It appears East Timor's president-elect is ready to put the past behind him. Xanana Gusmao recently visited the Indonesian capital Jakarta, where he emphasized the importance of reconciliation between the former enemies. East Timor becomes fully independent later this month.

 With Xanana Gusmao's recent visit to Jakarta, it appears to many that he has come full circle. A former commander of East Timor's guerrilla forces, Mr. Gusmao was one of Indonesia's best-known political prisoners. He spent seven-years in prison after Indonesian forces arrested him in 1992.
 
 

AP
East Timor President-elect Xanana Gusmao waves to reporters after meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri

 Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and the East Timorese responded with a guerilla war for independence.

 The conflict was resolved in 1999, when Indonesia permitted a referendum on East Timor's political status, which the independence movement won by a landslide. But pro-Indonesia militia groups all but destroyed East Timor in the days before and after the vote, killing hundreds of people. 

After much delay, Indonesia recently set up a special court to try suspects accused of human-rights abuses in East Timor. The court has come under fire by East Timorese groups, which say Jakarta has let members of the Indonesian Armed Forces escape prosecution. 

But Mr. Gusmao said the trials are of less concern to him than other types of justice. "I believe that if we talk about justice, we see a few people to be judged, to be tried," he said. "But if we talk about social justice, we have all our people to be cared (for)."

 The president-elect said too many East Timorese are hungry, too many women die in childbirth, and too many families cannot afford to send their children to school. "Justice, yes justice. But what is my priority? Social justice," he said. "We fought, we suffered, we died for what? To try other people, or to see benefits from the independence? It is question of balancing."

 East Timor will continue to need millions of dollars in international aid in its first years as an independent nation. To keep that aid flowing, analysts say it is critical that East Timorese leaders prove they can govern themselves without falling into petty political squabbles. 

To that end, Mr. Gusmao dismissed recent media reports suggesting he had a falling out with East Timor's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri. "It was differences, differences of opinion," he said. "And the press made this as political conflict. But, no, and I will, I will continue to try to help the people of East Timor to understand that difference is the sense of the democracy, if not we will die as an independent and democratic nation."

 Mr. Gusmao will be inaugurated president on May 20, when the territory's U.N. administrators formally withdraw.

Voters in France will cast ballots Sunday in the second round of the country's presidential election - one of the most dramatic in recent history. French voters will choose between incumbent President Jacques Chirac and the surprise runner-up in the first round of voting Jean-Marie Le Pen, of the extreme-right National Front. No one really is sure how Socialists and leftists will vote Sunday.

 The public-opinion polls say Jacques Chirac should win a second term comfortably. But the polls were wrong in the first round when they indicated that Mr. Le Pen would not finish higher than fourth. 

Some people who vote for the extreme-right candidate will not admit it to poll-takers. So, predictions that Mr. Le Pen will get about 25-percent of the vote have not provided much reassurance to Mr. Chirac's supporters.

 Neither has the reluctance of many on the left to pledge to vote for President Chirac.
 
 

Jean-Marie Le Pen

 The left has made clear its feelings for Mr. Le Pen, in daily demonstrations by thousands of people throughout the country, denouncing him as a fascist and a racist.
 
 

AP
President Jacques Chirac, right, shakes hands with supporters while campaigning for the second round of the presidential elections

 In his final campaign rally, the president said the far right degraded and soiled the image and the honor of France.

 It is expected that a sizeable majority of those who vote Sunday will agree with the president and return him to office. 

Iraq is ready to hand back to Kuwait important documents it seized during its invasion of Kuwait 12 years ago. The gesture appears aimed at improving ties between the two countries.
 
 

Amr Moussa

 "Iraq decided to look into the matter, and they found out large quantities of documents that they decided to return to Kuwait. The Arab League will be receiving all the documents from Iraq and we will have the proper procedures in order to receive these documents and deliver them to the government of Kuwait," Mr. Youssef said. 

He said the delivery could take place "within weeks." 

In statements to Arabic news agencies, Kuwait's foreign ministry welcomes the return of the archives. It wants the delivery of the material to also be supervised by the United Nations.

 The archives are among other Kuwaiti property missing since Baghdad invaded that country in 1990. Seven months later, it was driven out by a U.S. led coalition force. Iraq has been under strict international trade sanctions since then for failing to prove it is free of weapons of mass destruction.

 Mustapha Kamel al Sayid is a professor of political science at Cairo University. He said recent U.S. threats of military action may have influenced Baghdad to appear more cooperative toward solving disputes over its 1990 invasion which led to the 1991 Gulf War.

 "I think the Iraqi government is taking these threats from the U.S. seriously, and is trying to remove any pretext that the U.S. administration could take in order to justify military action," Mr. al Sayid said. 

He said that many Arabs believe the U.S. is intent on striking Iraq despite Baghdad's overtures to Kuwait.

Each year the Goldman Environmental Prize recognizes leading grassroots activists from around the world. The award is given to men and women who have fought to protect their homelands from the impact of commercial development projects and war. 

