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Today's lead stories:
Blacks and Browns Charge the Government with Human Rights
Violations for Hurricane Katrina Response Failure
New Document Reveals Torture at Guantánamo Bay
Bush Visits Pakistan and Called the Most Hated Man in the
Region
Papuans Block Freeport Gold Mining Company
Police Raid Autonomous Municipality in Oaxaca
Steel Workers Strike in Ohio
Guatemala Uncovers Police Archives That Detail Abuses
FSRN Headlines
STATE OF EMERGENCY LIFTED IN PHILIPPINES
Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today lifted
a week-long state of emergency after security officials assured
her that the threat against her government has subsided. Girlie
Linao reports from Manila.
Less than two hours before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
announced the end of the state of emergency, two explosions
rocked a commercial district in Manila. No one was hurt and
the police said the blasts were too minor to have delayed
the lifting of the emergency rule. President Arroyo said she
was confident that order has been restored, one week after
communist rebels, rightist soldiers, and political opponents
allegedly conspired to oust her. While she said the cabal
has been broken, she warned she will not hesitate to again
take tough actions if her opponents don't stand down. Critics
expressed doubts that the lifting of the state of emergency
would end the crackdown on the political opposition, leftist
groups, and media critical of the government. Street protests
without permits are still banned and authorities are continuing
to monitor the media for negative reports. Legal experts,
the opposition, and civil liberties groups have challenged
the emergency rule's legality before the Supreme Court and
have vowed to press on with the fight. The high tribunal will
hear their arguments next Tuesday. For Free Speech Radio News,
I'm Girlie Linao in Manila.
INCREASE IN MAOIST ATTACKS IN NEPAL
This week saw a jump in Maoist attacks in Nepal. Yesterday,
rebels bombed an office of the World Food Program, the first
time that a UN installation has been targeted. FSRN's Carey
Biron is in Kathmandu.
After a moderate lull since highly contentious municipal
elections took place here on February 8th, violence has again
escalated in Nepal this week. On Saturday and again on Monday,
bombs exploded in busy urban centers in the western tourist
town of Pokhara, injuring at least 18, many critically. The
explosions, which coincided with a visit to Pokhara by the
king and queen on Monday, were unusual in their lack of forewarning
and their specific disregard for civilian victims. On Tuesday,
a day-long clash in a remote western location between insurgents
and security forces saw upwards of 40 casualties, although
accounts from both sides differ widely. Yesterday, four explosives
went off in the southeastern town of Damak, including at the
offices of the UN's World Food Program, which overseas food
distribution to the country's 105,000 Bhutanese refugees.
The unusually cavalier blasts in Pokhara and Damak follow
concerted efforts by rebels to ingratiate themselves to the
international community. During February, Maoist leadership
suddenly gave a spate of high-profile interviews to international
media, in what has been seen as an attempt to reemerge as
an above ground political force. Carey Biron, Kathmandu.
HAMAS IN MOSCOW AS INCURSIONS CONTINUE IN NABLUS
Hamas leaders are in Moscow today to hold the first high-level
talks since their surprise election victory in January. Manar
Jibrin reports.
The six-member delegation is meeting with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Livnov, but not with President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has called on Hamas to soften its stance towards Israel
and to abide by agreements signed by the former Fateh-led
government. Back in the West Bank, a fifteen year old Palestinian
boy was killed this morning as Israeli troops, in approximately
30 jeeps, invaded the Al Ain camp, on the western side of
Nablus. The city and its surroundings have been subjected
to daily invasions for the past week. Nine civilians have
been killed and 89 injured since the attacks began Saturday.
For FSRN from IMEMC.Org in Palestine, this is Manar Jibrin.
GUANTANAMO NAMES TO BE RELEASED
The Department of Defense has announced that it will release
the names of Guantanamo Bay detainees today. The names will
be contained within some 6,000 pages of transcripts from the
Combatant Status Review Tribunals carried out at the detention
facility. The names are being made public for the first time
in response to a legal challenge brought by the Associated
Press under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.
SHRINKING ANTARCTIC ICE MASS
Scientists have concluded that the Antarctic ice cap is melting
at a much faster rate than previously thought. According to
findings published today in the journal Science, the Antarctic
ice mass is losing roughly 36 cubic miles each year.
MORNING AFTER PILL IN CT
Connecticut's top attorney has issued a ruling that all pharmacies
in the state that serve people covered by state insurance
plans must carry the emergency contraceptive, known as the
morning-after pill or Plan B. That includes Wal-Mart which,
up to now, has not done so. Melinda Tuhus reports from New
Haven.
