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> Fri., Nov. 5, 2004
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
Bush’s vision for Foreign Policy ~ next 4 years
Iraqi’s prepare for dark days ~ Attack on Fallujah begins
Voting for More
UN says Sudan situation critical
Any justice for Muslims in India?
Mexican Journalists under attack
FSRN Headlines
Arafat Update
There are conflicting reports today regarding the condition
of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A spokesperson for the
military hospital treating him said in the evening that Arafat’s
condition had been stable for the past twenty-four hours,
declaring “the state of health of president Arafat has
not worsened.” Palestinian envoy to France Leila Shahid
denied Arafat was brain dead and said he is in a reversible
coma. Arafat has not named a successor, but some of his powers
over security and financing have been transferred to Prime
Minister Ahmed Quriea.
Unemployment Figures
The number of people without jobs in Americas rose slightly
in October to 5.5 percent. Aliya Shahid reports from Washington
DC.
DNA Collection in California
The ACLU says it will sue to stop California from implementing
an initiative that would allow the state to take DNA samples
of who have not been charged with a crime. Kellia Ramares
has more from Berkeley.
Student Sit-in
Nearly one hundred students staged an overnight sit down protest
at Boulder High school in Colorado last night. Maeve Conran
reports from affiliate station KGNU.
Renewed War in Cote D'ivoire?
In the Ivory Coast, air raids carried out by government forces
on the former rebels suggest that war there has reignited,
despite the UN-backed peace process. Rebels and opposition
politicians in Ivory Coast are pleading for international
help as attacks against them by the military and supporters
of President Laurent Gbagbo continued for a second day today.
The violence comes despite more than 10,000 peacekeepers in
the country. The raids were the first major hostilities since
a truce signed in May last year ended fighting that killed
thousands and uprooted more than a million people. U.N. agencies
decided to suspend their relief and humanitarian work throughout
the country as a result of the renewed fighting.
Walmart at Teotihuacan Ruins Site
WalMart inaugurated its controversial superstore within the
perimeter of Mexico City’s famed pre-hispanic Teotihuacan
Ruins despite on-going protests. Tim Russo brings us more
from Mexico.
East Timor Clears Former Governor on Appeal
The only Indonesian jailed for abuses during East Timor's
violence-marred independence vote has been cleared on appeal
in a move that has angered rights groups and embarrassed the
Jakarta government. Abilio Soares, the last Indonesian governor
of East Timor who was jailed for three years in July, could
be released as soon as today following a Supreme Court ruling
acquitting him of crimes against humanity during the UN-backed
referendum. The court said that because East Timor was under
military rule at the time of the bloodshed, the civilian governor
was not responsible.
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Bush’s vision for Foreign Policy ~ next 4
years
Earlier this week, a former Chinese Vice Premiere accused
President Bush of trying to rule the world. Qian Qichen said
Bush’s foreign policy advocates controlling the world
through the use of overwhelming force and that the Iraqi invasion
has caused a rise in terrorist activity and has broaden the
rift between the US and Europe. But, as Mitch Jeserich reports,
Bush, who says he’s just trying to bring freedom to
the world, doesn’t see the need for a change.
[top]
Iraqi’s prepare for dark days ~ Attack on Fallujah
begins
US fighter jets struck the Iraqi city of Fallujah with five
aerial raids in 12 hours in preparation for what is to believed
to be an all out assault on the city. Iraq's US-installed
prime minister, Ayad Allawi, said that the "window is
closing'' for a peaceful settlement to avert war on Fallujah.
Overnight, U.S. troops sealed off roads into the city leaving
residents trapped inside. Nearby highways are full of US army
personnel. Inside Iraq, many are feeling the screws tighten
in the days after the Bush reelection and a resident of Baghdad,
Eman Kmash told FSRN’s Salam Talib that the Bush victory
signals dark days ahead for Iraqis.
[top]
Voting for More
Meanwhile, FSRN’s death-row commentator, Mumia Abu
Jamal, reflects on how John Kerry may indeed have helped Bush
win the election.
[top]
UN says Sudan situation critical
The situation in Sudan is worsening and could soon become
a state of anarchy. That's according to the latest from a
UN special envoy. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell has more from
New York.
[top]
Any justice for Muslims in India?
Another major about face in India with the so-called Best
Bakery trial, the most high profile court case following the
Hindu-Muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat two years
ago. The outcome of the Best Bakery trials, in which Hindu’s
stood trial for violence against Muslims, was over ruled by
India's Supreme Court and a retrial ordered. Now it appears
that one key witness, whose testimony lead to the acquittal
of 21 men, may have lied to the court. And as our Correspondent
Binu Alex reports from Ahmedabad, the witness, Zaheera Sheikh
yesterday accused community activist Teesta Setalvad of “pressuring”
her to make a statement naming “innocent persons”
during the ongoing retrial which, if allowed to stand, clears
the Gujarati government of Narendra Modi of involvement in
the pogrom.
[top]
Mexican Journalists under attack
Mexico's Congress is poised to discuss reforms to federal
communication law which would attempt to regulate concentration
in both radio and television ownership. Last year Mexican
president Vicente Fox reformed the federal communications
law to reduce time set aside for the government to lower taxes
for major media corporations. While media corporations enjoy
many freedoms under Mexican law, many journalists themselves
have been subjected to threats, harassment, and even murder.
In the past six months, four Mexican journalists have been
assassinated. Vladimir Flores takes a look at the climate
of press freedoms South of the Border.
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