NYMHM: Congo mines shut down; an Islamist finds religion; Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:05:35 -0700 ============================================================================= NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 13, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 24 Important but overlooked news from around the world. NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Online this week: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004298.html - RSS: http://newsdesk.org/news/atom.xml - Donations: http://artsandmedia.net/contribute/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTED: "They gonna keep moving us on, moving us on. They doing it again Sunday 'cause they got some soccer game they gonna charge people to park here for. They gonna make $500 at $20 bucks a space. We ain't worth $500 to them." -- Mark, a 40-year-old homeless man in Cleveland who lives in a tent city below an overpass (see "The Slums," below). CONTENTS: *Top Stories* An Islamist finds religion Congo shuts down mines over looting fears "Honk for peace" teacher seeks Supreme Court hearing *The Slums* A boom in urban poor defies solutions *South Asia* Democracy, too, slides in Bangladesh *Intolerance* Homophobia, as a policy gets personal ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES ............................................................................. > An Islamist Finds Religion Hassan al-Turabi, a renowned Sudanese Islamic scholar who once offered refuge to Osama bin Laden, is raising eyebrows with his support for the right of women to wear their hair uncovered and marry non-muslim men, and his opposition to the ongoing violence in Darfur. A former supporter of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, al- Turabi was jailed in 2005 for allegedly backing a coup plot. Critics say he's an opportunist trying to curry favor with a liberalizing Sudanese society, but the mercurial cleric says his calls for democracy and openness are entirely Islamic. > Congo Shuts Down Mines Over Looting Fears At least 60 mining deals have been suspended in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the newly elected government looks into complaints of "foreign looters" who exploit the nation's vast mineral wealth with no benefit for Congolese citizens. The BBC reports that decades of civil war were driven by huge reserves of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds, and that current mining contracts lack transparency and lacked competitive bids. > "Honk For Peace" Teacher Seeks Supreme Court Hearing A Indiana teacher who says she was fired for telling students she blew her car horn in support of anti-war marchers has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court over a January ruling that affirmed limits on free speech by public school teachers. The ruling against Deborah Mayer, who now works in Florida, is far from the first to limit speech by teachers or public employees. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that such cases usually affirm limits, and that the Supreme Court, while addressing student speech in the recent "bong hits for Jesus" case, has never ruled on teacher's rights. Sources: "Sudan's legendary Islamist takes a moderate view" Christian Science Monitor, June 13, 2007 http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0613/p01s03-woaf.html "DR Congo reviews 60 mining deals" BBC News, June 11, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6739999.stm "Bloomington teacher takes free speech fight to Supreme Court" WTHR (Indianapolis), June 11, 2007 http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6641945&nav=9Tai "'Honk for peace' case tests limits on free speech" San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2007 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNG9PPQGVV1.DTL ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SLUMS ............................................................................. > A Boom in Urban Poor Defies Solutions Experts predict that by 2030 two billion people will live in urban squatter and slum communities with no services, sanitation or running water. The growth of slums and economic disparaties are spurring poitical debate and legal crackdowns, even as new social movements emerge within the communities themselves ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004300.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTH ASIA ............................................................................. > Democracy, Too, Slides in Bangladesh Even as Bangladesh reels from lethal mudslides, the nation's political establishment is in an upheaval following the suspension of the legislature, and the arrest of thousands by the military as part of an ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004301.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTOLERANCE ............................................................................. > Homophobia, as a Policy, Gets Personal Intolerance of gays and lesbians worldwide seems to be digging in, as the public and private lives of homosexuals come under fire from Oregon to Russia and South-Central Asia. In Portland, two teenage girls who hugged and kissed on a bus were forced off the ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004302.html ============================================================================= Editor: Josh Wilson ............................................................................. SUPPORT PUBLIC-SERVICE MEDIA Newsdesk.org and News You Might Have Missed are commercial-free, and available at no charge. 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