by Moira Birss
-Colombia/USA-

Fulfilling expectations after a solid showing in May’s first round, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos handily won Colombia's June 20th presidential run-off election. Though Santos and his contender, Antanas Mockus, the former mayor of the capital city Bogota, had been neck-in-neck in opinion polls leading up to the first round of elections, the May 30th results gave Santos a substantial lead that he never lost. On June 20th Santos won 69% of the vote.

by Jessica Mosby
-USA-

The Chinese have ruled Tibet since 1959. For Tibetan refugees living around the world, the dream of returning to a free Tibet continues to define their existence in exile.

The new documentary film The Sun Behind the Clouds captures the plight of Tibetan refugees and their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, with a very personal approach. Filmmaker Tenzing Sonam, who also narrates the film, was born to Tibetan refugee parents living in Darjeeling, India. He and his filmmaking partner and wife, Ritu Sarin, approach their subject matter with insiders’ knowledge.

by Melissa Hahn
-USA-

When Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 into law, she thrust the state into the national spotlight as a catalyst for immigration reform. As the reverberations pulse across the country, the law is best understood in the context of Arizona’s unique circumstances.

Locally, immigration has been a hot-button issue since the 1990s, when increased border security in California and Texas transformed Arizona into the nation’s illegal immigration artery. Across nearly two decades, the number of estimated illegal residents in Arizona jumped 500% as prosperity north of the border was matched by instability to the south. Census data shows that between 1990 and 2009, Hispanics rose from 16% to 30% of the population- double the national average.

by Lien De Coster
-Netherlands-

Entering the courtyard I immediately find it difficult to breathe. There is an energy loaded with such strong emotions it seems impossible not to be affected. The courtyard is packed with people, mostly women dressed in black. I am glad to see one of my colleagues; and with some effort, I go and sit next to her.

This is not just another November afternoon in Guatemala City. Today we are not just covering another story. We are visiting Sobrevivientes, an organization that supports family and friends of femicide victims. Or, to put it bluntly, those whose mothers, daughters, or friends were murdered simply because they were women. I wrote my thesis on this subject, but today is the first time I actually see people testify about femicide. I could not be more shocked.

By Nora Maccoby
-USA-

Energy equals civilization. Our modern society is managed by computers and an electrical grid system that are extremely vulnerable to outside forces, both natural and man-made. Several causal factors are now in play that could bring life as we know it to a stand-still.

I am a civilian. For the last six years I have worked off and on with the United States military, most recently as a Senior Communications Specialist for The Energy Conversation. The U.S Armed Services are leading the fight to get our nation off of oil and into renewables - mostly because of common sense, but also because they make us more independent and therefore more secure.

by Patricia DeGennaro
-USA-

Israel’s May 31, 2010 attack on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters garnered nothing more than global condemnation. The assault on six ships with approximately 700 activists carrying 10,000 tons of aid to the besieged Gaza strip is a shocking reminder that the Israeli government feels that the only way to continue the Palestinian occupation is with overwhelming military force.

After the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 a brief hope existed that Israel and an independent Palestine could coexist peacefully. The reality on the ground, however, quickly extinguished any optimism. Mutual recognition appeared to do little good and casualties on both sides continued to accumulate. The beginning of the second intifada in 2000 and the growing strength of the Islamic and more radical Hamas led to more Israeli casualties. But the numbers continue to be lopsided and far more Palestinians have been killed.

by Maureen Nandini Mitra
-India/USA-

Arthur Yee wants a son.

“It’s important. As the oldest son in my family, it’s my duty to continue the bloodline,” says the Los Angeles based media professional whose wife, Kimme Setzo, is three months pregnant. Though he’d love to have a girl too, not having a son would diminish his status in his extended family, he says.

Yee comes from a traditional Chinese family that immigrated to the USA in the 1970’s. Like most first generation immigrants, his parents still cling to the cultural values of their original homeland where social norms favor sons. Hence parental pressure on Yee and Setzo to produce a boy is great. Setzo, though personally neutral about the gender of her forthcoming child, also hopes her first-born will be a boy, “just so that the pressure will be off.”

by Anna Kirey
- Kyrgyzstan-

The small, mountainous, post-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan rarely makes international news. When it does, the headlines are either related to the presence of US and Russian military bases or protests against the government.

Years of government corruption, nepotism, and severe restrictions on political freedoms led to the popular uprising on April 7th, 2010 that resulted in the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Over eighty people were shot by security forces during an the attack on a government building in the capital city of Bishkek. Young men from all over Kyrgyzstan lost their lives.