From - Thu Sep 10 20:31:16 1998
Subject: recent international news of interest

[ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS SERVICE] Pre-Election Rush to Write Jabiluka Uranium Contracts August 24 DARWIN, Australia - Uranium mining firm Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) is trying to finalise contracts for uranium from its Jabiluka mine in the Northern Territory before the federal election widely predicted to be called shortly. http://ens-news.com/ens/aug98/1998-08-24-03.html

[ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS SERVICE] Court Rules Jabiluka Uranium Lease Legal August 25 By Andrew Darby DARWIN, Australia, August 21 (ENS) - The campaign against the Jabiluka uranium mine suffered a serious setback today with a Federal Court decision in support of the mine lessee Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). http://ens-news.com/ens/aug98/1998-08-21-03.html

[THE TIMES] Germaine Greer gets driving ban August 25 THE author Germaine Greer was yesterday banned from driving after telling a court she drove her Mercedes car at 101mph in a race to save her young geese from being killed by foxes. http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/98/08/25/timnwsnws01025.html?1553843

[SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST] Australia 'Stealing children' plan stirs up anger August 25 ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney One state is considering a controversial plan to take children away from families that lure them into committing crimes. http://www.scmp.com/news/template/Asia-Template.idc?artid=19980825013600037&top=asia&template=Default.htx&maxfieldsize=1739

[HONG KONG STANDARD] Howard calls October poll 31/08 Australian Prime Minister John Howard: Banking on surge of public support. Picture: AFP PRIME Minister John Howard ended weeks of speculation yesterday by announcing a 3 October election with an appeal to Australians to trust his government to weather the storm of global economic crisis. http://www.hkstandard.com/online/news/001/asia/news001.htm

[HONG KONG STANDARD] Hanson's gains and Howard's marshalling of party troops point to October poll 26/08 SYDNEY: Speculation mounted on Tuesday that Australian Prime Minister John Howard is set to announce an October poll amid new evidence that Pauline Hanson's far-right One Nation party remains a threat to the political scene. http://www.hkstandard.com/online/news/005/asia/news006.htm

[HONG KONG STANDARD] Union, church and welfare groups let rip at Hanson party 27/08 MELBOURNE: Australia's top union, church, welfare and industry groups yesterday issued a combined statement condemning Pauline Hanson's right-wing populist One Nation party as a threat to the economy. http://www.hkstandard.com/online/news/004/asia/news005.htm

[CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS] Australian Church Leaders Join Condemnation Of One Nation Party AUGUST 26 SYDNEY (CWNews.com) - Australian Catholic, Anglican, and Jewish leaders joined representatives of unions and businesses on Wednesday to condemn the far-right One Nation party and its leader Pauline Hanson as a threat to the country's future. http://www.cwnews.com/news/getstory.cfm?recnum=8326

[HONG KONG STANDARD] Probe over deaths of five journalists 25/08 SYDNEY: The government on Monday ordered an investigation into allegations it did nothing to protect the lives of five Australian journalists murdered by Indonesian troops in East Timor 23 years ago. http://www.hkstandard.com/online/news/006/asia/news005.htm

[SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST] Taxing times as parties pull out all stops in poll lead-up Monday August 31 ANALYSIS by ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney When Labor leader Kim Beazley announced last week that his party would remove sales tax on orange juice but add it to caviar and Lear jets if he won the next election, it proved how desperate Australian politicians had become. http://www.scmp.com/news/template/Asia-Template.idc?artid=19980831023612048&top=asia&template=Default.htx&maxfieldsize=2283

[AFP] Ethnic groups fight back Monday August 31 Fighting back: Jason Yat-sen Li http://www.scmp.com/news/photos/BUNIT.jpg Australia's ethnic leaders launched a new political force yesterday to fight the right-wing One Nation party. http://www.scmp.com/news/template/Asia-Template.idc?artid=19980831023612066&top=asia&template=Default.htx&maxfieldsize=457

[BBC] Australian poll date set World: Asia-Pacific John Howard is hoping his tax reforms will see off the opposition. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, has called an early general election on October 3 in a move that is being widely interpreted as a bid to capitalise on tax reforms. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_161000/161053.stm
[VIDEO] http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/160000/video/_161087_red_harrison_1000_vi.ram [AUDIO] http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/160000/audio/_161076_john_howard.ram

