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> Wed., July. 12, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Israeli Ambassador Addresses United Nations
Military Operation against Lebanon Begins
Military Operation Against Gaza Strip Continues
Search Continues for Those Responsible for Mumbai Train Bombs
Iraq’s Parliament Prepares to Vote on Timeline for U.S.
Troop Withdrawal
Congress Deadlocked on Immigration Reform but Money Allocated
for Border Security
House Holds Hearing on “No Child Left Behind”
Act
FSRN Headlines
KASHMIR BLASTS
At least five Indian tourists have been injured in a grenade
attack on a resort in Indian administered Kashmir. Shahnawaz
Khan has more.
The attack comes after 5 serial blasts killed 8 people yesterday
in Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar. Seven of the dead were
tourists. Police say that in today's attack, suspected guerrillas
hurled a grenade at a group of tourists while they were boarding
a bus in the Gulmarg tourist resort. One of the injured is
in critical condition. More than six attacks have targeted
tourists in Kashmir this summer, a major shift in the 17-year
old anti-India insurgency in Kashmir. Kashmir's biggest militant
group, Hizb-ul- Mujahideen, has condemned the attacks and
denied any involvement. A Hizb spokesman said the outfit did
not believe in killing innocent civilians. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
has also denounced the Mumbai serial blasts that killed 190
people on Tuesday. Another dreaded militant outfit, Lashkare-e-Toiba,
also denied any involvement in the Mumbai Blasts. No group
has claimed responsibility for yesterday's attacks in Kashmir
and Mumbai. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Shahnawaz Khan.
US ARMY TO DISCONTINUE HALLIBURTON CONTRACT
The United States Army has decided to discontinue Halliburton's
multi-billion dollar contract for logistical services in Iraq.
The exclusive, no-bid contract with the company formerly run
by Vice President Dick Cheney has provoked accusations of
insider dealings and political favoritism. When the contract
ends this fall, it will be split up among 3 companies.
MICROSOFT FINED
The European Commission has slapped Microsoft with a $357
million fine for non-compliance with an anti-trust ruling
that was issued in 2004. The ruling had instructed the software
giant to supply "complete and accurate" technical
information to competitors developing software for use with
the company's Windows operating system. Microsoft could face
additional fines of $3.82 million a day if it fails to comply
with the Commission's ruling by the end of the month.
ENRON WITNESS FOUND DEAD
A British banker who had been questioned by the FBI as part
of an investigation into the financial collapse of the Enron
corporation has been found dead in a London park area. The
man, who has been identified as Neil Coulbeck, worked for
the Royal Bank of Scotland. He had been missing since Thursday.
Three ex-employees of RBS subsidiary, NatWest, named in the
Enron investigation are slated for extradition to Houston
tomorrow.
UGANDA ARGUES FOR AMNESTY
The government of Uganda has sent one of its ministers to
The Hague to convince the International Criminal Court to
drop indictments against five Lords Resistance Army rebel
leaders. Emmanuel Okella reports from Kampala.
Security Minister Amama Mbabazi told Free Speech Radio News
shortly before departure that he will also brief the International
Criminal Court about the Southern Sudan mediated talks between
the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government,
that get underway this week. [Mbabazi] "I said I was
going to the International Criminal Court, really, to share
with them the Uganda government position because we have been
partners in all this and its to keep them abreast of what
is happening on the ground and hopefully to get them as actively
as possible in this new process." ICC issued warrants
of arrest for Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Otim Odhiambo, Raska
Lukwiya and Dominic Ongwen for war crimes and crimes against
humanity. The court called on Congo, Sudan and Uganda to arrest
the five. The ICC insists that Kony and his four commanders
should be prosecuted. Though Kony denies committing the alleged
crimes, the ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo insists
the rebel Leader should travel to The Hague and make a formal
defense. But Uganda says emphasis was being given to the African
tradition justice system where elders perform rituals to ensure
that there is reconciliation and forgiveness. Lt. Paddy Ankunda,
Spokesman of the Uganda negotiation team says the rebels will
be expected to apologize, followed by a cleansing ceremony
and reconciliation like what was done in the post-apartheid
South Africa. On July 4, President Yoweri Museveni declared
amnesty to the indicted rebel leaders and extended the deadline
for a peace agreement until September 12. Originally, he had
wanted to see results by the end of July. For Free Speech
Radio News, Emmanuel Okella reporting from Kampala, Uganda.
