France takes a left turn

François Hollande has been elected president of France with 51.7 percent of the 35 million votes cast in Sunday’s election. His opponent Nicolas Sarkozy received 48.3 percent of the national vote. Mr Hollande is the first Socialist president since the end of François Mitterrand’s second term in 1995. Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been president for the last five years, said it was a new turning point for France. “I bear all the responsibility of this defeat,” Nicolas... Read More

Gold Coast celebrates a multicultural Labor Day

With flags fluttering and to the bagpipe strains of “Hills Of Argyle”, the Gold Coast Labor Day march set off this morning from outside the Southport Workers’ Club. After a tough 12 months dealing with issues like the health payroll crisis, the Queensland Nurses’ Union led the cavalcade along Scarborough Street to the Broadwater Parklands. Chants of “state schools, great schools” and “the workers united will never be defeated” filled the sunny autumn air,... Read More

Prepare for a wet winter

Brisbane should brace itself for a wetter and colder winter than last year in the wake of April’s record-breaking rain, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau’s Pradeep Singh said long-term seasonal forecasts indicated Brisbane would likely shiver through below average maximum temperatures and higher rainfall this winter. “There is a 75 percent chance of higher than average rainfall for Brisbane and south-east Queensland and a 60 percent chance of below average... Read More

Insults fly as French presidential candidates joust

Tension ran high in yesterday’s three-hour debate between French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist rival François Hollande. Every issue, from immigration to the economy to Afghanistan, was an opportunity for the two candidates to launch into a war of words. Mr Hollande said he protected children instead of favouring the rich, referring to Sarkozy’s life-style and hand-outs. (Photo: President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and socialist rival François Hollande, right.) Mr... Read More

Review: The Avengers

The superhero movie to end all superhero movies, The Avengers has finally hit cinema screens across Australia but does the film live up to the hype? The Avengers is the culmination of a plan by Marvel Entertainment to create a multi-film universe with each film contributing to the marvel tapestry. Just as Nick Fury is the right man to assemble the Avengers, writer/director Joss Whedon is the perfect man to assemble the film. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) leads a secret government... Read More

Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Life is like a big story book, everything will be all right in the end, and so if it’s not all right, it is not yet the end. From the director of Shakespeare in Love comes a movie that can captivate audience’s attention which shows about life, after life. This film has a wonderful cast, a plot which goes from a start to a new beginning, filmed in a very beautiful place and music which flows gracefully along with the story. This is one film that is worth the ticket price,... Read More

Vietnamese community remembers 1975

Vietnamese women in national dress The Brisbane Vietnamese community and their Australian allies marked “the day of mourning” – the anniversary of the fall of Saigon which ended the Vietnamese war on 30th April, 1975. Before the twilight service in Anzac Square yesterday, a grieving man thumped the memorial wall of pictures depicting stages of the Vietnam War, while another, with shoes removed, prayed for peace. The service was held in both English and Vietnamese. A... Read More

Review: Battleship

Hasbro, the company, which brought us Transformers and G.I Joe, has provided the world another film derivative of a popular toy from yesteryear. Battleship is sure to entice younger moviegoers, as the film’s formula is no different from other Hasbro films. You have goodies and baddies, the girl, loud explosions, great one-liners and Michael Bay-like direction all coinciding with a music score loud enough for testosterone levels to spike. Taylor Kitsch (pictured with Rihanna)... Read More

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