Home > Programs
> FSRN
> Fri., July. 7, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
What Mexico’s New President Could Mean in Washington
World’s Leaders Prepare for G8 Summit in St. Petersburg
HIV/AIDS Attacks Latinos in the U.S.
Massachusetts Moves to Make Local Health Care Reforms
Behind the World Cup: Football and Racism in Germany
FSRN Headlines
DETENTION ORDER FOR RIOS MONTT
A Spanish judge has issued an international order for the
capture of former Guatemalan dictator, Efraín Rios
Montt, along with seven others accused of acts of genocide
during the country's civil war. Jill Replogle reports from
Guatemala City.
Today's arrest orders came nearly a week after Spanish judge,
Santiago Pedraz, cut short a trip to Guatemala. Pedraz was
in the country to investigate accusations of genocide and
other war crimes committed by Guatemalan officials during
the 1970s and 1980s. The case was brought before the Spanish
justice system by Guatemalan Nobel Prize Laureate, Rigoberta
Menchú. Menchu's father was killed during a government
siege on the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City in 1980. During
his trip to Guatemala, Pedraz was scheduled to hear testimonies
from witnesses and the accused. However, lawyers for the defense
blocked the hearings by presenting a series of legal obstacles.
European media outlets report that Pedraz issued the arrest
order to ensure that the accused could not continue to block
the investigation. Jill Replogle, FSRN, Guatemala City.
DEADLY BLAST IN CHINA
In China, an explosion this morning at a home in the coal-rich
province of Shanxi killed 47 people and wounded over two dozen.
China's official news agency, Xinhua, reports that a fire
in a home storing explosives triggered the blast. The house
exploded as neighbors were trying to extinguish the blaze.
Shanxi province accounts for a huge portion of China's coal
production and accidents resulting from unsafe conditions
at the mines or from the illegal storage of explosives are
not uncommon. A gas explosion at a mine near the site of today's
disaster killed 36 people on July 2nd of last year. Shanxi
province has seen two other major accidents resulting from
privately stored explosives in the past four months.
UPDATE FROM PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
The Israeli military operation dubbed "Summer Rain"
continues to pound Gaza - with parallel attacks on locations
in the West Bank. Manar Jibrin has the latest.
Israeli soldiers, tanks, and armored vehicles continue to
advance within the northern Gaza Strip. Air strikes there
have killed at least three people today. A fourth resident
died of wounds sustained during yesterday's assault on the
town of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians
were killed in the siege on a Biet Lahia neighborhood when
Israeli soldiers fired live rounds at dozens of houses. Two
more people were killed when an Israeli war plane fired a
missile on a residential area in a different neighborhood
of the same town. The missile damage also wounded eighty residents,
including twenty seven children. In the West Bank city of
Nablus, troops shot and killed Tamer Qandeel, one of the fighters
of the Al Aqsa Brigade, the armed wing of Fateh movement;
at least four residents were injured in the attack. The soldiers
broke into several homes, turning one into a military post
from which to launch attacks on Palestinian resistance fighters
in the area. Ramadan Al A'adasi , a leader of Al Aqsa Martyrs
brigade. (Actuality) "The Israeli soldiers opened fire
at the house where a group of resistance fighters from al-Aqsa
brigade were in. Tamer Qandeel was injured but he was not
killed. However, the soldiers broke into the house where he
was captured him and killed him in cold blood. They also prevented
medical crew from reaching him." Soldiers killed two
people and injured several others during a failed assassination
attempt last night in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin.
An Israeli undercover unit invaded the camp and broke into
a home, firing live ammunition. Israeli forces have killed
at least thirty people in the Palestinian territories in the
last 24 hours. For FSRN from IMEMC.Org in Palestine I am Manar
Jibrin.
TEXAS LAW SCHOOL TO RESEARCH WAYS TO LIMIT ACCESS TO PUBLIC
INFORMATION
The law school of St. Mary's University in San Antonio will
receive $1 million dollars from the federal government to
study ways of restricting public data that would otherwise
be available through Freedom of Information Act requests.
St Mary's law professor and former Army Special Forces legal
adviser, Jeffrey Addicott, told USA Today that the million
dollar grant comes from this year's Defense Department budget
and is administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
The Freedom of Information Act turned 40 earlier this week.
