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ASIA PACIFIC: APEC summit fails to revive stalled WTO trade talks

BY EVA CHENG Created in 1989 to help break Third World resistance to the Uruguay Round of trade talks, the 21-country Asia Pacific Economic and Cooperation (APEC) forum plunged into near irrelevance in 1997 when the economic crisis hit Asia. But

Are Aussies heartless bastards?

BY JAMES CRAFTI MELBOURNE — Are all Aussies heartless bastards? This was the question that was thrashed out at the third annual Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly comedy debate. Almost 200 people crowded into the Brunswick Town Hall on October 25 to find

BRAZIL: A challenge to Washington?

BY ROGER BURBACH Elected in a landslide victory with over 61% of the vote, Luis Inacio da Silva will become president on January 1 of Latin America's largest country with 175 million inhabitants. Lula, as he is commonly known, received three

Howard's racist ASIO raids who's next?

BY SARAH STEPHEN A woman told the November 1 Illawarra Mercury that she has stopped wearing her traditional hijab headscarf after suffering five years of taunts and abuse. She is not alone. Many Muslim and Arab Australians are bracing for an

BRITAIN: Lesley McCulloch case debated in parliament

BY IGGY KIM On October 24, a debate was held in Britain's House of Commons over the Foreign Office's handling of the detention of Lesley McCulloch in Indonesia. The debate was initiated by Alan Reid, the Scottish Liberal Democrats member for Argyll

Write On: Letters to Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly

Socialist Alliance In her letter (GLW #513) regarding the Democratic Socialist Party's proposal to cease operating as a public party and build the Socialist Alliance, Angela Budai argues that this will create the perception that the Socialist

March to target WTO hypocrisy

BY SIMON BUTLER SYDNEY — Federal trade minister Mark Vaile's confirmation on October 30 that the November 14-15 ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been moved to the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in Homebush

WA Muslims in fear of further ASIO raids

BY FEDERICO FUENTES & KIRAZ JANICKE PERTH — Seventy people, mostly Muslims, attended a meeting at the Australian Islamic College on November 2 to discuss the recent ASIO raids on Muslim families. The meeting heard accounts of the

Clarifying politics

BY PHIL SANDFORD I would like to comment briefly on some of the issues in the important and welcome discussion which the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) has opened up around left unity. The term “united front” is being used in a very

Rock for Refugees draws good crowd

SYDNEY — Around 1000 people enjoyed themselves at the inaugural Rock 4 Refugees concert on the afternoon of October 27. The concert was held at Henson Park, Marrickville. Among the bands that performed were Mental As Anything (pictured), the

Greens victory: 'a win for the local community'

BY CHRIS WILLIAMS WOLLONGONG - The Greens' Michael Organ was officially declared the new member for the federal lower house seat of Cunningham by the Australian Electoral Commission on October 30. Responding to the announcement, Organ stated the

and ain't i a woman?: Amina's crime: to be a poor women

Amina Lawal has been sentenced to death by stoning for the "crime" of bearing a child by a man she divorced two years previously. Under sharia laws in effect in many of Nigeria's northern states, which are based on a strict interpretation of Islam,