The British only stayed for a week, then marched out of town on July 4th, five years to the day after the American colonies had first declared their independence.

VOA: standard.2010.07.03

In her childhood, Independence was a town of some eleven thousand people, but its population has declined to about nine thousand.

NEWYORKER: The Contrarian

In renewable energy news, the German town of Feldheim has set a new standard for energy independence by generating 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources and operating its own power grid.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: P1 hybrid supercar, asteroid attack lasers and mosquito inoculators

He was a northern aristocrat the caste that has ruled Nigeria for most of its 37 years since independence and his home town, Katsina, might have been expected to support General Abacha, another northern soldier, who was thought to be about to release General Yar'Adua.

ECONOMIST: Nigeria