In Africa, less money for microfinance projects is coming in from Europe and the United States, the Daily Nation of Kenya reports.
Meanwhile, the demand for microfunds is up threefold, reports the Africa Microfinance Action Forum, as people lose their regular jobs and look to become entrepreneurs.
The same scenario is playing out in Europe. Although a new European Union microfinance institution is being set up to provide small-business loans for the unemployed, New Europe reports that critics are already saying it offers too little.
The Jordan Times notes that the country's royal family is making a pitch for more support from microlenders for agricultural projects, while in the Philippines, Business World Online reports that the Mindinao Microfinance Council has almost halved its goals for clients served by 2010 -- from 1 million to 600,000.
The same struggles may affect loan repayment. A recent survey predicts that soaring defaults by low-income borrowers in Africa may ruin hundreds of microfinance lenders, reports The East African.
And growth in microlending in the United States may also divert resources from the developing world, with Kiva, which defines itself as the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, taking the lead.
Until now, Kiva has focused on developing countries; opening the door for American entrepreneurs could increase the competition for microfunding worldwide.
The guru of microfinancing -- Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate -- has also set up U.S. operations, first in New York, and now in Omaha, Nebraska, reports World Magazine.
Yunus follows a model of what he calls "trust-based banking," by lending money to women, whom he finds more reliable than men because of their concerns for their children, according to the Taipei Times.
While many still sing the praises of microfinancing, an ongoing study by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Global Development questions whether microfinancing really works.
The researchers, David Roodman and Jonathan Murdoch, say that previous studies were contradictory, producing "controversy and confusion" as to whether microfinancing, as opposed to other factors not effectively measured by the studies, has a positive impact on low-income borrowers.
"Strikingly, 30 years into the microfinance movement we have little solid evidence that it improves the lives of clients in measurable ways," they wrote.
--Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
"MFIs Face Collapse As Financial Crisis Bites"
AllAfrica.com, June 22, 2009
"Lots of plans and hopes at (un)Employment Week to restore confidence"
New Europe, June 28, 2009
"Microloans for all?"
Inc.com, June 10, 2009
"Microfinance vital for agricultural sector development"
Jordan Times, June 23, 2009
"The Impact of Microcredit on the Poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the Evidence"
Working Paper 174, June 19, 2009
"Muhammad Yunus: a man you can bank on"
Taipei Times, June 7, 2009
"Recession-proof banking?"
Worldmag.com, June 20, 2009
"Credit crisis hits SME financiers"
Daily Nation, June 3, 2009
"Mindanao microfinance group expects less clients due to weak economy"
Business World Online, June 16, 2009
The real prize, however, is winning the game of life -- something fans worldwide are lining up to support.
Rio de Janeiro and Paris have already agreed to host the 2010 and 2011 games, notes Happy News, while Poland.com boasts that the city of Poznan will host in 2013, beating out Amsterdam and Manchester.
Women from eight nations competed for the first-ever Women's Cup last year -- and are taking their game, and their goals for better lives, to Milan in 2009 as well.
One such player is Auma Okot of Uganda, who was once in the grip of the infamous Lord's Resistance Army insurgency.
Okot wants to be a nurse, but in the meantime, she'll be representing Uganda in the Women's Homeless Cup, the Guardian reported.
In the United States, homeless soccer appears to be more of a male phenomenon.
Street Soccer USA began in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2005, and now has teams in 16 cities, including New York and San Francisco.
In at least five cities, playing soccer has helped those on the team leave homelessness behind, reports the Korea Times.
This emphasis on personal growth has inspired support for the teams and players around the globe.
In Durham, Britain, local fundraisers are rallying to send a formerly homeless teen to Milan to play for the men's team, according to the community news Web site 24dash.com.
A developer in Canada, who was homeless decades ago, bought uniforms and airline tickets for the homeless street-soccer national champions when they traveled to Toronto to defend their title, reports MetroNews.ca.
The Homeless World Cup Web site claims that nearly three out of four of those who get involved with homeless teams end up kicking drugs ad alcohol, getting jobs, going back to school and even becoming players and coaches for professional or semi-professional soccer teams.
--Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
"Ugandan women given gender inequality the boot"
The Guardian, June 2, 2009
"A formerly homeless teenager from the north east follows in Beckham's football footsteps"
24dash.com, June 23, 2009
"Rio and Paris win 2010 and 2011 homeless bids"
Happynews.com, June 3, 2009
"Homeless soccer champs to defend title"
Metro News.Ca (Canada), June 17, 2009
"Poland will organize football world championship for homeless"
News at Poland.com, June 12, 2009
"On the soccer fields steps to a new life"
Korea Times, June 3, 2009
Tuesday night saw the end of two years of negotiations between the Port of Oakland, environmentalists, truckers and West Oakland residents, with a vote to reduce toxic emissions from trucks serving the busy shipping center.
