In Australia, immigration detention is becoming a legal twilight zone; a place where the normal rules of fairness do not apply.
Both Mohammed Sagar and Muhammad Faisal left Iraq to seek asylum in Australia around 2001. Both were sent to Nauru. Both were recognised by Australia as refugees in 2005 — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An outspoken New Zealand Maori politician has apologised for praising slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter who stood up for his people.
In remarks that prime minister John Key slammed as ridiculous
, independent MP Hone Harawira said this week that positive aspects of bin Laden’s life should be acknowledged and urged people not to damn him — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Community health will hopefully be improved in Wilcannia, with a free animal health program being run this week.
The RSPCA in conjunction with Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation is in the town desexing cats and dogs, while also microchipping and treating animals for parasites.
The Mayor of the Central Darling Shire, Paul Brown, says it is an important initiative to help improve the health of the local population — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A possible landmark ruling in one of the mass-BitTorrent lawsuits in the U.S. may spell the end of the pay-up-or-else-schemes
that have targeted over 100,000 Internet users in the last year. District Court Judge Harold Baker has denied a copyright holder the right to subpoena the ISPs of alleged copyright infringers, because an IP-address does not equal a person — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Potential buyers of HMS Ark Royal have had the first chance to look at the Royal Navy’s former flagship.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) tours of the aircraft carrier are taking place at the Portsmouth Naval Base.
The vessel, decommissioned in March after 25 years service as part of the government’s defence budget review, is up for sale on the MoD auction website — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The Human Rights Commission says it has heard disturbing stories of discrimination against gay and transgender Australians — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Canberra cat and dog owners now face fines if they fail to have their pets fitted with microchips — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has announced record levels of complaints against telcos for the first three months of 2011, with Vodafone making up the lion’s share of complaints received — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A tornado has cut a path of devastation through Auckland this afternoon, causing injuries and damage — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Australia secretly worked with the United States to weaken a key international treaty to ban cluster bombs, leaked US diplomatic cables show.
Despite taking a high-profile stance against cluster munitions – condemned as the cause of large numbers of civilian casualties – Australia was privately prepared to pull out of international negotiations on a global ban of the weapons if this threatened ties with US forces.
The US continues to use cluster munitions as a legitimate and useful weapon
, including in Afghanistan, and has affirmed that it will not sign the treaty to ban them. The disclosure comes as Federal Parliament prepares to consider a bill to ratify Australia’s signature of the Convention on Cluster Munitions — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An exceptionally well-preserved Stradivarius violin, the Lady Blunt, which fetched $10m at its last sale in 2008, is to be auctioned for charity — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Google Australia paid tax of $1 million last year on its market-dominating Australian online search advertising business, which is estimated to reap more than $700 million in revenue annually — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba on Queensland’s Darling Downs has quit after a row with the Pope — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Malaysia plans to offer every adult in the country a free Web-based e-mail account to ensure that tax returns, court documents and other official notices reach the population of 28.3 million.
The government has named Tricubes Berhad, a local smartcard reader and authentication software vendor, as the operator of the service. Starting from July, the company will begin setting up a email account for citizens over 18, with a goal of total coverage by 2015, company officials said — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A pilot from New Zealand is in Nepal to return a replica of what some believe is the hand of a yeti to a remote monastery in the Everest region — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The operators of two 7-Eleven stores have been fined $150,000 for exploiting international workers — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating claims foreign workers on a multi-billion dollar oil rig project off the West Australian coast worked 84 hours a week for as little as $3 an hour — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A message written in the snow Thursday afternoon tapped into how many Calgarians feel about the most recent blast of winter weather.
Paul Yancey, who works in accounts payable at Suncor Energy, said he spent part of his lunch hour watching a man from his office window stomp out the words “I am tired of snow” in James Short Park below.
Yancey believes it took the unknown artist no more than 10 minutes to complete his work — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An extraordinary thing happened in American politics this week; a sitting president was forced to prove he is an American citizen – and thus eligible to be in office — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A former Special Air Services commander turned conservative Christian commentator has used Anzac Day to attack homosexuals and Muslims.
Just hope that as we remember servicemen and women today we remember the Australia they fought for – wasn’t gay marriage and Islamic!
said Jim Wallace, the head of the Australian Christian Lobby, on Twitter.
Followers of Mr Wallace soon attacked him — via redwolf.newsvine.com
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