Five thousand people attended the vibrant Climate Emergency Rally in Melbourne on June 5. Grassroots environment activists and groups came from all over Victoria to protest numerous environmentally destructive projects currently underway or proposed, demanding action instead be focused on renewable energy and public transport.
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Professor Ross Garnaut鈥檚 draft review of climate change policy options for the Australian government was released on July 4, with climate change minister Penny Wong due to release a green paper canvassing policy options on July 16. Garnaut鈥檚 report looks at the 鈥渃osts鈥 and 鈥渂enefits鈥 of mitigating drastic climate change through a carbon polluting trading scheme. It suggests tax cuts and 鈥渨elfare reform鈥 to compensate low-income households, which will be hit hard by energy price rises.
These are some of the corporations currently doing business with the Burmese military junta. For a full list, see the Burma Campaign UK鈥檚 鈥淒irty List鈥 of corporations in Burma.
According to a July 2 Brisbane Times article, the Iraqi government is suing the formerly Australian government-owned AWB Limited, which has a monopoly over Australian wheat exports, over its alleged rorting of the United Nations聮 oil-for-food program as part of UN-enforced sanctions against Iraq following the first Gulf War in 1991.
One of the lawyers for Mohamed Haneef, the doctor charged with terrorism-related offences in 2007, told a 100-strong June 21 public meeting that the Howard government had 聯wanted Dr Haneef to be a terrorist 聴 but he wasn聮t聰. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) case against Haneef spectacularly imploded.
Venezuela聮s environment ministry has proclaimed sweeping restrictions on mining in the Imataca Forest, in Venezuela聮s south-east, according to a June 27 Venezuelanalysis.com article. Despite this, negotiations over mining permits continue with affected companies.
As Malaysian opposition parties and social activists, emboldened by advances in the March general elections, prepared to hold a giant protest against recent oil price hike (petrol up 41%, diesel up 67%) in Kuala Lumpur on July 6, a series of disturbing events unfolded.
Adelaide City Council聮s zero-emissions solar electric bus, Tindo, which is the Kaurna Aboriginal word for sun, is a great example of what sustainable public transport looks like.
On June 29, ZANU-PF聮s Robert Mugabe was declared the winner by electoral officials of the presidential run-off vote on June 27, in which he was the only candidate. It was announced that Mugabe had won 2,150,269 votes against 233,000 for the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai.
On July 3, NSW public-sector delegates met at Unions NSW and unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for 聯a day of action on July 30th where members will be called upon to demonstrate the extent the public relies on services delivered by public sector workers聰. Public sector workers will 聯withdraw their goodwill聰 on the day, Unions NSW secretary John Robertson said at a press conference on July 3, although he has ruled out any strike action.
On July 2, an operation by the Colombian military succeeded in freeing French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who had held her prisoner since 2002. Betancourt was the highest-profile FARC-held prisoner and the action, which also liberated 14 other prisoners, captured world headlines.
On June 24, more than 10,000 workers picketed a power loom factory in Sadhar Faisalabad for more than eight hours. They were demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory and his gangsters.
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