Among this year's eight recipients is an Amerindian woman from the South American nation of Guyana. 

Jean La Rose (Photo - R. Roll)

Jean La Rose said despite this wealth of natural resources Amerindian groups like the Arawak, who make up 10 percent of the population, remain impoverished. 

Jean La Rose teachs class (Photo - R. Roll)

Jean La Rose escaped this poverty. She left her village for high school and then attended the University of Guyana in Georgetown, where she was the only Amerindian in her class. 

She is a talented organizer and has put her skills to work with the Amerindian Peoples Association, an advocacy group that promotes Amerindian rights.

 "In one case a large timber concession was granted to a foreign company and the communities living in those lands did not have legal recognition of their land," said Ms. La Rose. "And, it meant that the company was granted title over that land before the communities and they [the communities] were displaced. I thought that this should never happen for people who have been living on their land for centuries," she said. 

Skirble: "What did you do? What happened?"

Jean La Rose: "One of the first things that I did was to start a letter writing campaign informing the various funders, including the World Bank what the situation was regarding our land, how we were loosing our land and what the situation was with the companies. We pushed to have a moratorium on logging and it did happen." 

Logging is one threat. Mining is another. The government of Guyana has granted concessions to transnational corporations on more than 30 percent of the land in Guyana. Mining has left a major river unfit for human use, destroyed ancestral fishing grounds and created serious public health problems. 

Jean La Rose (Photo - R. Roll)

Jean La Rose said the Association provides indigenous peoples with the educational tools to wage this kind of battle."We give them ideas on how to carry out campaigns, how to carry out lobbying activities, what you need to know in the law or simply what you need to know to conduct a meeting. Then they go back to the communities and work on a similar level with the communities on the things that they were taught. So, it's a case that we train people who become advocates on their own behalf," she said. 

But, Jean La Rose said while Amerindians are making progress, much more needs to be done. 

"We are going to continue to press to secure our land rights. We are going to press to empower our people so they make decisions for themselves and not have decisions imposed from the top. We are going to press for improvements in education, healthcare, transportation and communication. And we are going to continue to press for our cultural values and way of life," Ms. La Rose said. 

Skirble: "And what keeps you going?" 

Jean La Rose: "The people. Seeing the situation in the communities, the confidence and support from the communities in me. That is what keeps me going." Jean La Rose plans to use the $125,000 Goldman Environmental Prize money to start a scholarship program for women and to support the activities of the Amerindian Peoples Association. 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates about two million workers lose their lives each year due to occupational injuries and illness. The Geneva-based organization says at least half of the deaths from accidents could be prevented by safe working practices. 

The ILO says on-the job accidents kill 350,000 people a year, and that all accidents are avoidable and preventable if proper safety measures are applied. 

The ILO says for every fatal accident, an estimated 1,000 non-fatal injuries occur. Many of these result in lost earnings, permanent disability and poverty. 

It notes hazardous substances kill 340,000 people a year. It warns exposure to daily occupational hazards such as dust, chemicals, noise and radiation cause untold suffering and illness. These include cancers, heart diseases and strokes. 

ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, who calls the statistics "horrible figures," said few protests are heard about these death and accident rates because they generally occur out of the public glare. "One would never think that we have 5,000 people dying every day of work-related accidents and diseases," he said. "And yet the consciousness is not there because it is dispersed. It is all over the place. But the day-to-day individual reality of a worker who has gone sick or has died is not something that we see. So the question of consciousness is truly extremely important in order to act." 

Mr. Somavia said the ILO believes the world has a moral obligation to act. He says work kills more people than alcohol and drugs, and also takes a heavy economic toll. "And if there is one thing that workers and employers know, it is that this affects productivity," he said. "And this is one of the areas in which there is most understanding between employers and workers and we need to act together in order to reduce these calamities. Our [studies] show that when there is real social dialogue among employers and workers and community consciousness, risks to health and safety and exposure to hazards are reduced." 

Mr. Somavia said agriculture, construction, and mining are the three most hazardous occupations in developing and industrialized countries. 

The ILO chief says when workers and employers can organize and bargain freely the situation dramatically improves. He says these findings must be part of future strategies to promote safety and health at work. 

At least four suspected pipe bombs were found Saturday in mailboxes in the midwest state of Nebraska, one day after a series of small mailbox bombs injured six people in the nearby states of Illinois and Iowa. Officials say they have some leads in their effort to find those people behind Friday's incidents. 

The devices found Saturday in Nebraska were found in the southern part of the state, a few hundred kilometers from the communities where pipe bombs injured six people on Friday. A spokesman for Nebraska's governor said officials were checking out several reports of possible explosive devices. 

Meanwhile in eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois, mail delivery was suspended Saturday in communities within roughly 250 kilometers of Davenport, Iowa. That's the region where eight pipe bombs were found in rural, residential mailboxes on Friday. Seven of them went off, injuring six people. None of the injuries were serious. 

