This week's featured articles:

TOP STORY - The Footnote People (=Oslo)
Hanne Vardeberg
Despite being subjected to centuries of oppression, modern day social exclusion and wide-spread prejudice, the plight of Romania’s largest minority group, The Romani, receives little national or international attention. In spite of efforts to encourage community ties and to improve integration within society, Hanne Vardeberg discovers that the unfortunate reality of thoughtless stereotypes and centuries of suspicion that inhabit every level of Romanian society are not easy to conquer. (3,614 words English + picture)

TOP STORY - Fotnotefolket (= Oslo)
Hanne Vardeberg
I Romania lever mange sigøynere på utsiden av samfunnet. Hvorfor mener så mange rumenere det er deres egen skyld? (3.097 ord, norsk + bilde)

TOP STORY - The Story of Hooverville in Seattle (Real Change, USA)
Jesse Jackson
As ‘tent cities’ and makeshift homeless communities increasingly populate the outskirts of many American cities, it becomes harder to ignore comparisons with the 1930’s and another era of financial collapse. Fortunately however, the scales of today’s makeshift communities are minimal when compared to those of the great depression, as emphasized by the revealing words of Jesse Jackson, the former de facto Mayor of Seattle’s ‘Hooverville’ in 1935. (3,248 words, English)

TOP STORY - Homeless and gay (Haags Straatnieuws, the Netherlands)
Tanya Van Der Spek
From a young age his brothers noticed that he was different. They questioned him, hit him and spat at him. “I was torn up inside. What was I supposed to do with my life?” I didn’t want to be ‘different’. I didn’t want to do that to my parents” says Hassan, a homeless and openly gay man from the Hague. Tanya Van Der Spek investigates the hidden culture of homophobia within the homeless community of the Netherlands, where despite 5% of the countrys population being openly gay, the rate of openly gay homeless people is much smaller. (English summary of a Dutch article + picture)

TOP STORY - Gay en dakloos (Haags Straatnieuws, Nederland)
Tanya Van Der Spek
In New York is tussen de twintig en veertig procent van de jonge daklozen tot 25 homo- of biseksueel. Vaak zijn ze verstoten door hun gezin of gevlucht voor huiselijk geweld. Hoe is dat in Den Haag? En hoe staat het met de homofobie onder dak- en thuislozen zelf? (1,603 worden, Nederlands, Engels + beeld)

Face Off (Denver Voice, USA)
Mandy Walker
“Maria” and Stan Weekes have both found themselves beyond the reach of citizenship. Stan, a draft-dodger from the Vietnam era ran to Canada to avoid the war, and Maria, now an aspiring college student, immigrated to the U.S. with her parents as a child; both have become crusaders on opposite sides of one of America’s most divisive issues: immigration. Embroiled in this debate, they and others across Denver are squaring off in different corners over instate tuition and who deserves it. (2,697 words, English + picture)

Wal-Mart workers: We’re not going to take it anymore (Real Change, USA)
Cydney Gillis
Keya Jerris didn’t think she could afford Wal-Mart’s health plan on the wages she earned at the company’s Federal Way store. Now her story is left for other workers to tell. On March 10, after undergoing two surgeries for an aneurism, Jerris died. She might be alive today, says friend and co-worker Mary Watkines, if the store had given Jerris a sick day – one of many reasons that Watkines and other Wal-Mart workers are stepping forward to unionize the world’s largest retailer. (669 words, English + picture)

New life for Madonna’s second adopted child (The Big Issue Malawi)
Phillip Pemba
The ruling delivered by the Malawian Supreme Court of Appeal on June 12th has opened a new chapter in the life of one unasuming Malawian orphan. Born out of wedlock when her mother was just 14 years old, Chifundo now has the opportunity to grow up in a family which will accord her love and affection as she becomes the second child to be adopted by American singer Madonna, whom ruling Judge Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo described as the “child of the world”. (290 words, English + picture)

9/11: One of History’s Greatest Frauds? (Victoria Street Newz, Canada)
Gordon Pollard
When much of the world was transfixed before television sets on September 11, 2001, after two large commercial airliners crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, it seemed we were watching a horrific act of international terrorism. But now, almost eight years later, has become increasingly clear that what we were really witnessing that day was the perpetration of one of history’s greatest frauds? Gordon Pollard investigates. (1,701 words, English)

Lane envy (Megaphone, Canada)
Katie Hyslop
Vancouver city councilors recently voted on the cycling lane trial for the Burrard Street Bridge, but it’s a decision some say will endanger and inconvenience both cyclists and pedestrians in favor of cars. Councilors voted in favor of option A3, which designates one southbound lane for cyclists, and the east sidewalk for bike-only use with pedestrians restricted to the west sidewalk. (714 words, English + picture)

The benefits of a broccoli-rich diet (Spare Change News, USA)
Robert Sondak
Spare Change News vendor and Executive Director of the Nutrient Education Outreach Project Robert Sondak shares his knowledge and experience on the benefits of a cheap and healthy diet. In this segment Sondak discusses the many financial and dietary benefits a broccoli rich diet. (1,059 words, English)

Slum walls raise suspicion in divided Rio (Reuters)
Ana Nicolaci da Costa
When residents of Rio de Janeiro's mammoth Rocinha slum heard of government plans to build a wall around parts of their community, opposition to the idea quickly mounted. The wall would be an "ecobarrier" aimed at curbing the unchecked and damaging expansion of the "favela" slums into Rio's lush tropical forest, state officials told them. But in the Brazilian city tainted by inequality and violence and sharply divided between hillside slum dwellers and middle-class residents, many in Rocinha saw something more sinister in the plan. (1,006 words English + picture)

