Archive - May 1, 2009

• Speculation brewing over Obama’s replacement for Souter
• An H1N1 flu update
• Economic recession fuels massive May Day protest around the world
• Flu crisis means Mexicans stay home
• Street Beat: immigrant workers and activists in New York
• Nigerian workers stage nationwide protests
• Insurance payments halted for injured Palestinian workers

• Half million May Day protesters on the streets in Berlin
• Sex workers in India call for recognition
• Myanmar marks one-year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis
• Appeals Court denies stay of deportation for accused Nazi guard in Ohio
• The Progressive celebrates 100 years

Supreme Court Justice David Souter is expected to retire sometime this summer, during the court’s recess. That will give President Obama his first chance to fill a seat on the high court. FSRN’s Tanya Snyder reports from Capitol Hill.

Hong Kong confirmed its first case of the so-called swine flu Friday – which marks the first known carrier in Asia. A man who arrived Thursday in Hong Kong from Mexico is now quarantined and being treated for the virus. 300 guests and staff at the hotel he checked in to are also under quarantine. Britain, meanwhile, has verified the first human-to-human spread of the virus also known as A/H1 N1. Domestically, the CDC has confirmed 141 cases in 19 states today – just yesterday the figures were 109 people infected in 11 states.
The Swine Flu outbreak is President Obama’s first major public health challenge.  As states prepare to manage the outbreak, the federal government’s approach to emergency preparedness marks a shift from the previous administration. FSRN's Sam Greenspan has more from Washington.

Police used flash grenades to scatter thousands of May Day marchers in Athens, Greece today. Authorities say demonstrators attacked security cameras and banks, but no arrests were made – although several arrests took place around the globe in what is commonly referred to as Labor Day in most of the world. A sinking economy has taken its toll on workers internationally, and hundreds of thousands of them took to the streets today. Some 100 mostly youth protesters were taken into custody in Ankara, Turkey, after demonstrators clashed with police who used water cannons and tear gas to break up their protest. Authorities said protesters hurled rocks and gas bombs at police and attacked banks and high-end stores. About 200 people were arrested in Germany today – most of those arrests happened after far-right skinheads clashed with a trade unionist march. France saw massive demonstrations today: almost 300 marches and rallies were held across that nation, as students and workers from varying sectors protested their governments policies during the recession.

As the economic recession is fueling protests in many parts of the world, a different crisis is keeping workers off the streets: people in Mexico City traditionally take  to the streets on May Day. Today, they can’t: their government has ordered all 103 million Mexicans to stay home, starting today until May 5.

Here in the United States, thousands are marching to demand respect and dignity for workers and immigrants. May Day demonstrations started at noon in New York City and are expected to last well into the evening. Many of the city's rallies focus on immigrant rights – a topic that brought more than a million people out to the nation's streets on the first of May, 2006. Immigrant worker coalitions from around New York gathered in a rainy Union Square park, where Community News Production Institute reporters spoke with immigrant workers and activists as the demonstration began.