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> Tue., May. 3, 2005
FSRN
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Today's lead stories:
New Pentagon Report: US Military Resources Being Stretched
Thin
Split Widens Between Iran and the US at UN Conference on Nuclear
Proliferation
National Identification System Draws Critics
Northern Uganda’s LRA Rebels May Avoid War Crimes Trials
Days Before the Election, Tony Blair Under Increasing Scrutiny
Over War in Iraq
Racial Tensions Escalate in St. Petersburg, Florida
FSRN Headlines
Brits Sue Blair Over Soldiers’ Deaths
The widow of a British soldier killed yesterday in Iraq has
just publicly blamed Tony Blair for her husband's death. And
today, relatives of other soldiers killed in Iraq announced
they will sue the Prime Minister over the legality of the
war. From London, Naomi Fowler has more.
Iraqi Government Sworn-In
Iraqis were sworn in today as the first elected government.
Leading the new Shi-ite majority, new Prime Minister Ibrahim
al-Jaafari said he wants to help all Iraqis. (TAPE 0:14) But,
insurgents are still struggling against the U.S. occupation
with more violence. More than a dozen were reportedly killed,
and three were wounded, as was a 6-year-old child in a gunfight
with U.S. soldiers.
Palestinians Struggle for Internal Peace
The Palestinian President is carefully holding on to the tattered
threads of the tenuous ceasefire. Manar Jibreen has more from
the Independent Middle East Media
FL Judge Says State Teen Can Have Abortion
A Florida judge ruled that a teenager in state custody is
mentally competent and can decide whether to have an abortion.
Mitch Perry reports from WMNF in Tampa.
World Press Freedom Day
Today is the 15th Annual World Press Freedom Day. According
to Tala Dowlatshahi (tah-lah do-lat-SHA-hee) of Reporters
Without Borders, 2004 was a deadly one for journalists and
it is only getting worse in 2005. (TAPE 0:29) According to
the United Nations organization that sponsors the event, a
“free and pluralistic media have a crucial role to play
in the good governance of democratic societies, by ensuring
transparency and accountability, promoting participation and
the rule of law, and contributing to the fight against poverty.”
[top]
New Pentagon Report: US Military Resources Being
Stretched Thin (4:02)
A Pentagon report indicates that the US Military would have
a harder time confronting a 3rd conflict due to escalating
resources and troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a classified
report leaked to the New York Times, Chair of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff General Richard Myers asserts that US forces and
equipment are already stretched thin, and that a new military
conflict would be even more deadly for both the troops and
civilians. Meanwhile, the US Military announced that for the
3rd month in a row, it missed its recruitment quotas. Mitch
Jeserich has more from Washington.
[top]
Split Widens Between Iran and the US at UN Conference
on Nuclear Proliferation (3:53)
At the United Nations Conference on nuclear proliferation,
rifts deepened as the United States accused Iran of violating
international agreement and producing nuclear weapons, while
Iran spoke of the inconsistent policy between nuclear and
non-nuclear states. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell has more.
[top]
National Identification System Draws Critics
(2:55)
In the next two weeks, the U.S. House and Senate are set
to vote on legislation that would require the creation of
a national identification system. Supporters of this kind
of license say that it will deter terrorism but critics say
that this legislation will make people less free. Selina Musuta
of the dc radio coop has more from Washington, DC
[top]
Northern Uganda’s LRA Rebels May Avoid War
Crimes Trials (3:56)
Rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA in northern
Uganda may be spared from prosecution for war crimes. The
International Criminal Court, or ICC chief prosecutor Luis
Moreno Ocampo recently announced that the court would suspend
the trial to facilitate peace efforts. A delegation of religious,
cultural and district leaders from Northern Uganda recently
met with the ICC chief prosecutor in an attempt to stop, or
at least slow down the trial of the notorious rebels. Joshua
Kyalimpa reports from Uganda.
[top]
Days Before the Election, Tony Blair Under Increasing
Scrutiny Over War in Iraq (2:39)
Until last week, Tony Blair's re-election as Prime Minister
looked inevitable. But a series of leaked documents casting
doubt on the war’s legality and the Prime Ministers
honesty, have propelled Iraq back to the centre stage. In
Scotland, Labour Party supporters are deserting in droves
for anti-war candidates, including Rose Gentle, who knows
the price of this war better than most- she lost her son in
Iraq last June. Tom Allan has the story.
[top]
Racial Tensions Escalate in St. Petersburg, Florida
(2:47)
Over the past two weeks, a videotape of a 5 year old black
girl being handcuffed by 3 white police officers because she
was throwing a temper-tantrum has been shown repeatedly on
TV all over the world. While the debate on the editorial pages
of newspapers has centered around the issue of who was at
fault for the inappropriate situation—the police, the
teachers, or the parents of Ja-eisha Atkins, in St Petersburg
Florida, the incident is putting more stress on racial tensions
in a community that’s had problems with police and the
schools for years. From WMNF radio in Tampa, Andrew Stelzer
reports.
[top]
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