UPDATE ON ATENCO
A judge in Mexico State has dropped all charges against a
policeman accused of abuse of authority in the violent crackdowns
in Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco. Testimonies from the detained
cite multiple instances of police abuse, including rapes and
brutal beatings during the transfer from the point of arrest
to the Santiaguito prison. Of the estimated 3000 federal,
state, and municipal police that participated in the operation
to take control of Atenco, only 21 had been accused of any
wrong doing. None of the accused police are in jail awaiting
trial. Twenty-seven of the over 200 arrested in Texcoco and
Atenco remain in jail - including 3 held in a federal maximum
security prison. Indigenous Mazahua women and family members
of the detained have set up a protest encampment outside of
Mexico's Supreme Court building to call for the release of
the prisoners, saying their arrests violated fundamental rights
guaranteed by the Mexican constitution. Zapatista Subcomandante
Marcos led a march from Chapingo University in Mexico state
to the town of Atenco yesterday to call for the prisoners'
release and to commemorate a separate crackdown on the townspeople
in 2002. Atenco became famous throughout Mexico four years
ago for refusing to cede communal farmlands for the construction
of a new Mexico City international airport.
[top]
Israeli Ambassador Addresses United Nations cut
and copy (2:24)
Israeli troops entered Southern Lebanon today after members
of the armed wing of Hezbollah captured two soldiers from
the Israeli occupied area of Lebanon called the Shebaa Farms.
Seven Israeli soldiers and two Lebanese civilians were reportedly
killed in Wednesday’s fighting. At the United Nations,
Israeli Ambassador Daniel Gillerman said the action was an
act of war and blamed the government of Lebanon for Hezbollah’s
actions, citing UN resolutions that call for the disarmament
of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
[top]
Military Operation against Lebanon Begins
(2:18)
Despite statements from U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, for Israel to show restraint in attempting to find the
two soldiers, the Israeli Army said that if the two soldiers
were not returned, it would attack the Lebanese infrastructure
and “turn the clock back on Lebanon by 20 years”
- a reference to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon during
the 15 year civil war in Lebanon. FSRN’s Jackson Allers
has more from Beirut.
[top]
Military Operation Against Gaza Strip Continues
(3:42)
Israel vowed to continue its military operation in the Gaza
Strip. So far, the incursion has claimed the life of more
than 60 civilians, most of them women and children. 19 people
were killed today alone in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of Israeli
Army vehicles advanced into central Gaza overnight, cutting
through an area from which it withdrew less than one year
ago. Meanwhile, 6 Israeli human rights groups filed a petition
to the country’s High Court, demanding the Israeli Army
permit the access of essential supplies into the Gaza Strip.
Manar Jibrin reports from Bethlehem.
[top]
Search Continues for Those Responsible for Mumbai
Train Bombs (2:41)
The search for those responsible for Mumbai’s serial
bomb blasts continues, as the city’s 17 million people
are attempting to get back to normal. A few suspects have
been detained, and a cash award has been announced for any
clue leading to the arrests of those who orchestrated the
bombings. Binu Alex reports.
[top]
Iraq’s Parliament Prepares to Vote on Timeline
for U.S. Troop Withdrawal (2:44)
Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld paid an unannounced visit
to Baghdad today, after telling reporters the Iraqi government
is not ready to determine the pace of U.S. troop reductions.
Rumsfeld's visit comes as the Iraqi Parliament prepares to
vote on a measure that would demand a time line on a U.S.
withdrawal from Iraq. As Aaron Glantz reports, the U.S. military
has been cracking down on the measure’s proponents.
[top]
Congress Deadlocked on Immigration Reform but Money
Allocated for Border Security (3:19)
Congress remains stalled on passing immigration reform.
House Republicans who oppose legalization announced a series
of hearings to dispute the Senate’s bill. But tough
border security initiatives are already moving forward as
money is being allocated in other bills. FSRN's Leigh Ann
Caldwell reports.
[top]
House Holds Hearing on “No Child Left Behind”
Act (2:34)
The House of Representatives began a series of hearings
today to assess the effect of the “No Child Left Behind”
Act, which is scheduled to be reauthorized next year. FSRN’s
Yanmei Xie reports from the hearing room, where today’s
focus was the education of children with disabilities or limited
English proficiency.
[top]
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