By Rashid Alshakshir

MELBOURNE - Muslims in Australia join others throughout the world this week in celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan and the start of three days of feasting.

The festivities in suburban Broadmeadows, which begin Sept. 10, feature something different this year with a poetry-writing workshop conducted by Zohab Khan, a Sydney-born Pakistani now living in Wagga Wagga, NSW.

By Denis Kayenge Kinkufi

MELBOURNE - American President John F. Kennedy once declared that "one person can make a difference and every person should try" and a group of Congolese in Australia, concerned at the situation in the country of their birth, have taken up his challenge.

The Democratic Republic of Congo Community Association of Victoria (DRCCAV) represents about 300 Congolese now resident in the state and is the largest such Congolese community association in the nation.

By Sash Herceg

MELBOURNE - A group of Australian students are on the adventure of a lifetime -- walking the famous 96 kms Kokoda Trail through the rugged Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea.

The 16 students from Debney Park Secondary College in Flemington and St. Bernard's in Essendon, have diverse backgrounds including Croatia, Sudan, Somalia and Vietnam.  Their trip was made possible through a Victoria Police program to break barriers between police and young people.

When Albertina Gwenhure left Zimbabwe to study in Australia, she dreamed of the opportunities that would change her family's fortunes.
 
"Life in Zimbabwe was very hard," she says. "But my parents sacrificed to sell most of the assets they owned so they could send me here to study in the hope that after I finish my studies I will get residency."
 
But two years later, those dreams are in tatters after a Federal Government decision in February to change immigration laws left Albertina, and hundreds of other students like her, out in the cold.
 

 Melbourne - Wesa Chau, a leading advocate for international students and a member of an innovative media mentoring project, has been named Young Victorian of the Year.
 
Ms Chau, 27, founded the Australian Federation of International Students (AFIS) in 2002 after emigrating to Australia from China as a child.  She received her award on Thursday at a ceremony to mark Victoria Day held at Melbourne Town Hall.
 

By Sherinald Shwe
 

Lwe Moo San Tay, Sheri Shwe and Myo Toke are returning to the Thai-Burma border to help their people.
Picture: DAVID SMITH, Leader Community Newspapers
 
MYO Toke was just four when he and his family were forced to flee from their Karen village in north-east Burma when it was burned down by soldiers.

“At the time I wasn’t scared. I didn’t know the danger we were in when our village was attacked because I was running with my family and I felt very safe,” says Myo, now 19.

By Fatima Dennaoui
 
Melbourne is a city of festivals, with regular celebrations of art and culture taking place throughout the year.
 
February marks the Lunar New Year with partying in Chinatown, while March has both Moomba, and the Greek Australian community’s Antipodes Festival.
 
In the western suburb of Newport, a twice-yearly Eid festival is a big celebration for local Muslim and non-Muslim residents.
 
This audio report from Fatima Dennaoui.

By Samantha van Zweden

 MELBOURNE - Victoria’s Indonesian community jammed the Immigration Museum in mid-March for a one-day festival celebrating the diverse culture, activities and food of their homeland.

By Akech M Manyiel

 Melbourne - Sudanese youths have moved to counter racist attacks by holding a national Sudanese basketball tournament.