The state insurance plans cover 188,000 state employees,
retirees, and dependents. About 20 Wal-Mart pharmacies will
be dropped from the state insurance network in two weeks unless
the company fills prescriptions for the Plan B contraceptive,
which can prevent pregnancies if taken within 72 hours after
sexual intercourse. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued
his legal opinion yesterday: " Wal-Mart can't have it
both ways. If it wants to stay in the state insurance program,
it has to provide Plan B. That's the law, and we'll enforce
the law." Wal-Mart does not carry the drug at most of
its pharmacies nationally, citing lack of demand. But critics
says its failure to carry Plan B is a response to pressure
from religious conservatives, who claim it would increase
promiscuity. A spokesman for Wal-Mart says the company will
comply with the Connecticut law. For FSRN, I'm Melinda Tuhus,
in New Haven, Connecticut.
[top]
Blacks and Browns Charge the Government with Human
Rights Violations for Hurricane Katrina Response Failure
(3:25)
Former FEMA head Michael Brown is calling for Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff to resign. Brown isn't placing
all the blame for the catastrophe that followed Hurricane
Katrina on Chertoff, and admitted to some of his own failures.
But, black and Latino residents trying to rebuild the affected
region are charging the government with human rights violations.
Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
New Document Reveals Torture at Guantánamo
Bay (2:34)
A Guantánamo Bay detention center government interrogation
log posted on the Internet confirms that US personnel inflicted
torture and inhumane treatment on Guantánamo detainee
Mohammed Al Qahtani. The 84-page record details interrogations
during a 6-month period from November 2002 to January 2003,
and describes the way in which Al Qahtani was pushed to his
physical and psychological limit. Were joined on the line
by Bill Goodman, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional
Rights, which represents Mohammed Al Qahtani in a federal
court, challenging his detention. Can you talk about how serious
these accusations of torture are?
[top]
Bush Visits Pakistan and Called the Most Hated Man
in the Region (1:24)
President Bush began his visit to Pakistan today, greeted
by an explosion near the US Consulate that killed 4, including
a US Diplomat in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. A
country-wide strike was observed today to express anger against
the cartoon published in several European cities, which is
considered blasphemous by many Muslims. Masror Hausen reports.
[top]
Papuans Block Freeport Gold Mining Company
(3:58)
Massive protests broke out in cities throughout Indonesia
after a security guard employed by the US gold mining company
Freeport shot three local people, killing one of them. Since
last week, Papuan people have been blocking Freeports gold
mining, while students in many Indonesian cities have organized
protests, calling for an end to the mining operation. Last
week, Papuan students in Jakarta attacked and burned Freeport's
office in Indonesia, where police arrested 9. A day later,
6 more Papuan students in Jakarta were also arrested at a
rally calling for Freeport to get out. From Jakarta, FSRNs
Meggy Margiyono reports on peoples frustrations with Freeport
Mining.
[top]
Police Raid Autonomous Municipality in Oaxaca
(3:07)
A tense standoff is underway between government forces and
the townspeople of a self-declared autonomous municipality
in the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. Approximately
800 heavily-armed police have arrived in the Zapotec town
of San Blas Atempa, and continue to guard the town hall building,
which has been at the center of a 14 month long struggle for
political autonomy. FSRNs Vladimir Flores reports from Oaxaca
[top]
Steel Workers Strike in Ohio (3:25)
One of the Midwest's largest steel producers has locked
out all 2,700 hourly employees after a union contract expired
earlier this week. AK Steel Works in Middletown, Ohio primarily
supplies steel for the automotive and manufacturing industries.
Picketers are holding a 24-hour vigil outside the mill as
their union leaders plan their strategy for contract negotiations.
The success of these negotiations not only impacts the workers,
it could also cause a slow down for the automotive industry.
Allison Raaum reports.
[top]
Guatemala Uncovers Police Archives That Detail Abuses
(2:15)
Guatemalans have new hope for clearing up state-sponsored
human rights violations, that included prolonged torture,
rape, and murder, which occurred during the 36-year long civil
war that ended in 1996. Human rights authorities have discovered
a massive police archive that dates back to 1902. They say
it's the largest of its kind in Latin America, and add that
it contains valuable clues about the fate of thousands of
victims who were killed or disappeared during the war. Jill
Replogle reports from Guatemala.
[top]
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