Newswire

Both rallies where well attended, would guess several hundred to a thousand more at the Climate Action Rally, (But really the attendance was very similar and a debate on numbers would be a distraction from the real issue).

More corporate media at the Anti Climate Science rally. Lots of independent media at the Climate Action Rally (where does it all go?).

A family stand amidst the ruins of their home
© COPORWA/ Survival

SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL, 1 April 2011 - - A Rwandan government programme to destroy all thatched roofs in the country is leaving thousands of Batwa ‘Pygmies’ homeless.

Hundreds of Batwa families have seen their homes destroyed in recent months, forcing them to live in the open during the rainy season.

By AVAAZ

Last Saturday, a young woman lawyer named Iman al-Obeidi burst into a Tripoli hotel and pleaded with foreign journalists for help, showing bruises and crying that she had just been gang-raped by 15 of Qaddafi's men. She screamed as she was dragged away by Libyan agents and has not been seen since. Words cannot express the courage Iman showed in speaking out -- and we can only imagine the terror she must be facing right now in the hands of Qaddafi's infamous thugs. Her life is in danger, but we can help, if we act fast.

Urbis is seeking your assistance with an important research project on ‘Closing the Gap’ in Year 12 or equivalent attainment.

We are an independent social research company who has been commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to develop case studies which showcase good practice in implementing initiatives that work toward ‘Closing the Gap’ in Year 12 or equivalent attainment for Indigenous young people.

We need your help

By Kristy Henderson

“Climate change is a diabolical policy problem” according to Ross Garnaut, who in Melbourne on Tuesday night released the eighth climate change review paper: Transforming the electricity sector.

Speaking about the review in the most carbon intensive state in Australia, Garnaut optimistically touted Victoria’s history of innovation, and the inevitable role that this would have in transforming Victoria’s energy sector.

On March 29th Drew Hutton, spokesperson for Friends of the Earth and leading campaigner for the national Lock the Gate campaign, was arrested at the Tara anti-coal seam gas blockade. He appeared in court the following day after spending the night in custody where he was bailed to appear in court in April.

In a case that exemplifies the private school systems sense of entitlement to public money and resources, the Sophia Mundi Steiner school in Abbotsford is attempting to takeover the St Mary’s Paddock, part of the Collingwood Children’s Farm for a number of new classrooms. This attempt is opposed by the Children’s Farm itself and the Yarra Council but is supported by the Abbotsford Convent Management who is responsible for the site.

SFER Press Release Twenty protesters stopped work in controversial high-conservation-value forests about 50km east of Launceston yesterday.
The protests came despite the peace negotiations between the forestry industry and environmental non-government organisations. The group Community Opposing Destruction of the Environment said the action was in response to forest facilitator Bill Kelty's statement last week that organisations must strike a deal on the Gunns Tamar Valley pulp mill or miss out on the permanent protection of 565,000ha of native forests.

Refugee Action Coalition Media Release March 29, 2011 Refugee supporters are appalled at the news that mandatory detention has taken another asylum seeker’s life, this time in the remote Curtin detention centre. The 20 year-old Afghan asylum seeker, Mohammad, committed suicide late yesterday (Monday) afternoon. He was found hanging in his room by others who returned to the accommodation block and found his room locked.