[THE TIMES] Howard calls snap election in Australia August 31 AUSTRALASIA Anti-immigrant One Nation may hold whip hand after poll, writes Roger Maynard John Howard, the Prime Minister, yesterday kicks off what may be Australia's bitterest election campaign JOHN HOWARD, Australia's Prime Minister, called an early election yesterday, signalling the start of a campaign that could turn out to be one of the most divisive in this country's modern history. http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/98/08/31/timfgnaus03001.html?1553843

[THE INDEPENDENT] Australian PM's poll gamble x2 August 31 By Robert Milliken in Sydney Australians will vote in a general election on 3 October, after John Howard, the Prime Minister, decided yesterday to gamble his government's comfortable majority and seek a fresh mandate only two-and-a-half years after he came to power. http://www.independent.co.uk/stories/B3108803.html

[FINANCIAL TIMES] Howard calls October poll as dollar hits record low AUGUST 31 By Gwen Robinson in Sydney John Howard, the Australian prime minister, has called a national election on October 3, ending months of speculation about a poll date. http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q86f12.htm

[REUTERS] Australian election called for Oct. 3 CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Sunday called an early national election for October 3, set to be dominated by the issues of race and economic management. http://www.sjmercury.com/breaking/docs/044232.htm

[LATIMES] Prime Minister Calls Election for Oct. 3 August 30 World IN BRIEF / AUSTRALIA >From Times Wire Reports Facing regional instability from the Asian financial crisis, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has called a national election for Oct. 3. http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/ASECTION/t000079047.1.html

[TELEGRAPH] Howard calls snap Australian election 31 August By Barbie Dutter in Sydney AUSTRALIA will go to the polls on Oct 3 with a new and unpredictable element in the shape of the anti-immigration One Nation party and its outspoken leader. http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000140326706927&rtmo=flDs0lrs&atmo=gggggggK&pg=/et/98/8/31/waus31.html

[NEW YORK TIMES/CNN/AP] Australia's Premier Calls Early Election August 31 CANBERRA, Australia -- Seeking to capitalize on Australia's relative health in a region stricken by economic crisis, Prime Minister John Howard Sunday called early national elections for Oct. 3. Howard's Conservative Government had until May to call an election. But there is a sense that the early vote would help him if the economy were to suffer further losses as a result of the Asian financial crisis. The Prime Minister acknowledged that Australia "has been affected by what has occurred in Asia," but quickly added that it would have been worse if not for his administration's success in turning a budget deficit into a surplus and keeping interest rates down. Howard promised to make tax reform a campaign centerpiece. His governing Conservatives have said they want to introduce a 10 percent goods and services tax, but are sweetening the proposal by cutting personal income taxes and many sales taxes. The opposition Labor Party, led by Kim Beazley, has proposed more limited tax reforms and offered tax cuts aimed mainly at its blue-collar constituency. "The major issue of this campaign is building the sort of Australian nation that can confront the changes it will face in the next century," Beazley said. "And tax is a central issue to that." Labor has been ahead in opinion polls for most of the year. But the Government has gained ground since it released its plan to overhaul the tax system earlier this month. http://cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9808/30/australia.election.01.ap/index.html

[CNNFN/REUTERS] Australia wages tax battle August 17 Government takes lead in polls after releasing new reform proposals CANBERRA - The Australian government has opened a 5-point lead over the Labor opposition since the release of its tax reform proposals last week, the Australian newspaper's Newspoll showed on Tuesday. http://www.cnnfn.com/hotstories/economy/wires/9808/17/australia_wg/

[Seattle Post-Intelligencer/AP] Visit usual tourist spots, but hop on over to Noosa for a truly peaceful Australian vacation August 27, 1998 By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN NOOSA, Australia -- People come from around the world to see the Sydney Opera House, watch the sunset at Ayers Rock and scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef. http://www.seattle-pi.com/pi/getaways/082798/dest27.html