NEW JERSEY BUDGET STANDOFF
The budget crisis that forced a partial government shutdown
in New Jersey is almost over. The state's governor and legislators
reached an agreement on Thursday to raise sales tax by one
percent, provided that half of the revenue generated by the
increase will go towards lowering property taxes. Bills must
pass the New Jersey Assembly and Senate before the new measures
take effect.
JULY 7TH COMMEMORATION
The UK is commemorating the one year anniversary of the London
subway and bus bombings. Tom Allan reports.
A year has passed since the bombings that shook London, killing
52 people and wounding hundreds of others. A commemoration
service took place in Regent's Park today and, nationwide,
a 2 minute silence was observed. A service in honour of the
dead also took place in Beeston in Leeds – the home
of two of the young Muslim men responsible for the bombings.
"It's partly a commemoration of what happened, but mostly
a sign of the community's determination to continue growing
together and looking forward," says the Reverend John
Bishop, a spokesman for a local community group, Faith Together
in Leeds 11. Bishop says that Beeston remains a very cohesive
and integrated community: "There are people from different
Muslim communities, people from other communities all around
the world - a lot of people from Africa, but a lot of white
people as well. People only come to Beeston if they are happy
like that - if they don't want to live in a mixed community
they go somewhere else." A video linking Al-Qaeda to
the bombings was broadcast yesterday on Al-Jazeera. The video
features bomber, Shehzad Tanweer, blaming British foreign
policy in Muslim countries for the attacks he was to carry
out. Although the timing of the video's release was likely
meant to cause panic and distress, the overall atmosphere
in Leeds and in London today has been one of unity and perseverance.
For FSRN, I'm Tom Allan reporting.
[top]
What Mexico’s New President Could Mean in
Washington (3:57)
Mexico’s Federal Election Institute announced right-wing
candidate Felipe Calderon as the winner of Mexico’s
Presidential elections. The final vote count put Calderon
ahead by a mere 200,000 votes, about a half a percentage point
ahead of opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Lopez Obrador
is disputing the results, calling on the electoral tribunal
to review the vote tallies. Meanwhile, his supporters are
organizing a mass rally in Mexico City’s center tomorrow;
criticizing what they say is electoral fraud. The United States
has not yet commented on the elections, but Mexico’s
new president will have a direct impact on policies affecting
the two neighboring countries. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports from Washington.
[top]
World’s Leaders Prepare for G8 Summit in St.
Petersburg (2:57)
G8 country leaders and the European Union will meet next
week in Saint Petersburg, as Russia assumes charge of the
summit’s presidency this year. Participants have agreed
on both a “to-talk-about” list as well as a “must-not-mention”
list. Yanmei Xie has the preview of the summit agenda in Washington
DC.
[top]
HIV/AIDS Attacks Latinos in the U.S. (4:08)
Four key international health policy organizations have
welcomed a focus on infectious diseases ahead of the G8 Summit.
Although several promises made during last year’s conference
of leaders from the world’s most powerful nations have
gone unfulfilled, groups like the World Health Organization
are hopeful the G8 will carry out a plan to combat infectious
diseases like AIDS in the world’s poorest countries.
In the United States, people of color, young people in their
teens and early twenties, and women are at an increasing risk
of infection. FSRN’s Maeve Conran reports from Colorado,
where the Latino community is one group facing an uphill battle
with HIV/AIDS.
[top]
Massachusetts Moves to Make Local Health Care Reforms
(3:45)
From Clinton’s never realized universal plan to Bush’s
Health Savings Accounts, federal efforts have yet to stabilize
the cost of health care in the U.S. Some states are sick of
waiting for a cure, as their budgets absorb the emergency
room costs of the nearly 46 million uninsured people across
the nation. As Joshua Smith reports, states like Massachusetts
and others are making reforms a local practice.
[top]
Behind the World Cup: Football and Racism in Germany
(4:16)
Millions of international football fans have descended on
Germany the past month to support their teams in the lead
up to the final game for the World Cup between Italy and France
this Sunday. But before the tournament began, there were already
a couple of serious racist attacks, including an Ethiopian
man who was beaten into a coma outside of Berlin. This act
prompted the Africa Council of Germany to issue a warning
to non-white foreigners about so-called "no-go areas"
where they might encounter attacks by right-wing extremists.
Cinnamon Nippard has more from Berlin.
[top]
|
Listen
to the show 
Help
stream
download