The Comprehensive Truck Management Plan aims to reduce the levels of diesel particulates in the air around the port, by banning diesel trucks built before 1994 -- as well as newer trucks that lack air filters.
The plan also authorized a registration system for all trucks doing business with the port, and $3 million for independent truck who need to upgrade their vehicles.
However, a vote to implement findings from a study conducted by the consulting firm Beacon Economics was postponed until a later meeting. This includes a controversial recommendation that larger trucking firms hire contractors as employees, thereby making companies responsible for truck upgrades and maintenance.
During the meeting, both supporters and critics of the program appeared satisfied with its approval, although opinions were still divided on next steps and the best ways to implement findings from the Beacon Study.
Margaret Gordon, a port commissioner and co-director of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, said that this is a victory for the clean air movement -- and one step towards enacting tougher federal regulations.
"It's happening in California and in Oakland because we've been giving them the most hell" Gordon said, adding that the ruling only came about after a long series of campaigns and intense discussions.
While it took time to agree on the details, Gordon said she is pleased that the ruling finally establishes firm guidelines that the port can use to regulate the trucking industry.
"You clean up your truck, or you'll be out of business," she said.
]]>Talk about reality: This year in the United States, more than 750,000 teenagers will become pregnant, according to a report in Women's E-News, while the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed the teen pregnancy rate increased by three percent in 2006 -- the first such U.S. increase in 14 years.
The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world -- 14 times higher than Japan, and twice that of Australia and Canada, according to the World Health Organization.
Globally, WHO notes that more than 14 million teenage girls have babies each year -- most in developing countries.
Though it does not attribute its statistics, the Christian advocacy Web site Vision.org notes that teen pregnancy rates in Latin America and Africa are double -- and in some cases even quadruple -- those of the United States.
In developing countries, the problem is compounded by the fact that becoming pregnant too young can be fatal.
A UNICEF study shows more than 70,000 girls or young women between the ages of 15 and 19 die in childbirth each year, most in developing countries.
Solutions are diverse, and often highly political.
Depending on whom you ask, the blame lies with parents who are too permissive -- or parents who are too strict -- along with too much or too little sex education in the schools.
In Oklahoma, an article on the KXII TV Web site reported that the state has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, at 54.2 percent, with one region, Carter County, at 74.2 percent.
The report quoted a Carter County health official -- who said that teens can get confidential counseling and access to contraceptives from her agency -- as well as an abstinence-education advocate who said the real issue is "healthy relationships," and blamed media that are too sexually explicit for the county's high rate of teen pregnancy.
The Ada Evening News in Ada, Okla., also noted the state's unusually high rate of teen pregnancy -- one of 10 U.S. states that showed a "significant increase" in 2007 -- and quoted the director of Hope House Pregnancy Care Center, Rachel Miller, as stating that the age of the girls she's serving is decreasing.
Miller said that parents and media are too permissive, and said abstinence education is a partial solution.
In Framingham, Mass., MetroWest Daily News quoted one pregnant teen as blaming a lack of sex education and knowledge of contraceptives in her home.
In the United States, the Bush administration spent $1.5 billion between 1996 and 2008 on abstinence-only sex education -- something President Obama's budget eliminates, reports Women's E News.
In Argentina, things were taken to another level when the International Planned Parenthood Federation launched the world's first declaration of sexual rights, even for minors, Inter Press Service reports.
But if the tribulations of too-early parenthood weren't enough, there may be even another reason for young women to try not to get pregnant.
The Vancouver Sun reported on a medical study that shows that pregnant adolescents may have a greater tendency to be obese when they are older.
--Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
"16 and pregnant: MTV explores the real secret life"
Seattle Post Intelligencer, June 11, 2009
"Oklahoma's teen pregnancy rate among highest in U.S."
KXII.com, June 11, 2009
"Coalition looks to curb teen pregnancy"
Metro West Daily News, June 11, 2009
"Teen pregnancy rates on the rise"
Ada Evening news, June 10, 2009
"On sex education, Bristol's ex is voice of reason"
Women's E News (advocacy), June 12, 2009
"Teen Pregnancy: The Tangled Web"
Vision Insights and New Horizons (advocacy), June 8, 2009
"Sexuality is an essential part of humanity"
Inter Press Service (advocacy), June 10, 2009
"Costa Rica remains leader in health but faces uncertain future"
TicoTimes.net, June 2, 2009
"Teen pregancy boosts girls' risk of getting fact"
Vancouver Sun, June 12, 2009
"Unicef report reveals shocking teen pregnancy death rate"
Now Public News, Jan. 15, 2009
"World Health Organization Statistical Information System"
"World Health Organization: Delivering on global promises of health" (PDF)
]]>
Not all citizen-media postings are clearly sourced, and include propaganda as well as first-person witnessing. Use your judgment when interpreting the text, video and images.
