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> Thur., Feb. 2, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Senate Considers Tax Cut Provisions
John Negroponte Testifies that Wire Tapping is Essential to
Security
Emergency Meeting Considers Iran’s Nuclear Activities
A Look at US-India Bilateral Relations
Los Angeles City Council Petitioned for Immigrant Rights
FSRN Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Subcomandante Marcos:
Part 2
FSRN Headlines
RECORD PROFITS FOR SHELL
The Anglo-Dutch oil company, Shell, today announced record
profits for a British company. Consumer groups are calling
on the government to implement a windfall tax. From London,
Naomi Fowler reports:
Shell's reported profits of almost 23 billion dollars isn't
far off 3 million dollars an hour. Most of that came from
oil and gas extraction and strongly benefited from the rising
cost of crude oil. It's great news for shareholders, say campaigners,
but it's very bad news for Britain's 1.8 million households
currently victims of fuel poverty. Households that spend more
than 10% of their income on heating and power are deemed to
be in fuel poverty. And that's only set to rise as Britain
continues to suffer along with the rest of Europe from problems
with gas supplies as Russia and the Ukraine (who pipes the
gas to Europe) fight over pricing. The Confederation of British
Industry has warned that if this winter is as cold as predicted,
there could be power shortfalls caused by the rising domestic
demand to keep warm, which could even lead to factory shutdowns
and a three-day working week. Britain has only 11 days' supply
of gas in reserve. The government has not commented on the
possibility of a windfall tax. This is Naomi Fowler in London
for Free Speech Radio News.
OIL TANKER ACCIDENT
At airtime, the Associated Press is reporting that a fully-loaded
oil tanker has run aground in Alaska. Some fuel is reportedly
present in the water, but it is unclear if it is from a leak
in the ship or from damaged refinery fuel lines.
ECUADOR-COLOMBIA BORDER SITUATION
Colombia and Ecuador have been on the verge of a diplomatic
crisis since last week, after an incursion by members of the
Colombian Armed Forces into Ecuadoran territory. From Bogotá,
Nicole Karsin has more.
Ecuadoran Defense Minister, Oswaldo Jarrin, has sent airplanes
and troops to the common border with Colombia, after the Colombian
Armed Forces crossed over into Ecuador last week. This is
the third incident of Colombian troops illegally crossing
the border and fighting in Ecuador in the past four months.
In pursuit of a top rebel leader, the Colombian armed forces
engaged in heavy combat with the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia, or FARC, in the southern border state of Putumayo
on January 28th. According to locals in the Sucumbios province
of Ecuador, during the battle, some 300 Colombian soldiers,
three Black Hawk helicopters, and two planes belonging to
the Colombian armed forces opened fire around their villages.
Defense Minister Jarrin activated Ecuador's ariel defense
system saying that Colombia's repeated incursions into Ecuador's
territory are premeditated. A bilateral commission is currently
investigating the incident and Colombia says it will respond
to Ecuador once the results from the investigation are in.
In Bogotá, I'm Nicole Karsin For FSRN.
CEASEFIRE TENSION IN SRI LANKA
A Norwegian truce monitoring group in Sri Lanka says the recent
abduction of 10 Tamil aid workers could threaten peace talks
that the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels agreed to a
week ago. Ponniah Manikavasagam reports from Sri Lanka.
The Tamil Rahabilitation Orgainzation, or TRO, reported 10
of its aid workers and staff members were abducted Sunday
near an army camp in the eastern province. But the government
said the story is fabricated. Hagrup Haukland, head of the
Norwegian truce monitoring mission, said the abductions are
a bad sign. The government and the rebels first entered into
a ceasefire agreement in 2002 to bring an end to the two decades
of ethnic conflict. Erik Soleheim the visiting Norwegian peace
envoy announced last week both parties have agreed to meet
in Geneva to resume peace talks that stalled two years ago.
The Sri Lankan conflict has resulted in the deaths of more
than 65 thousand civilians and 35 thousand combatants. For
Free Speech Radio News, I am Ponniah Manikavasagam from Vavuniya,
Sri Lanka.
ARMY RECRUITING RESTRICTIONS EASED
Online magazine, salon.com is reporting that the Army is overlooking
certain past convictions in order to cope with a recruiting
shortfall. Salon obtained documents under the Freedom of Information
Act that show an increase in Pentagon-approved waivers to
allow potential recruits with past offenses into the Armed
Services. According to figures handed over by the Pentagon's
public affairs office, waivers were granted to 17 percent
of recruits admitted into the Army in 2005.
[top]
Senate Considers Tax Cut Provisions (3:34)
The Senate is voting on a series of tax cut provisions that
would extend some cuts that are already in place, and add
new ones. Tax payers would save 70 billion dollars in the
next 5 years. The tax cut debate continues on the Senate floor
today, one day after the House passed a federal budget savings
plan amounting to 40 billion dollars. Leigh Ann Caldwell has
more from Capital Hill.
[top]
John Negroponte Testifies that Wire Tapping is Essential
to Security (2:04)
Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte testified
today in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
to present an annual assessment of national threats. He stressed
that the globalization of technologies and the emergence of
transnational networks complicates intelligence gathering
and makes the surveillance of international phone calls absolutely
necessary. Anastasia Gnezditskaia reports from Washington,
DC.
[top]
Emergency Meeting Considers Iran’s Nuclear
Activities (3:58)
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, held an
emergency meeting in Vienna today to finalize a report on
Iran's nuclear activities. The report will then be sent to
the U-N Security Council in New York. The document is the
result of late-night talks in the Austrian capital between
the five permanent members of the Security Council. Representatives
from the US, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France,
plus Germany, coordinated their final position on Tuesday.
As Saeedeh Jamshidi reports, the formal referral of Iran's
nuclear case to the Security Council could result in sanctions
being imposed against Tehran in March.
[top]
A Look at US-India Bilateral Relations (4:55)
As India grows closer to the US in its bilateral relations,
it is also putting an end to its nuclear isolation. The US-India
deal is India's masterstroke for integrating itself in the
global nuclear framework, and drawing its advantages. The
Indian government is apparently banking on post-Cold War global
realities, as well as on the Bush administration's commitment
that it is in the strategic interests of the United States
for India to emerge as a major global power. FSRN's Binu Alex
has more.
[top]
Los Angeles City Council Petitioned for Immigrant
Rights (2:23)
A pro-immigrant rights group staged a procession in downtown
Los Angeles today, to deliver signed petitions to the Los
Angeles City Council, asking legislators to oppose anti-immigrant
assaults and support a measure that would make the city a
sanctuary for immigrants. FSRN’s Leilani Albano has
more.
[top]
FSRN Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Subcomandante
Marcos: Part 2 (3:48)
 Zapatista
Subcomandante Marcos, now known as Delegate Zero, has already
made his way through the Mexican 6 states in southern Mexico,
as part of the Other Campaign. I caught up with him a few
days ago at the Center for the Documentation of Son Jarocho
in Jáltipan, Veracruz, for an FSRN exclusive one-on-one
interview
[top]
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