Tunnel vision: Swiss can't wait to party (Reuters)
Josie Cox and Sam Cage
Face covered with dust, a tired miner scrambles through a tiny gap linking two parts of what will be the world's longest rail tunnel, clutching a gold coloured statuette of Saint Barbara. He is greeted by a hard-hat wearing crowd of 600 or so -- colleagues, politicians and journalists -- gathered to watch the rubble crumble in a Swiss rail tunnel. Even though there is still one section of the tunnel to be dug through the level of attention illustrates a particularly Swiss passion. (952 words, English + picture)

Paradise Island, Pirates’ Den (Inter Press Service)
Nasseem Ackbarally
‘‘Four DVDs for 100 rupees. Four DVDs for 100 rupees,’’ shouts the vendor near the main market of Port Louis, where small shops and street hawkers operate under the eyes of the police. From music and vehicle parts to clothes, perfumes and software, all sold at ridiculously low prices on the streets or in local shops. Piracy is big business in the paradise island state of Mauritius. (982 words, English + picture)

"Participatory Socialist Democracy Is Essential" (Inter Press Service)
Dalia Acosta
Renowned for her work for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transvestite and transgender people, Mariela Castro advocates a fairer, more inclusive, and above all more participatory socialism in Cuba. In this interview with IPS, Castro, who on May 16 led the first street conga dance against homophobia in the history of this Caribbean island nation, talks about the experiences that marked her life and made her what she is today, about socialist participation and her hopes for a Cuba free of the U.S. embargo. (1,617 words, English + picture)

Earth Can Generate Summer out of Winter (Inter Press Service)
Lowana Veal
Despite the short growing season, Iceland manages to produce tomatoes, paprika and cucumbers all year round by harnessing geothermal energy. Icelanders first used geothermal energy in the late 19th century for heating soil to grow outdoor vegetables. This trend continued in a small way in the early 20th century as heating swimming pools, greenhouses and buildings all received their energy in this way at one point. But it was only during the oil crisis in the 1970s that Icelanders started to develop their geothermal resources seriously, as a way of becoming energy self- sufficient. (870 words, English + picture)

Afrikanische Flüchtlinge wollen weg – Pochen auf UNHCR-Paragraphen (IPS Europa)
Daan Bauwens
In Marokko protestieren Flüchtlinge aus anderen afrikanischen Ländern gegen Fremdenhass und Diskriminierung. Wie sie vor dem Büro des UN-Flüchtlingshilfswerks UNHCR in Rabat erklärten, werden selbst die Rechte derjenigen mit Füßen getreten, die in Besitz eines gültigen Flüchtlingsausweises seien. (460 wörten, Deutsch + bild)

In Krise alle Register ziehen – Präsident der UN-Vollversammlung im IPS-Gespräch (IPS Europa)
Thalif Deen
Die Vereinten Nationen sind derzeit Gastgeber einer internationalen Konferenz über Wege aus der der internationalen Wirtschaftskrise. Dass dem Treffen in New York hochkarätige Vertreter der Industriestaaten ferngeblieben sind, ist nach Ansicht des Präsidenten der UN-Vollversammlung, Miguel d' Escoto Brockmann, "Ausdruck eines im Licht der derzeitigen Entwicklung unangebrachten Überlegenheitsanspruchs". (1,224 wörten, Deutsch)

Armutsbekämpfung auf UN-Krisenkonferenz kleingeschrieben (IPS Europa)
Cillian Donnelly
Internationale Entwicklungsorganisationen haben die Teilnehmer der laufenden UN-Konferenz in New York aufgefordert, bei der Suche nach Lösungswegen aus der globalen Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise den Kampf gegen die Armut nicht zu vergessen. Sie kritisieren, dass das Treffen in New York vor allem Finanzstrukturprobleme behandelt. (485 wörten, Deutsch)

Viudas ocho meses al año (Inter Press Service)
Por Mario Osava
Maria Vieira dos Santos crió prácticamente sola a sus seis hijos. Durante más de una década, su marido estuvo ausente cerca de ocho meses cada año, para cortar caña de azúcar en el estado de São Paulo, en el sureste de Brasil. La lejana faena del campesino, 1.500 kilómetros al sur, terminó sólo cuando las penosas condiciones del trabajo le dañaron la columna vertebral. Desde hace ocho años le sucedió el hijo mayor, de 27, que trabaja en la producción de azúcar y alcohol. Este año se incorporó otro hijo, de 17 años. (1.387 palabras español)

Cristianos a ambos lados del mostrador (Inter Press Service)
Mona Alami
Los partidos de la minoría cristiana negocian su integración en el gobierno de Líbano, a pesar de que están divididos entre dos coaliciones radicalmente enfrentadas, una prooccidental y otra prosiria. La Alianza 14 de Marzo obtuvo la mayoría parlamentaria en las elecciones del día 7 y cuenta con respaldo de Occidente. La coalición está formada por el sunita Movimiento Futuro, el druso Partido Socialista Progresista y los cristianos Partido Kataeb y las Fuerzas Libanesas (FL). (793 palabras, español)

Cosiendo el futuro (Inter Press Service)
Luis Alberto Carro
Unas en bicicleta, otras a pie, un grupo de mujeres de 40 a 60 años cruzan esta ciudad uruguaya cada mañana hacia Codemur, la planta de confección de ropa surgida de los despojos de una fábrica abandonada por sus propietarios cuando consideraron que ya no generaba suficientes ganancias. (1.523 palabras, español)

 

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