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Loose cannons

The Indonesian people do? "The West might not understand our determination to make national reconciliation a priority." — Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, pledging to pardon former president Suharto if he is convicted of corruption. Or

LEBANON: South liberated from Israel's occupation

LEBANON: South liberated from Israel's occupation RAMALLAH, Palestine — On May 23, Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon finally collapsed as its local militia, the South Lebanese Army (SLA), crumbled as thousands of Lebanese residents moving

Protest hits Rio Tinto AGM

Protest hits Rio Tinto AGM BY BILL MASON BRISBANE — Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside the annual general meeting of the mining giant Rio Tinto here on May 24, accusing the company of human rights breaches and destructive

NSW Labor pleases private sector — again

BY LACHLAN MALLOCH SYDNEY — The NSW Labor government has once again received warm ruling-class approval for its annual budget, announced by treasurer Michael Egan on May 23. A projected budget surplus of $659 million in 2000-2001, an earlier than

Anti-GST protesters confront Costello

Anti-GST protesters confront Costello BY DANI BARLEY SYDNEY — "Tax the rich, not the rest, no GST", protesters cried as they confronted the federal treasurer, Peter Costello, speaking at a business forum on the tax organised by the Daily

INDONESIA: How the IMF feeds graft and corruption

The Seattle and Washington protests against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) have forced their chiefs into damage control. But despite all the PR bunk about the IMF and WB's "non-interference" in national economies, and their

University workers demonstrate against council

University workers demonstrate against council BY NICK FREDMAN LISMORE — All but three members of the Southern Cross University council slunk in the back door rather than face the 100 angry campus workers demonstrating outside for a better

Looking Out: I acknowledge your kindness

I acknowledge your kindness "Those who would administer wisely must, indeed, be wise, for one of the serious obstacles to the improvement of [the human] race is indiscriminate charity." — Andrew Carnegie, 1835-1919, "Wealth", From the North

Burmese target Canberra embassy

Burmese target Canberra embassy BY MARCUS PABIAN CANBERRA — Fifty federal police were unable to prevent 200 Burmese pro-democracy demonstrators, chanting "Eliminate dictatorship", from staging a sit-in outside the Burmese government's embassy

University colludes in illegal oil exploration

BY SEAN HEALY MELBOURNE — Friends of the Earth Australia and the Melbourne University Student Union have condemned the involvement of a corporate wing of the University of Melbourne in illegal oil and gas exploration in Pakistan's Kirthar

Allende in his own words

Allende in his own words Salvador Allende Reader: Chile's Voice of Democracy — Ocean Press, Melbourne287pp., $29.95 Review by Jorge Jorquera Thirty years after his election to the post of president of Chile in September 1970, Ocean Press has

RUSSIA: Mass protests greet new labour law

On May 17 approximately 300,000 workers across Russia participated in protests against the government's proposal to introduce a draconian new labour code. The new legislation removes workers' rights that have been held for decades, renders trade