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The results of the first round of the French presidential elections on April 22 shone a powerful spotlight on a society polarised by economic crisis and the austerity regime of president Nicolas Sarkozy and his ruling Union for a Popular Movement government.
The people of Greece will go to the polls on May 6 to replace the unelected government of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos imposed by the Greek and European elites on November 10.
The imposed government was a three-party coalition, consisting of聽the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), traditional right-wing New Democracy (ND) and extreme-right Popular Orthodox Alert (LAOS). LAOS left the government in February.
Yasin Malik is the chairperson of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, a secular nationalist organisation formed in 1977 to struggle for the independence of Kashmir.
Since 1947, Kashmir has been divided between Indian and Pakistani occupied areas. Both claim the whole of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the country.
The JKLF launched an armed struggle in 1988, but changed tactics to non-violent struggle in 1994.
In the early hours of April 22, police officers risked the lives of hundreds in Kings Cross by opening fire on the unarmed occupants of a stolen car, shooting the 14-year-old driver twice and a 17-year-old passenger in the neck.
Police then smashed the passenger's head on the road and body-slammed him on the curb, which left him in a coma. Police do not normally shoot unarmed teenagers in the middle of a crowded night spot. But this was different, possibly because the boys were Aboriginal.
A letter written by a 10-year-old girl in detention in Darwin drew national attention on April 24 and voiced the 鈥渟ad, depressing and hopeless鈥 lives children and young people experience in detention.
The note, hand-written in Vietnamese, was given to a local community visitor from the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network.
It said: 鈥淎s each day passes, we feel heavy-hearted and lacking any sense of hope. We have no way of knowing what our future holds for us.鈥
A crowd estimated at 250,000 people or more wound its way through Montr茅al April 22 in Quebec鈥檚 largest ever Earth Day march. They raised many demands: an end to tar sands and shale gas development, opposition to the Quebec government鈥檚 Plan Nord mining expansion, support for radical measures to protect ecosystems, and other causes.
The Bahrain government's attempts to use the April 22 Formula One race to portray the country as harmonious have backfired badly.
The world's media were forced to focus on the ongoing protests against the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty over demands for democracy and justice for those who have suffered human rights abuses.
The government marketed the race with the slogan "UniF1ed", in a brazen attempt to whitewash the protests and suggest the country had returned to normal.
It's been a lively couple of months for Russia's opposition. After last December's parliamentary elections, the country was hit by the largest demonstrations since the 1990s. Defying freezing temperatures, tens of thousands gathered in Moscow alone to protest against election irregularities and the victorious United Russia party of Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev. The huge rise in turnout, compared with any demonstration in recent memory, surprised everyone, especially the opposition.
The most fun part of the news at the moment is these interviews with the government of Bahrain. Because they start: 鈥淵ou have stated that you're moving your country towards democracy. Is that true, Crown Prince Imperial Grand Emperor O Flawless Being of Gorgeous Holy Succulent Mightiness?鈥
Presidential elections in France are a media spectacle rivalled perhaps only by those in the United States. In day-to-day life, there is also a real buzz as people argue and discuss the race on worksites, the street and, habitually, in cafes.
Streets are plastered with posters of candidates and clever activist propaganda (over the top of some street signs here, activists have put up 鈥淚mpasse Sarkozy鈥).
Independent filmmaker and anti-fracking activist Zeb Parkes has been fined $500 by the City of Perth for taking part in a rally against gas fracking on April 21. Parkes intends to defend the matter in court rather than pay the fines.
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