A journey through the desert to fight fear and prejudice

The explorer Perrotti joins forces with a blind marathon runner

Milano, 10 nov. (Apcom) - Today Carla Perotti, also known as the "dunes lady", and Fabio Pasinetti, a blind marathon runner, leaves from Milano to reach the oasis of Dakhla in Eygpt, a demanding 15 day journey to show common participation in the fight against prejudice towards any kind of impairment. The 155-mile walk through the White Desert, south-west of Cairo, was organized within the project 'Nuove Frontiere' (New Frontiers), which is sponsored by the municipal committee for Health.

During its venture, the pair will be completely independent. The two athletes will have to deal with a 40-degree temperature range and with the lack of natural water supply: their solitude will be interrupted only by the satellite conversations with the expedition team. At the end of every stage, they will pitch their base camp for the overnight stay by themselves.

"The new frontier of this undertaking doesn't lie in the overcoming of a sports record, but rather in the sharing of such a strong experience," said Carla Perrotti, who last April alone crossed the Akaus Tadrarf in Libya on foot. For Fabio Pasinetti it will be the first trip across a desert. "With this adventure I want to knock down the wall of prejudice that still affects people with impairments."

Natalie Cole is the star of the 2008 Christmas concert

The free event will be held in piazza Duomo on December 20th

Milano, 10 nov. (Apcom) - This year's Christmas concert in piazza Duomo will be led by the American singer and songwriter Natalie Cole, who will be accompanied by the Sofia Ladies Orchestra, the first ensemble made up entirely of female musicians. After Ennio Morricone and Michael Bolton, the most renowned Milanese square will welcome another undisputed international star. The event will be held on December 20th and, as by tradition, it will be free.

Natalie Cole is the daughter of jazz icon Nat King Cole. Organizers hope that she will perform her father's famous song 'Unforgettable' as a virtual duet, as it happened in 1991 for the album 'Unforgettable� with Love'. In the early stages of her career the Californian singer didn't want to capitalize on her father's name. However, she gradually changed her mind and in this work she pledged her complete devotion to the 'King' and his music.

The 2008 Christmas playbill also includes a new festival called 'Love Supreme', which will take place between December 10th and January 6th. Ethnic and jazz bands, gospel and soul artists from Mali, Morocco, Israel and Libya will perform in some of the most beautiful Milanese churches to give a fresh perspective on the subject of interreligious dialogue.

Immigration: Milano is Italy's leading province

In Lombardy's schools 1 pupil out of 10 is foreign

Milano, 6 nov. (Apcom) - With over 414,800 citizens coming from abroad, Milano stands out as Italy's leading province as regards the number of regular immigrants, while Lombardy is first among the regions with over one million, equal to 29.3% of the national total. It is above all in schools that the migratory phenomenon is noticeable: one pupil out of 10 is foreign, twice as much as the Italian average. This is some of the latest data on immigration released by Caritas and Fondazione Migrantes through their yearly statistical dossier.

At a regional level, in the ranking of the main countries of origin Romania moves from third to first place, followed by Morocco, Albania and Egypt. Compared with last year, Romanian citizens have increased by 70%, an immediate consequence of the country's entry in the European Union. However, the flow of Romanian citizens concerns Lombardy's provinces rather than the capital, where the Filipinos keep their primacy (28,020 equal to 15.9%). Then come Egyptians (22,946, 13%), Chinese (14,723, 8.4%), Peruvians (14,063, 8%) and Ecuadorians (12,343, 7%).

The Lombardy schools are Italy's most multi-ethnic: the region's classes host 137,444 children of immigrants. "These figures bind Lombard people, politicians, entrepreneurs, representatives of the civil society and the ecclesial world, to take a definite responsibility," explained don Roberto Davanzo, director of Caritas Ambrosiana. "We must make all possible efforts to integrate the new citizens coming from abroad who now live with us in our neighbourhoods and factories. As education plays a key role from this point of view, especially for the new generations, we should start from schools."

Al Jarida, Milano is the cradle of the first Italian-Arab monthly

16 pages of politics, culture and social events in 2 languages

Milano, 6 nov. (Apcom) - Sixteen pages on recycled paper written both in Italian and in Arabic: this is 'Al Jarida' ('The newspaper' in Arabic), the monthly free press published and distributed in Milano by the association 'Medinaterranea' with the support of the provincial government. Currently the trial issue, which has a circulation of 2,000 copies, is given out in the Italian language schools for foreigners, in shops run by Arab-speaking citizens and in the mosques of Padova street and Quaranta street.

"Al Jarida is born from an idea of some Italian and Arab cultural mediators. It is an independent monthly magazine that deals with culture, politics and analysis of the territory," it is reported in a sort of presentation on the trial issue. "The aim is to encourage the integration of the Arab community within the Italian and Milanese civil society through a work of information and investigation. This magazine is also useful for those who just want to widen their knowledge on the Arab world and discover new models of integration."

According to its founders, ten volunteers under the age of 30, the newly born magazine is aimed at "both social workers and people who can't get information from Italian media because of linguistic barriers." In its 16 pages, 'Al Jarida' covers political, cultural and social events that can arouse the interest of Arabic-speaking migrants. A notice board gathers notices and announcements for the associations dealing with social services. The first goal of the journal's founders is to get enough advertising in order to achieve full financial autonomy.