Twitter hashtag: #IranElection
140-character bulletins and links sent by members of the public. This is an active, live feed with numerous updates each second.
Twitter hashtag: #Neda
A graphic video said to document a young Iranian woman's shooting death at a protest has sparked an another active Twitter feed.
CitizenTube.com: Iran Video Tracking
A video blog dedicated to "watching video change our world" is heavy on relevant citizen video coming out of Iran. Their home page has plenty of current material; for archival videos, try a keyword search for "Iran."
Flickr Photostream: .faramarz
This is a continually updated collection of stark images of the protests and violence in Tehran. Note: The author's profile indicates he's not in Iran; what are the image sources? You can also check out his Twitter feed.
Demotix Iran Coverage
The Iran home page for the citizen media Web site Demotix.
PersianQ.com
Numerous videos posted daily; the Livestream interface is a bit dense.
YouTube Keyword Search: "Iran Protests"
Plenty of mainstream and citizen videos posted. Additional keyword searches: "Iran Election," "Iran Riot," "Iran Riots."
U.S. News-Media Tracking Blogs
The New York Times' The Lede News Blog is interweaving formal coverage by their writers with diverse citizen-media postings; The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan and Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post are aggregating mainstream and citizen media from diverse sources -- video, text, photos.
Activist News Blogs
Al Giordano's "The Field" news blog and a site called "The Vigilante Journalist" both are aggregating video and text news.
Context/Backstory: News You Might Have Missed's Iran Archive
NYMHM's coverage of Iran tracks issues of civil rights and economy over time. Dig into the archive for specifics about inflation, labor movements, and more.
Cuba rejected on Monday the OAS offer to rejoin in a statement published in its state-run newspaper, calling the organization one "with a role and trajectory that Cuba repudiates," the Miami Herald reported.
Instead, the island nation is pushing a plan to establish a new inter-American and Caribbean organization that would exclude the United States, according to a report by Inter Press Service. Plans for the organization will be discussed at a regional summit in Mexico later this year.
The first meeting, staged in Brazil in December 2008, was the first time a Latin/Caribbean regional summit was held without the United States, but included Cuba, according to a Tribune Media Services report.
Not unexpectedly, Cuban-American politicians in the U.S. are calling the OAS vote "a putrid embarrassment," the New York Daily News reports.
Historically, South Florida's Cuban population has staunchly opposed any move to lessen sanctions against Cuba.
An editorial in South Florida's Sun-Sentinel lambasted the OAS for "aiming the spotlight on the wrong cause once again."
However, OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza told a Chilean radio station that he hopes the decision will nudge the United States along the path of ending its embargo.
The OAS vote to readmit Cuba is a big change from the Cold War-era decision in 1962 to isolate the communist nation at the behest of the United States.
Although the OAS later refused to support other U.S. interventions -- such as such as the invasion of Panama in 1989, the 1980s war in Nicaragua, and the overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973 -- the original Cuba vote inspired a grudge by Latin American leftists against the OAS that persists to this day.
Today, those political divisions leave the United States as the only nation in the hemisphere that does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba.
El Salvador, the last holdout, renewed ties with Cuba hours after leftist Mauricio Funes was sworn in as president at the beginning of June, reports Agence France-Presse.
--Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
"Latin America: Cuba wants integration without OAS"
Inter Press Service, June 4, 2009
"Brazil stretching clout to Central America"
Tribune Media Services, June 8, 2009
"Bush Excluded by Latin Summit as China, Russia Bloom"
Bloomberg, Dec. 15, 2008
"El Salvador and Cuba re-establish diplomatic ties"
Agence France-Presse, June 1, 2009
"Organization of American States opens door to Cuba and a wave of criticism"
New York Daily News, June 7, 2009
"Irrelevant OAS misses big opportunity"
Sun-Sentinel.com, June 6, 2009
"Insulza espera que la decision de la OEA ayude a levantar el embargo sobre Cuba"
Infolatam.com, June 4, 2009
"Cuba rejects rejoining OAS"
Miami Herald, June 9, 2009
The long road leading to cleaner air in West Oakland was stretched just a little farther Tuesday night, as Port of Oakland commissioners postponed voting on a controversial new program to control diesel pollution from thousands of trucks serving the port.
West Oakland's high rates of childhood asthma and lifelong illnesses, such as cancer, are linked to exhaust from truck and international ship traffic through the port.
Approximately 100 representatives from the trucking, environmentalist and West Oakland communities packed Tuesday's meeting as the board considered adopting the Comprehensive Truck Management Plan, which aims to reduce diesel emmissions from the port by 85 percent by 2020.