Federal officials say the devices were not sent through the mail, but had been placed in the mailboxes. Many rural mailboxes are located by the roadside, where someone could easily put something in them unnoticed late at night. FBI special agent Jim Bogner is urging whoever is responsible to come forward. "He has, apparently, some grievances," he said. "We are trying to understand that. We are trying to ask him to reach out. We think that is a far better option to exercise than planting exploding devices and injuring innocent people who have nothing to do with this grievance." 

Each of the devices found Friday was accompanied by a note described as "anti-government" in nature. The note complained about government's intrusion into people's lives, and promised that more "attention getters" would be coming in the future. 

Postal authorities say they will inspect all 11,000 mailboxes in the area of Friday's incidents, to make sure there are no more unexploded pipe bombs that could hurt someone. The sheriff of one Illinois county spent Saturday morning checking the mailboxes of worried residents. 

The 5th of May, known in Spanish as Cinco de Mayo, is a major festival among Mexican Americans in the Southwestern United States. Mike O'Sullivan reports from the historical Mexican district of downtown Los Angeles, the city's many ethnic groups observe the celebration.
 
 

A Mariachi band entertains at a Cinco de Mayo festival in Los Angeles VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

No, in fact, Mexican Independence Day is September 16. Cinco de Mayo marks a Mexican victory over French troops in 1862, although no one knows why the holiday is more important here than it is in Mexico.
 
 

Stephanie,left, with friends at the Cinco de Mayo festival in Los Angeles VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

 There are Cinco de Mayo celebrations in many parts of Los Angeles, but the largest is in a downtown section that dates back to the city's beginnings. It is called Olvera Street.
 
 

Mark Conte, left, and Kody Smith VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

 There are Latinos, Asians and African Americans among the thousands gathered here, all enjoying the celebration of Mexican culture. Mark Conte runs the company that brought 100 vending booths with food and souvenirs. "The crowd is very mixed," he says. "And it's a beautiful afternoon. It's only going to get warmer. It's going to be beautiful down here."
 
 

Manuel Piche and his son Carolos VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

Lourdes Vega VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

 Ms. Vega says that others, not just Mexican Americans, buy her T-shirts.

 Just a few blocks from Olvera Street is Los Angeles Chinatown, now home to many immigrants from Southeast Asia. Kory Smith of El Pueblo Historical Monument says other ethnic groups are in this neighborhood. "This is one of the most diverse places in all of the city of Los Angeles, if not the most diverse place," he says. "Next year we'll have the opening of the Chinese American Museum here, right before Cinco de Mayo, and we'll have the Italian Hall opening up about this time next year."

 And Kory Smith says next year, there will be an even bigger celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

Popocatepetl volcano, Mexico (VOA photo - G. Flakus)

 For years, scientists have been able to reliably forecast when a volcanic eruption will occur. But for the first time, thanks in part to a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation, technology is being harnessed to help people avoid the searingly hot streams of molten lava that flow out of an erupting volcano.
 
 

UB engineer Abani Patra, who is chief investigator on the project, gives us an overview of the complicated science behind lava flow prediction. It's a multi-disciplinary technology that combines complex mathematical language, 3D simulations and high-altitude photographic images that can be downloaded, within seconds, by a computer anywhere in the world. 

River of molten lava flows through Goma, DRC

 A team of UB geologists, engineers, and mathematicians is busy translating the virtual reality predictions into real world use. Their initial focus is on three Mexican volcanoes, including the country's most active one in Colima. UB Geologist Michael Sheridan knows first hand how difficult it can be to respond effectively to the crisis of an erupting volcano. "I've been in volcanic crises for the last 25 years, and I know what goes on inside those rooms," he says. "People standing there arguing, this is going to happen, that's going to happen. Where do they get these ideas? Generally, it's an international community, so it's something like the Olympic judging. We want to get rid of that, and allow a clear plan to be available."

 The rugged, soft-spoken scientist has been jumping on planes in the middle of the night for decades, responding to the deadly aftermath of volcanoes, like the 1998 eruption in Casita, Nicaragua that killed 2000 people. Until now, scientists usually showed up at such sites with too little information to help move local residents to safety.
 
 

Back in his office, Professor Sheridan talks with Mexican student Gabrell Legorreta. The geologist demonstrates how computer simulations, displayed on a conventional personal computer, will soon be helping to protect Gabrell's family, in far away Mexico City.

Legorreta: "So, in this kind of representation, I can put land use or cities that could be affected by that kind of eruption?"
Sheridan: "Absolutely!"
 
 

Eruption of Popocatepetl volcano, Mexico

 By this summer, probability models are expected to be available on the Internet, for at least the most active Mexican volcanoes Popocatepetl, Colima, and Pico Orizaba. Public officials will also be able to transfer the computerized images to CD-ROM or video, and hand carry them to people in remote, unwired areas without access to the Internet. Scientists are hoping these pictures will be worth more than 1,000 words… they're hoping they will save thousands of lives.