health equity campaign, expressing outrage on the appalling gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians 鈥� and demanding government action 鈥� is certainly heartening. The fact that the government appears committed to the same goals, through its similarly named "Closing the Gap" initiative feels like it should be cause for celebration.