[TELEGRAPH] 200 impaired girls illegally sterilised in Australia By Barbie Dutter in Sydney Tuesday 25 August 1998 MORE than 200 mentally handicapped Australian girls, some as young as nine, were unlawfully sterilised between 1992 and 1997, the government admitted last night. http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000576817733552&rtmo=Qpaw9mxR&atmo=ttttttyd&pg=/et/98/8/25/waus25.html

[TELEGRAPH] Tourists profit from others' troubles By Douglas Rogers 29 August Australia: Previously seen as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Australia is increasingly just another two-week jaunt for the British holidaymaker. Hotel prices are down five per cent as the pound now buys Aus$2.75. "It now costs the same to fly to Sydney as it does to New York in peak season," says Heidi Gardner, marketing manager of the long-haul agents Trailfinders. The company has had an 11 per cent increase in visitors to Australia this year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000576817733552&rtmo=Qpaw9mxR&atmo=ttttttyd&pg=/et/98/8/29/wrus229.html

[REUTERS] Midnight Oil warns of ``Redneck Wonderland'' August 26 FEATURE By Michael Perry SYDNEY - The music is deafening. It thunders from the speakers on stage and pounds into your head. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/en/story.html?s=v/nm/19980826/en/music-oils_1.html [AFP] One Nation mauled in joint attack August 27 Unions, churches and industry groups combined yesterday in their strongest condemnation so far of Pauline Hanson's anti-Asian One Nation party, describing it as a threat to the country's future. http://www.scmp.com/news/template/Asia-Template.idc?artid=19980827015512049&top=asia&template=Default.htx&maxfieldsize=2908

[BBC] Australia divided over One Nation August 30 World: Asia-Pacific Australian school students protested against One Nation in July. As Australia prepares for its general election, the role played by one woman and her party will be debated hotly until polling day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_161000/161213.stm
[AUDIO] http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/160000/audio/_161213_red_harrison_fooc.ram

[CNNSI/Reuters] Feeman out of Commonwealth Games August 26 MELBOURNE, Australia - World 400 meter champion Cathy Freeman will not defend her Commonwealth Games title in Kuala Lumpur next month because she has not recovered from a foot injury, her doctor said Wednesday. http://www.cnnsi.com/athletics/news/1998/08/26/freeman_out

[REUTERS] Olympic security 'sharpened' after U.S. bombings August 25 SYDNEY — Security operations for the Sydney 2000 Olympics have been "sharpened'' in response to the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, the Sydney Olympic security commander said Tuesday. http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml?content=/sports/wires2/0825/s_rt_0825_26.sml

[CNNSI/Reuters] 'A great honor' Aboriginal Olympic gold medalist to start Sydney torch relay August 20 SYDNEY, Australia - The first native Australian to win an Olympic gold medal will also be the first to carry the Olympic flame in Australia for the Sydney 2000 Games. http://www.cnnsi.com/olympics/news/1998/08/20/sydney_torch/

[CNNSI/AP] Pain from down under' Malaysia reacts angrily to Australian criticism of Commonwealth Games August 20 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - As one newspaper put in bold on Thursday, Australia's top Commonwealth Games official was a "pain from down under." http://www.cnnsi.com/olympics/news/1998/08/20/aus_malay/

[BOSTON GLOBE] Emmo is a teacher with a history 08/26 By Bud Collins, Globe Correspondent ROOKLINE - A road less traveled is the circuitous one from Black Butt in the Queensland Outback to Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester. But here was an all-time roadie called ``Emmo,'' doing all the right steps - steps that he learned a half-century ago when his journey began - and showing them to the kids at the Sportsmen's Tennis Club. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe/globehtml/238/Emmo_is_a_teacher_with_a_history.shtml

-- N.B. wire stories usually used by several outlets --

|: Paul Canning canning@rainbow.net.au |: http://www.rainbow.net.au/~canning >Queers for Reconciliation http://reconciliation.queer.org.au
|Stop Jabiluka! http://www.jabiluka.net/ >:
"It will be a long time before I forget the haunted look of resignation and fear on one particular man's face as the reality hit home that he would be returning home [from the 12th World AIDS Conference], across the gap without any treatments." Andrew Little