The plan requires that all early-model trucks be fitted with new diesel filters by January 1st, 2010.
Opponents of the plan expressed cautious optimism at amendments to include a proposed truck registration system as well as a complete ban on pre-1994 trucks, as recommended by the study.
"This plan recognizes that you need to have a direct relationship with the trucking companies that operate on your property, and a mechanism to hold them accountable, that's why we support the truck registry," said Doug Bloch, Director of the Oakland Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports.
He also said that the ban on older trucks will lead to significant air quality improvements shortly after implementation.
While these amendments seemed to quell complaints, the last minute additions also pushed back voting on the project until June 16, when the board will also discuss whether to adopt more specific recommendations from a 2008 study by Beacon Environmental Services.
The most contested issue is whether trucking companies should be required to hire independent truckers as full time staff, thereby making companies responsible for any necessary upgrades.
Supporters of this motion, including Alexandra Desautels of the Alameda County Public Health Department, said it will give the port more leverage as future details of the plan are hashed out.
"[It] will set the board up to be able to move towards holding the shipping and trucking industries accountable once the laws are changed at the federal level," she said.
Yet many truckers said they opposed losing their independent status, further complicating regulatory efforts.
In the next two weeks, some of these organizations are planning to meet and discuss issues before port commissioners reconvene for a vote on June 16.
]]>While much of the debate on reducing emissions from the Port of Oakland has revolved around trucks, diesel pollution from the trucks is estimated to make up only 4 percent of West Oakland's overall toxic burden.
A much larger percentage has been attributed to the international shipping companies that rent the ports -- yet attempts to impose fees to pay for pollution controls have been sidetracked by global trade regulations and opposition by the state of California and even special interest groups in Oakland and the Bay Area.
Fees targeting the shipping containers that pass through the Port of Oakland are usually opposed by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Alameda County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Nate Miley, and the Waterfront Coalition -- a Washington, D.C.-based group of importers, exporters, and shipping companies.
These parties have repeatedly expressed concern that any new fees would only encourage shipping companies to abandon the Port of Oakland in favor of cheaper competitor.
However, a 2006 study conducted by Energy and Environmental Research Associates, and funded by the Coalition for Clean Air and the Natural Resources Defense Council, found little evidence to support this theory.
In each of the ports included in the study -- Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland -- research shows that any proposed fees would have to reach $43 for each 20 feet of shipping-container capacity before the ports saw any significant reduction in international traffic.
Proposed fees for all three ports have been around $30 per 20 feet of shipping-container capacity.
Opponents also said that international ships are protected under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and therefore fall under federal jurisdiction, making taxation by the port, or state government, impossible.
Despite this opposition, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles both instituted new container fees in 2007 -- and in May 2009, California Assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) introduced a bill to pressure the ports to speed up environmental efforts.
]]>Spain, already admired for its high-speed rail system, got lots of international attention in May when it hosted U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood. Agence France-Presse reports that La Hood rode the trains there, as well as in France and Germany, looking for high-speed models to use back home.
Spain intends to have a high-speed connection between Barcelona and the French border in place by 2012, according to the ThinkSpain.com website.
Russia is also hoping for a rail-travel renaissance. The Moscow Times reports that Russian Railways has signed an agreement with Austria, Slovakia and Ukraine to build a railway line between Moscow and Vienna. The $4.3 billion agreement aims at quicker, albeit not high-speed, rail travel for passenger and commercial trains.
China is going full steam ahead with plans to connect all cities with more than 200,000 people by 2020, according to the state-owned Beijing Review. A new high-speed train took off on between Beijing and the provincial capital of Taiyuan on April 1, and the government hopes to increase the number of high-speed trains five-fold from the 200 which currently run to 1,000 by the end of next year, China Daily reports.
Korea is eying high-speed rail projects in Brazil, as well as a metro train project planned in Abu Dhabi, and a bullet-train project planned in California, reports the Korea Herald.
Amidst this buzz, the United States has lagged in developing modern rail systems. At present, the nation's only high-speed rail line is Amtrak's Acela train that runs between Boston and Washington, D.C., the Christian Science Monitor reports -- though that may change following President Barack Obama's recent pledge to spend $13 billion for high-speed rail projects over the next five years around the country.
--Ronnie Lovler/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
"High Hopes for High Speed"
Christian Science Monitor, May 18, 2009
"U.S. Transport chief in Spain to inspect high-speed rail system"
Agence France-Presse, May 29, 2009
http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/05/18/high-hopes-for-high-speed/
"A fast train to the future"
Beijing Review, May 31, 2009
"High Speed boost to railways"
China Daily, May 25, 2009
"Barcelona-to-France high-speed AVE train will be running by 2012"
Thinkspain.com, May 27, 2009
"Korean companies eye U.S. bullet-train project"
Korea Herald, May 30, 2009