Greece: More than 100,000 protesters from across Greece have converged on Athens' main square to protest against a potential Greek compromise in a dispute with neighbouring Macedonia over the former Yugoslav republic's official name. Hundreds of chartered buses brought protesters in from around the country to the Greek capital, while more people arrived on ferries from the islands. Traffic was blocked throughout the city centre and three major subway stops were closed. Chanting "Hands off Macedonia!" and "Macedonia belongs to Greece!" the protesters converged on Syntagma Square. Police officials estimated the attendance at 140,000. Organisers claimed 1.5 million were at the rally.
Australia: Women in Australia are far less likely to consider wolf-whistling and even being hit up for sex as unacceptable, a study on attitudes about sexual harassment suggests. Two Perth universities have polled 1734 women from 12 countries, finding Australians will accept certain behaviours than others feel crosses the line. Just 26 per cent of the Australians surveyed believed it was inappropriate for a man to ask them for sex at a social event. But that's an absolute no-no for Egyptians, with 100 per cent objecting, along with Indonesians (99 per cent), Japanese (97 per cent), and Portuguese women (88 per cent). And only 25 per cent of Australian women thought wolf-whistling was inappropriate. However 64 per cent of Australian women don't appreciate a man showing up at places they're known to visit in the hope of an encounter. And 74 per cent think it's inappropriate for a man to send them strange parcels. That compares to 7 per cent and 23 per cent for Italians. The study involved women from Australia, Armenia, England, Egypt, Finland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland and Trinidad. It's been published in the journal Aggressive Behaviour.
United States: Supporters of a Kansas chemistry teacher hope immigration officials will be lenient because he has lived in the US for 30 years without problems and has a family. The Kansas City Star reports Syed Ahmed Jamal was arrested in his front yard in Lawrence, Kansas, on January 24 as he walked his daughter to school. The 55-year-old Jamal, who is from Bangladesh, arrived in the US in 1987 to study at the University of Kansas. Most recently, he was teaching at Park University. Jamal's lawyer, Jeffrey Bennett, says an immigration judge allowed Jamal to remain in the country on a supervised basis provided he checked in regularly.
Britain: Construction of a tunnel past Stonehenge could spell the loss of a "unique" site which can trace the presence of people back to the last Ice Age, experts warn. Perfectly preserved hoofprints of wild cattle known as aurochs have recently been found at excavations near the famous stone circle in Wiltshire, University of Buckingham archaeologist David Jacques says. The 6000-year-old hoofprints, preserved in what appears to be a ritualistic manner, are the latest in a wealth of finds in a decade-long dig at Blick Mead, which Jacques says forms a "national archive of British history". But the tunnel, and a flyover close to the Blick Mead excavations, could irrevocably damage the site, he says. The Government has backed plans for the roadworks near the neolithic stone circle to ease congestion and improve the setting of Stonehenge.
