Visa refusal 'racist'

A British journalist of Palestinian descent claimed yesterday that he had been refused an Australian visa to attend a writers festival that began in Brisbane yesterday because of his race.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al Arabi, said the Australian Embassy in London could give him no reason why he had not yet received a visa.

He was one of the last Western journalists to interview al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But he did not believe that should raise security concerns.