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> Mon., July. 17, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
A Look at Internally Displaced Lebanese
Mali Hosts Poor People’s Summit in Mali
Peace Process Between India and Pakistan Waning
Senate Begins Stem Cell Debate
France’s Immigration Law Targets Youth
FSRN Headlines
TSUNAMI HITS JAVA
A strong underwater earthquake near Indonesia sent a tsunami
towards the coast of Java today. A local official from the
hardest-hit beach town told Indonesia's Metro TV that at least
37 bodies have been evacuated, but that the confirmed death
toll could rise as more information comes in. The Associated
Press is reporting at least 86 deaths.
IRAQI MARKET ATTACKEDM
An attack on a market in the Iraqi town of Mahmoudiya has
killed at least 41 people. Mortars landed on the market and
gunmen opened fire on the panicking shoppers. Some 100 Iraqis
have died in separate attacks in the past 2 days.
THE G8 ON MID-EAST VIOLENCE
At the Group of Eight meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister
Tony Blair today called for the formation of an international
security force to monitor and stabilize the escalation of
violence between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
Other European leaders present at the G-8 summit have backed
the call. The US has rejected the notion of a cease-fire,
saying that Israel has the right to defend itself. Israeli
air strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure including
clinics, fuel storage tanks, and water treatment facilities.
At least 40 people were killed in Lebanon today, bringing
the death toll to over 200 in six days. Almost all of the
dead are civilians. Twenty-four Israelis have died in the
same period of time.
OFFENSIVE CONTINUES IN GAZA
To the south, Israeli forces continue their offensive in the
Gaza Strip. 92 Palestinians have been killed and 326 injured,
in the last ten days of Israeli attacks on Gaza. Saed Bannoura
reports.
Early this morning, a missile dropped on the home of the
Abu Salem family hit just a few feet from a three-day-old
baby and his 23-year old mother. The missile did not detonate
immediately and the family was able to escape from their home,
in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, before
the missile exploded. The town of Beit Hanoun, in northern
Gaza, has been under continuous attack by Israeli forces all
weekend. Air strikes and artillery fire from tanks killed
1 person early this morning and 5 yesterday. Yesterday, the
Israeli air force dropped missiles onto the Palestinian Foreign
Ministry building for the second time in a week, leveling
what remained of the building and injuring several neighborhood
residents. Palestinian legislator, Mustapha Barghouthi: [Barghouthi].
The Palestinian fighters holding the Israeli soldier had conditioned
his release on the release of 1,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners
in Israeli jails, a demand which was rejected by Israel. For
Free Speech Radio News from imemc.org, this is Saed Bannoura
in Beit Sahour, Palestine.
NO CHARGES FOR LONDON SUBWAY SHOOTING
(cut for time) British police involved in last year's shooting
death of Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, will
not face individual criminal charges. Two London Metropolitan
police fatally shot de Menezes in a subway station two weeks
after the July 7th attacks on London's transportation network.
The police department argued that the man was thought to be
a suicide bomber.
EPA BUDGET CUTS
In the US, the Bush Administration's budget for Fiscal Year
2007 has proposed 2 million dollars of cuts from the EPA's
library budget. Rebecca Myles has the story.
The proposed 2 million dollar budget cut would slash 80%
of the EPA's library budget, in essence closing the agency's
technical libraries. Scientists argue that if the proposals
are implemented, thousands of scientific studies would be
out of reach from the public and scientists, hindering emergency
preparedness, anti-pollution enforcement, and long-term research.
Previous budget cuts have forced the EPA to seek corporate
sponsors to carry out research and development. The EPA is
already closing its Chicago library and limiting access to
collections and reassigning staff. 10,000 US EPA scientists
have written to Congress to protest the cuts. Executive Director
of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Jeff
Ruch says the argument in favor of the cuts doesn't ring true.
[Ruch] Rook also added that while the librarys' budgets are
being cut, there seems to be 10 million dollar budget for
an EPA public relations campaign called "Science For
You" to inform the public and reporters about the agency's
cutting edge research. For FSRN I am Rebecca Myles reporting.
RE-COUNT RALLY IN MEXICO
Over one million demonstrators gathered in downtown Mexico
City yesterday to demand a vote-by-vote recount of the ballots
from the July 2nd presidential election. Center-left candidate
and former mayor of Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,
spoke at the massive rally, calling for a non-violent campaign
of civil resistance. Lopez Obrador said that a re-count is
essential for Mexico's political, economic, and social stability.
Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal has until the end of August
to clarify charges of electoral irregularities.
[top]
A Look at Internally Displaced Lebanese
(4:28)
There appears to be no end in sight for the conflict between
the Israeli military and Hezbollah. From the early hours and
continuing all through the day on Monday, Israel continued
to grind down Hezbollah defensive positions in the South with
heavy missile fire and artillery rounds – also hitting
Army installations in the north of Lebanon. More than 41 Lebanese
were killed in today's violence. In Israel on Sunday, three
Hezbollah missiles hit the northern port city of Haifa –
killing 9 at a train station and wounding scores of others.
Hezbollah continued firing rockets into Israel today. An Israeli
military official told UPI today that ground forces had advanced
a half mile into Lebanese territory in attempt to root out
the Hezbollah militia members carrying out the attacks. And
as the international community appears divided over what to
do to bring about a ceasefire in Lebanon, the ballooning refugee
situation in that country is threatening to further cripple
the already stretched Lebanese social service sector. FSRN’s
Jackson Allers reports from Beirut.
[top]
Mali Hosts Poor People’s Summit in Mali
(3:00)
Hundreds of people met in Gao, north-eastern Mali, to raise
awareness about the problems faced by poor people in sub-Saharan
Africa. Dubbed the "Poor People's Summit", the 5th
edition of The People’s Forum coincided with the G8
talks in Russia. Mali is located in the Sahel, one of the
driest parts of the world; a region afflicted by debt, as
agriculture collapses under what summit attendees call unfair
trade practices. In Senegal, Ndiaga Seck has more.
[top]
Peace Process Between India and Pakistan Waning
(2:56)
A suicide bomber killed prominent Shia Muslim leader Allama
Hassan Turabi in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan, reigniting
tensions between majority Sunni and Shia sects. Authorities
say they are investigating the incident, which sparked riots
in the city, and some media in Pakistan are saying banned
sectarian groups operating under new names are responsible
for the killing. Meanwhile, Islamabad has asked the Indian
government not to abandon the peace process in the wake of
July 11 Mumbai bomb blasts which took over 180 lives. Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the blasts were inspired,
instigated and supported by forces across the border –
but did not explicitly name Pakistan, and New Delhi has officially
told Pakistan the Foreign Secretary talks due next week were
not possible because of the atmosphere created by the blasts.
Some analysts believe the incident is diverting attention
from the political crisis faced by President Musharraf’s
government. Masror Hausen reports from Islamabad.
[top]
Senate Begins Stem Cell Debate (4:30)
After a long delay, the Senate has begun the stem cell debate.
The Senate will vote on three separate bills, the most controversial
being a bill that would expand research and funding for embryonic
stem cells. As FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports, one reason
proponents say expanding funding is necessary is because the
limited available number of stem cell lines lack diversity.
[top]
France’s Immigration Law Targets Youth
(3:52)
France's conservative government has stepped back from a
controversial plan to seek out and deport the children of
undocumented immigrants along with their families. Interior
Minister Nicholas Sarkozy, a hopeful in next year's presidential
elections stands accused of tightening immigration controls
in an attempt to fish for votes among supporters of Jean-Marie
Le Pen's xenophobic National Front Party. Khaled Sid Mohand
reports from Paris.
[top]
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