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China: Privatisation sparks clashes

Thirty thousand workers at state-owned Chinese steel works Tonghua Iron and Steel Group clashed with 1000 riot police and prevented the company's privatisation, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said on July 24.

Victory for Victorian 'ambos'

MELBOURNE 鈥 On August 11, the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) secured an agreement for Victoria paramedics with the ALP state government that will deliver a 10-hour rest break and better wages.

Foreign Correspondent censors Venezuela's majority

The following statement was released by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network on August 12. Visit .

Christian right's 'faggot-free' breakfast

Two equal love activists were bundled off the stage at a Christian right breakfast held in Parliament House on August 13.

A wide selection of Australian writing

Best Australian Essays 2008Edited by David MarrBlack Inc, 2009$29.95

'Billionaires for coal' come to Perth

PERTH 鈥 Twenty 鈥渂illionaires for coal鈥 and their supporters held a mock rally on the steps of Woodside Plaza on August 11, as parliament resumed for the session that was to vote on the Rudd government's proposed emissions trading scheme.

Thiess workers' dispute settled

SYDNEY 鈥 Four construction workers, Nigel Gould, Peter Carr, Peter Riikonen and Andrew Jones who were sacked from the Thiess Services soil remediation project in Rhodes in June, were granted a 鈥渃onfidential settlement鈥 on August 10. The workers are all members of the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU).

Chavez: 'The empire wants our resources'

The article below is abridged from an August 11 open letter from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) meeting in Quito, Ecuador. The full letter can be found at . It was translated by Kiraz Janicke.

Britain: What not to do at passport control

What is the smart thing to do when you are travelling through a major international transport hub and are asked to 鈥渟tep this way鈥 by someone in a uniform or a Marks and Spencers suit to answer a few questions while they rummage through your luggage?

The great G8 carbon con-job

If combating climate change is left up to the governments of the world鈥檚 wealthy nations, much of humanity is likely done for.

Unions should not support Thai fascists

Recently the International Transport Workers鈥 Federation general secretary David Cockroft issued a letter to the Thai government in support of three trade unionists who face charges for closing down the international airports last year.

Palestine: Fatah meets amid infighting, accusations

Fatah, the dominant party in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and which controls the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, held its sixth general conference in Bethlehem over August 4-6.