The highland agricultural community of Santa Rosa de Cajacuy, in Peru鈥檚 central Ancash department, has been severely affected by a toxic spill from the BHP Billiton and Xstrata-operated Antamina mine.
Antamina is one of the world鈥檚 largest sources of copper and zinc. It relies on a 300 kilometre high-pressure pipeline to pump resources from the mountains to coastal port facilities.
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The spectacle of the 2012 London Olympics should be subtitled 鈥淭he Bashing of the Chinese Athlete鈥.
On August 8, Andrew Jacobs of the New York Times published a much-discussed piece called 鈥淗eavy burden on athletes takes joy away from China's Olympic success鈥.
All kinds of 鈥渃oncerns鈥 were raised about the toll 鈥渢he nation's draconian sports system鈥 is taking on the country's athletes.
Venezuela and the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) have backed Ecuador against 鈥渢hreats鈥 from Britain, after Ecuador granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on August 16.
ALBA is an anti-imperialist bloc of eight nations that includes Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia.
Swedish authorities want to extradite Assange from Britain to investigate allegations against him of sexual assault.
鈥淚n this time of crisis, when they are expropriating the people, we want to expropriate the expropriators, namely, the landowners, banks and big retailers.鈥
With these words Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, leader of the Andalusian Union of Workers (SAT), United Left (IU) member of parliament in the Andalusian regional parliament and mayor of the rural town of Marinaleda, justified the August 7 seizure of food by SAT members from two stores of the Mercadona and Carrefour supermarket chains 鈥 the Coles and Woolworths of Spain.
Coal seam gas (CSG) advocates are running a fear campaign against a backdrop of soaring electricity prices in New South Wales. They claim that unless CSG development in NSW goes ahead, household gas bills will triple.
This is a frightening idea, given the stress already caused by electricity price hikes.
Over the past four years on top of inflation. Users face a further 18% price hike this year.
Within a week of the government-appointed Houston panel鈥檚 recommendation that Australia return to the 鈥淧acific solution鈥 for asylum seekers, the toxic atmosphere of John Howard's 鈥渃hildren overboard鈥 era resurged powerfully in Australian politics.
On the same day the Houston report recommended indefinite refugee detention on Nauru and Manus Island for all asylum seekers arriving by boat, 67 asylum seekers taken aboard the Singapore-bound MV Parsifal were the subject of a tense stand-off at sea.
Papua New Guinea's new cabinet was named on August 10 by re-elected Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. It marked the end of the election period that ended the country's long-running political crisis.
The election period began in June and was extended in some areas due to violence, delays, fraud and voting problems.
on August 17.
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The Howard-era racist 鈥淔ortress Australia鈥 is being rebuilt with the passing of laws to persecute asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat.
The adoption of offshore processing means that Labor and the Coalition have united to, in effect, withdraw from the implementation of the UN refugee convention.
Socialist Alliance has announced its preferences for the Wali (North) ward of Marrickville Council in the local government elections on September 8.
Community activists Pip Hinman, Josie Evans and Jill Hickson will contest the election with the platform of 鈥淧ower to the people!鈥 and 鈥淐ommunity and environment before developers鈥 profits鈥.
Although New South Wales has an optional preferential system for local government elections, Socialist Alliance will allocate preferences to all candidates in the ward.
Three open cut coalmines have been proposed over the Leard State Forest and adjoining farmland near Boggabri in NSW. Two mines currently operate in the forest, but their proposed expansion and a brand new mine would clear 50% of the forest.
The National Parks Association of NSW says the forest is and is 鈥渢he single biggest remnant of native vegetation left on the heavily cleared Liverpool Plains鈥.
The Greek right-wing New Democracy(ND) party won the June 17 elections by a narrow margin, getting 29.7% of the vote. Left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) came second with 26.9% on a clear platform of opposing the savage austerity measures imposed on Greece.
ND鈥檚 dubious victory was largely achieved through blackmail and mud-slinging against SYRIZA 鈥 as well as promises to negotiate the harsh memorandum measures if it was elected.
Congratulations to Tony Abbott on becoming prime minister. We all know how , and he didn't even have to sell his arse. Or worse, support nominal action on climate change.
His rise to the nation's top office was marked on August 15, when his government passed his asylum seeker policies, with the opposition 鈥 Adam Bandt and Andrew Wilkie 鈥 voting against.
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