Beijing discards recyclers

Tens of thousands of migrant workers scour Beijing for recyclable scraps.

But they won't be trading any trash this August as they are being pushed out of town as Beijing gears up to present a sanitized modern city to millions of Olympic visitors.

Liu, a trash collector, said this was his only source of income.

SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin with English ) MR. LIU, REFUSE COLLECTOR AND TRADER FROM HENAN PROVINCE, SAYING:

"Of course I don't want to leave Beijing, because here I can make around 30 to 50 yuan a day, if I go home I can't make anything."

The estimated 170,000 unofficial recyclers make a meagre living collecting and selling anything recyclable, from plastic drinks bottles to cardboard.

The vast majority are migrants from rural areas of provinces like Henan and Sichuan.

This army recycles a fourth of Beijing's trash.

According to Beijing Municipal Administration Commission, who advises the city government, the migrants present a host of problems for the coming green Olympics.

Their recent survey shows that more than 70 percent of the collectors have contracted infectious diseases and more than half have criminal records..

Wang Weiping advises the government.

SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin with English translation) WANG WEIPING, EXPERT FROM BEIJING URBAN ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION, SAYING:

"It's more about social order and safety, which includes preventing the spread of infectious diseases."

The government has already closed down scores of markets where trash used to be traded, cutting off the migrants' incomes.

But Wang expects the recyclers to be back after the games.

In Beijing, I'm Kitty Bu, reporting for Reuters.

Cuba economic health warning

The global economic crisis is slowing the pace of economic reforms in Cuba.

That's the message from President Raul Castro in his first speech to the National Assembly since taking office in February.

He says rising food and oil prices mean it'll take more time to lift wage caps - a key reform aimed at boosting incentives for workers.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RAUL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT, SAYING:

"Socialism means social justice and equality, but equality of rights, of opportunities, not of income. Equality is not egalitarianism, the latter is also a form of exploitation -- that of the good worker because of the one who isn't, or worse yet, the lazy one."

Decentralizing food production is one of the key reforms introduced by Raul Castro.

Farmers are to be given more scope to decide how to use their land - which crops to plant and supplies to buy.

And unused state land is being lent to private farmers, part of a drive to boost agricultural output.

The Cuban leader told the assembly it wouldn't be "ethical to create false expectations" of quick action on reforms.

He sat beside an empty seat reserved for his brother Fidel, the former president.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RAUL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT, SAYING:

"All of us who are here...are in agreement but, very importantly, he who sits over there (gesturing to Fidel's seat and making sign of a beard with hand) where I sit is also in full agreement."

A signal meant to reassure that his economic reforms have the full support of his brother, who hasn't been seen in public since having emergency stomach surgery nearly two years ago.

Susan Flory, Reuters

Colombia rebels allege betrayal

Cameras of the Colombian military captured that dramatic moment when Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages realize they are free.

Now Colombia's FARC rebel group says it was betrayed by its own men in that daring escape --- the group's provided no details, but these are the two men it's pointing its fingers at---Cesar and Enrique, seen here after their capture by Colombian military last week.

Both men were guarding the hostages, before their rescue by Colombian intelligence agents posing as aid workers.

Colombia says it had infiltrated the FARC for the bloodless mission---A strategy that's part of a marked tactical shift for a military used to more traditional methods of confrontation----

Analysts attribute the change in course to this man----Colombia's Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos---and his two-pronged approach-----infilitrate FARC and target their top leaders

Pedro Medellin, Colombia political analyst, saying, (Spanish):

"Upon the arrival of Minister Santos, there was a very important change in strategy, from the U.S. strategy of attack, of confrontation, of war on the guerrillas--- to a more efficient Israeli model. A model similar to the one followed with Hamas in which the top heads of the FARC were targeted, and that substantially modified conditions. They infiltrated and had successful infiltration"

It was the strategy that Colombia used in March 2008 when Colombian forces crossed the border into Ecuador and killed Raul Reyes--a top FARC commander

.

Laptops recovered from the raid provided Colombia crucial information about the FARC--but also sparked a regional crisis between a pro-US Colombia and its leftist neighbors, Ecuador and Venezuela.

But for Colombian president Alvor Uribe, the strikes against FARC have meant record approval ratings at home.

And with the success of last week's high-profile rescue under his belt, Uribe met with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez at a summit aimed to repair ties between the neighbors.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ALVARO URIBE, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT, SAYING:

"We want the relationship with our sister country Ecuador to be reconstructed as quickly as possible. I've expressed all my willingness regarding this to President Chavez."

For much of the year, the two leader exchanged charges that each destabilized their nations, but on Friday they shared handshakes and pledges to boost $6 billion in annual trade.

Pavithra George,Reuters

G8 eyes oil woes

G8 summit leaders, facing record oil and food prices, tried to tackle a host of economic and environmental woes Tuesday.

Soaring inflation has hit developed and developing countries, while climate change is a centerpiece of the Toyako summit.

The G8 said serious economic risks and financial market strains exist, with commodity prices challenging global growth.

A world forum on oil prices is planned, bringing together major producers and consumers.

The G8 noted a "shared vision" to make 50% cuts in CO2 emissions by 2050, adding all major economies such as China and India need to contribute.

The statement included plans to develop new eco-technologies and provide funds to help poorer nations limit greenhouse gas emissions.

The G8 made a thinly-veiled call to let China's yuan appreciate, a subject leaders may address directly in meetings with Beijing's head of state later this week.

Dan Sloan reporting.

Italian fingerprint plans attacked

There are 140,000 Roma living in Italy.

Most of them live on squalid shanty sites with poor sanitation and no running water.

Now they are being targeted in a government crackdown on crime for which the Roma are widely blamed.

Interior department has ordered a census of Roma camps in which all Roma including children will be fingerprinted.

The plan has met with strong criticism from human rights and aid groups .

They say it is racist and treats Roma people like criminals.

One religious charity Sant'Egidio Community said the census went against the EU's anti discrimination rules because it was aimed at a single ethnic group.

He says:

SOUNDBITE: Sant'egidio's President, Marco Impagliazzo, saying: (Italian)

"I don't know if this is racism or not. But the new rules look confused to say the least. They seem wrong because they seem highly discriminatory".

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government has also created "special commissioners" for what it calls the Roma emergency.

Sant'Egidio vowed that they will organise demonstrations if the government pushes forward with the new census procedures.

Penny Tweedie, Reuters

squalid

Adjective dirty, untidy, and in bad condition

shanty

Noun pl -ties a small rough hut

crackdown n.

An act or example of forceful regulation, repression, or restraint: a crackdown on crime.

v. vowed, vow·ing, vows

v.tr. To promise solemnly; pledge