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> Fri., Apr. 29, 2005
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Reaction to Bush's Nationally Syndicated Press Conference
A Look At Election in the UK
Surprise Announcement During Condoleeza Rice's Visit to Chile
Anniversary of Abu Graihb Photo Scandal
Employees at the Country's Largest Linen Service Provider
Prepare for Strike
FSRN Headlines
Iraq car bomb
At least 31 people have been killed and more than 100 injured
in a wave of car bomb attacks targeting Iraqi Security forces
in and around Baghdad. The apparently coordinated blasts came
just a day after Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari unveiled his
new cabinet. No one has admitted to carrying out the attacks,
the deadliest of which took place in Baghdads Adhamiya area.
A tape purportedly from Al-Qaeda’s point man in Iraq,
Abu-Musab Al Zarqawi, calls for more attacks on American forces.
Four blasts rocked the Sunni dominated neighborhood of Adhamiya.
The bombs went off within minutes of each other and targeted
patrols of Iraqi police and national guards as well as a restaurant
they frequent. A short while later, a bomb exploded as an
Iraqi army convoy passed through the east of the city. One
soldier was killed and eight wounded. Another bomb went off
as people gathered to investigate. Three other devices went
off close to a military checkpoint, a hospital and post offices
in the town of Madaen, south of Baghdad, killing troops and
wounding civilians.
Italy shooting
Italy and the US say an investigation of an Italian intelligence
agent’s killing by US troops in Iraq is finished, with
the government’s reaching different conclusions. The
two countries said in a joint statement that investigators
couldn’t “reach shared final conclusions.”
The agent was shot as his car approached a US checkpoint near
Baghdad airport. An Italian hostage, who the agent had just
freed from kidnappers, was wounded in the incident. The joint
statement says the two countries are now referring the case
to their own national authorities.
Japan Activists
More than 800 Japanese anti-nuclear activists are in the US
to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Ingrid Drake
with the DC radio cooperative caught up with the group in
Washington.
Taiwan and China
Taiwan’s opposition leader and Chinese president Hu
Jintao promised today to work together to end hostilities
between Taipei and Beijing, during the highest level meeting
between the two sides since they fought a civil war 60 years
ago. The Taiwanese government criticiszed the talks, saying
they would do nothing to improve relations. Hu and Nationalist
party chairman Lien Chan met in the Chinese legislative hall
in Beijing. Lien’s visit is the first by a nationalist
leader since the party, which once ruled all of China, fled
the mainland following its defeat by the communists in 1949.
Pepper Spray Trial
A jury in federal district court in San Francisco returned
a unanimous verdict today in what is known as the Pepper Spray
trial, involving logging activists and Northern California
police agencies. Tori Taylor reports.
[top]
Reaction to Bush's Nationally Syndicated Press Conference
(4:05)
President Bush gave a press conference last night which
was nationally syndicated by major television networks. Our
correspondent Mitch Jeserich brings us reaction to the President's
support of introducing progressive price indexing to Social
Security as well as to his defense of his nominee John Bolton
to become ambassador to the UN.
[top]
A Look At Election in the UK (4:06)
Britain is in the final countdown to the general elections
on May 5. Today's latest poll results indicate that Labour
is leading, followed by the Tories- or Conservative Party.
Labour's Tony Blair has been dogged by criticism of the allied
invasion of Iraq and issues of trust. While the main opposition
Conservative party supported the war, the second largest opposition
party, the Liberal Democrats, opposed it. They're expected
to gain some votes from angry voters - but not enough to knock
Labour from government. From London, Naomi Fowler brings us
this Report.
[top]
Surprise Announcement During Condoleeza Rice's Visit
to Chile (3:48)
A major diplomatic coup occurred this today when it was
announced that, for the first time ever, a US-backed candidate
will not lead the multilateral Organization of American States,
or OAS. US-backed Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez
has decided to drop out of the race for the OAS, an organization
which has been considered by many to be an instrument of US
foreign policy throughout the Americas. Center-left Chilean
Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza is now the only remaining
candidate. The announcement came as US Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice was in Chile, meeting Latin American diplomats
to discuss the OAS election. Insulza is expected to be elected
unanimously on Monday when the OAS reconvenes in Washington.
FSRN's Jorge Garretón has more from Santiago.
[top]
Anniversary of Abu Graihb Photo Scandal
(3:38)
One year after publication of gruesome photos of prisoners
held at abu Ghraib, the United States military says it continues
to hold more than 10,000 Iraqis in prison in Iraq. Among them
is a well-known Kurdish scholar, Mullah Ali Bapir. He was
arrested almost two years ago on his way to a meeting with
a US commander, and has been held at a high security prison
near Baghdad airport ever since. Aaron Glantz reports.
[top]
Employees at the Country's Largest Linen Service
Provider Prepare for Strike (3:59)
The largest linen service provider in the nation, Anjelica
Textile Services provides laundry services to 150 hospitals
in Los Angeles County. The company has 30 plants nationwide;
nearly half are in California, with 2,000 workers on the brink
of strike. Anjelica has been cited 65 times by OSHA, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration for safety and health violations,
working conditions union officials with UNITE HERE say have
brought contract negotiations back to the days of coal mines
and sweatshops. From KPFK in Los Angeles, FSRN's Page Getz
filed this report.
[top]
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