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> Thur., Feb. 23, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Debate over Dubai-Owned Port Security Continues
Sunni Arabs Attacked After Shia Mosque Attack
European Parliament Committee Beings “Extraordinary
Rendition” Hearings
Kashmir Rocked by Distinct Protests
New Orleans Lawyers Sue FEMA for Inadequate Assistance
Opposition to Chilean Gold Mining Project
FSRN Headlines
ELECTIONS IN UGANDA
Voters in Uganda went to the polls today in the country's
firstmulti-party elections in 25 years. The twenty-year long
rule ofPresident Yoweri Museveni is being challenged by his
former doctor,Kizza Besigye. Dr. Besigye returned from exile
after announcing hispresidential aspirations...but was later
arrested and made to standtrial for what he says are politically-motivated
charges. If neitherof the top contenders wins an absolute
majority in the first round, arun-off vote will be scheduled
for next month. Some oppositionsupporters have already made
allegations of voting irregularities.
COSTA RICAN ELECTION RESULTS
In other election news, Oscar Arias has unofficially been
declared thepresident-elect of Costa Rica. The announcement
comes after more thantwo weeks of ballot counting in a very
close race. Arias reportedlywon by a razor-thin margin of
two-tenths of a percentage point, whichtranslates to just
over 18,000 votes. Costa Rica's Electoral Tribunalhas yet
to certify the results.
SECTARIAN VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN NIGERIA
Sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims, which started
overthe weekend continues in Nigeria. Sam Olukoya reports
from Lagos.
The southern city of Onitsha has witnessed the worst of the
sectarianviolence. Residents of the city speak of angry youths
with clubs andknives roaming the streets in search of Muslims
from Northern Nigeria.More than a hundred people, mainly Muslims,
have been killed in thecity while several mosques have been
burnt down. Similar attacks werecarried out against the Muslim
populace in a few otherChristian-dominated cities in southern
and central Nigeria. SouthernChristians took up arms against
northern Muslims following earlierkillings of Christians in
northern Nigeria over the weekend. In thenorthern city of
Maiduguri, Muslims youths protesting the publicationsof cartoons
of Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper killed fifty-oneChristians
and burnt thirty churches. In another northern city,fifteen
Christians were killed by Muslims who claimed a Christianwoman
desecrated the Holy Quaran. With the violence threatening
tospread to other parts of Nigeria, both Christian and Muslim
religiousleaders have appealed for calm. For Free Speech Radio
News, this isSam Olukoya in Lagos.
BALATA REFUGEE CAMP INVASION
The Israeli army has moved back into the West Bank city of
Nablus andits nearby refugee camp after a temporary withdrawal
on Wednesday.Manar Jibrin reports.
On Thursday, Israeli forces killed 5 people in the fifth
straight dayof invasions of the Balata refugee Camp, located
in Nablus, in thenorthern part of the West Bank. Three resistance
fighters were killedafter Israeli Apache gunships fired heavy
machine guns at them in theevening. The other two causalities
were civilians who were shot deadthis morning. Israeli forces
backed by bulldozers, military jeeps andarmored personal carriers
invaded the city of Nablus and Balatarefugee camp in the early
morning hours, while Apache helicopterscontinue to circle
overhead. After a four-day invasion, which killedfive Palestinians
and injured dozens, Israeli forces withdrew for partof Wednesday.
At least 50 Israeli military vehicles backed bybulldozers
re-invaded Nablus just after midnight and closed the mainstreets
of the city with roadblocks. For FSRN from IMEMC.Org inPalestine
this is Manar Jibrin.
NUCLEAR DEAL WITH INDIA
Just days before President George W Bush's visit to India,
US UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns met with India's
Foreign Secretarytoday to fine-tune the implementation of
the civilian nuclearagreement. From New Delhi, our correspondent
Vinod K. Jose reports.
(Burns): "There is no question that both of us wanted
tocomplete these negotiations but there are still some remainingdifferences
between us and those differences must be worked, asPresident
Bush said yesterday, that the plan must be transparent,credible."
The separation of civil nuclear programmes from itsmilitary
reactors seems to be a tough job for India. Indian nuclearscientists
think this would mean exposing Indian nuclear technology tothe
US officials. And some of them have openly stated that it
isagainst India's national interest. But the Indian administration
inDelhi wants to push the civilian nuclear agreement signed
between bothcountries to its next stage. The US administration
is apparently verykeen on the business of selling nuclear
energy technology to India. USUnder Secretary of State Nicholas
Burns has visited India three timesin this regard to resolve
what he calls "the differences". It isuncertain
as of now, if a nuclear deal can be reached before PresidentBush's
visit in Delhi next week. From New Delhi in India, this isVinod
K. Jose for FSRN.
[top]
Debate over Dubai-Owned Port Security Continues
(4:05)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to the United
Arab Emirates, a country she calls a strong ally of the United
States. On Capitol Hill meanwhile, Senators questioned administration
officials over the management of port terminals by a Dubai-owned
firm. Senators expressed concerns about national security,
while administration officials defended the UAE as a reliable
partner in the war on terror. Leigh Ann Caldwell has more
on this story from Capitol Hill.
[top]
Sunni Arabs Attacked After Shia Mosque Attack
(3:11)
Some news agencies are reporting that Shiites have killed
more than 100 Sunni Arabs in Iraq, following the destruction
on Wednesday of the venerated Askariya mosque in Samara, north
of Baghdad. More than 100 Sunni mosques across the country
were attacked, and some destroyed. In this report produced
and narrated by David Enders, Salam Talib speaks with Abbas
Al-Robaie, the editor of the Al-Hawza newspaper in Baghdad.
[top]
European Parliament Committee Beings “Extraordinary
Rendition” Hearings (4:01)
A European Parliamentary Committee began its first hearings
today, as it investigates the use of European territory by
the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of terrorism
suspects, as investigations continue throughout the world
looking into the practice of so-called ‘extraordinary
rendition’ - the transport of people by the United States
from jurisdictions where torture is illegal to jurisdictions
where torture is permissible in order to carry out ‘interrogations.’.
From London, Naomi Fowler reports.
[top]
Kashmir Rocked by Distinct Protests (1:57)
Angry protests took place today in the town of Handwara
in Indian-administered Kashmir, where four youth were allegedly
killed in cold blood on Wednesday by the Indian army. Demonstrators
took to the streets for a second day, refusing to bury the
dead unless the culprits were arrested. Kashmir also witnessed
protests in Shia dominated areas against the bombing of the
Shia shrine in Samara Iraq. FSRN’s Shahnawaz Kahn has
more.
[top]
New Orleans Lawyers Sue FEMA for Inadequate Assistance
(3:08)
A group of lawyers in New Orleans is suing the Federal Emergency
Management Agency today, alleging that the agency has not
provided adequate assistance to Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
Attorneys say that FEMA has taken too long to process aid
applications and is inadequate in calculating factors such
as cost of living and family size when granting the assistance.
FSRN’s Mayaba Liebental has more.
[top]
Opposition to Chilean Gold Mining Project (3:44)
Chile's Environmental agency gave approval last week to
a controversial gold mining project. The gold mine, nestled
at the top of the fertile Huasco Valley in the high Andes,
just at the southern edge of the Atacama desert – known
to be one of the driest places in the world. The gold mine
project known as Pascua Lama is being developed by the Canadian
mining giant Barrick Gold. From Santiago, FSRN's Jorge Garreton
has more.
[top]
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