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> Wed., July. 19, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
Thanks to FSRN.org
for making the daily programs available to Pacifica.org
Today's lead stories:
Death Toll in Iraq Averages 100 A Day
Israeli War Ships Attacks Palestinian Refugee Camp
As Violence Continues in Iraq, Beirut Residents Weigh in on
International Response
Washington Stands in Solidarity with Israel
Lebanese-Canadian Community Rallies in Canada
Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo Prepare to Head
to the Polls
FSRN Headlines
BUSH VETOES STEM CELL LEGISLATION
President George W. Bush issued his first-ever veto today
to kill legislation that would provide funding for human embryonic
stem cell research. The bill passed the Senate yesterday by
a large margin. Yanmei Xie reports from Washington DC.
Stem cell research is controversial because it requires destroying
embryos. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says the president
believes that there can be alternative methods. [Snow audio]
Scientists have complained that some of the existing lines
are contaminated and those that remain are far from enough
for conducting research. The House is voting on the bill again
this afternoon, but last year's vote fell well short of the
two-thirds majority needed to override the President's veto.
Senate Democrats are also urging Republican leaders to bring
the bill back for another vote, but the measure only gathered
63 supporters yesterday...four votes short of overcoming the
veto. Polls show that a solid majority of Americans support
human embryonic stem cell research, which supporters hope
could lead to finding cures for diseases such as Parkinson's
and diabetes.
NABLUS INCURSION
As the world watches events unfold in Lebanon, Israeli forces
continue military operations in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli forces spent hours pounding the Maghazi refugee camp
in the Gaza Strip today. Troops also invaded the city of Nablus
in the West Bank. Manar Jibrin reports on the West Bank incursion.
The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Nablus today
with at least 25 armored vehicles. The soldiers entered the
city from its main entrances after midnight and surrounded
the Palestinian municipal headquarters, which includes the
central jail, military intelligence department and the police
department. Troops fired rounds of live ammunition into the
building; killing three resistance fighters and injuring several
others including two journalists and three members of a medical
crew. The Israeli military then arrested several civilians,
including policemen based in the building. The Israeli army
called all of the Palestinian policemen out of the building
using loudspeakers, before taking them prisoner and moving
them to the nearby building of the Ministry of Health, which
the soldiers have turned into a military post. Israeli snipers
occupied positions on top of houses in the area. Dr. Ghassan
Hamdan, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
in the city, is one of the medical workers injured during
today's incursion. [Dr. Ghassan Hamdan] "There were more
than thirty injured most of whom were youth who were at the
scene, hurling stones at the Israeli soldiers. Most injuries
were in the upper half of the body and were caused by coated
rubber bullets. However, there were injuries by live bullets;
three were seriously injured in the head. In addition, the
Israeli soldiers were aiming at ambulances and medics, the
thing that caused injuries to the doctors working in the field."
This invasion comes two days after members of the Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of Fateh, claimed responsibility
for an explosion in the Old City of Nablus, which killed one
Israeli soldier and injured seven others. For FSRN from IMEMC.Org,
I am Manar Jibrin.
TSUNAMI DEATH TOLL KEEPS RISING
The death toll caused by the Java earthquake and tsunami passed
525 today. 270 remain missing and over 50,000 are internally
displaced. Rescue teams are still searching for victims and
missing persons. Meggy Margiyono reports from Jakarta.
The coordinator of the rescue team at Pangandaran said today
that more people have left their homes due to fear of a new
tsunami. At least 10 aftershocks that have hit the disaster
area. The growing number of displaced persons has increased
the need for emergency aid, but stocks are in short supply.
Many families still do not have access to tents and must sleep
on the grass in the open air. Javanese relief coordinator,
Mulyono : "There are two kinds of displaced persons.
First, there are those whose houses are damaged, and then
there are those who are scared of a possible new tsunami.
They stay at camps for some days even though their property
is still usable." Reports have surfaced that the Indonesian
government had received a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center on Monday, warning that a tsunami might hit
the Java Coast 40 minutes after the earthquake, but officials
did not advice the public. Members of Indonesia's parliament
will investigate this information and parliament will hold
formal hearing on the matter on July 21st. From Jakarta, Meggy
Margiyono reporting for FSRN.
SOMALIA
Islamist militias have taken up positions near the Somali
city where government offices are based. The weak central
government of Somalia moved its operations to Baidoa when
the security situation in Mogadishu became precarious. Ethiopia's
Minister of Information today told the Associated Press that
Ethiopian troops are prepared to invade Somalia to defend
its UN-backed transitional government.
[top]
Death Toll in Iraq Averages 100 A Day (3:52)
The United Nations announced Tuesday that nearly 6,000 Iraqi
civilians were slain this May and June alone. According to
the report, about 2,700 civilians were killed in May and 3,100
were killed in June. The announcement came amid another day
of tremendous violence in Iraq which saw car bombings near
in the holy Shi’ite city of Kufa, and an attack on day
laborers in Mahmoudiya, just south of the capital. Aaron Glantz
reports.
[top]
Israeli War Ships Attacks Palestinian Refugee Camp
(4:06)
Israel continues it’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon
today, with the Israeli security cabinet prolonging the attacks
without a time limit. In our continuing coverage of the Middle
East conflict, we’ll go to Gaza, Beirut, the Lebanese-Canadian
community in Montreal and to Washington, where lawmakers took
a stand today in support of Israel. Israeli war planes have
attacked the Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 6 people,
and wounding several others. The bombing, which took course
between 1 to 9:30 am, hit an elementary school, and damaged
several homes and buildings, and the Israeli Army is continuing
its shelling in the region. Our correspondent in Gaza is Rami
Almeghari – he lives in the Maghazi camp, and spent
the night huddled with his family, waiting for the bombing
to end through the morning.
[top]
As Violence Continues in Iraq, Beirut Residents Weigh
in on International Response (3:50)
8 days after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in
a raid on an Israeli military installation on the Southern
Lebanese border; the Israeli military and Hezbollah have intensified
hostilities. Today saw the largest number of Lebanese killed
– according to the Lebanese government – more
than 50 were taken as result of the offensive. Lebanese Prime
Minister Fouad Sinoira said that more than 300 Lebanese have
lost their lives in the last 8 days – all but 30 have
been civilians. Hezbollah fired a missile into the Arab Israeli
town of Nazareth, killing three people, as US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said she would visit the region “in
the near future,” according to the US State Department.
Meanwhile, as Israel widened its offensive to include targets
in mostly Christian areas of Beirut, people on the streets
have expressed a growing dissatisfaction with the international
community. FSRN reporter Jackson Allers visited various communities
in Beirut to gauge the mood.
[top]
Washington Stands in Solidarity with Israel
(3:00)
In Washington, Congress has taken a hard-line stance in
solidarity with Israel. An overwhelming majority support Israel's
attacks, while condemning Hezbollah. Their position goes further,
in fact, in denouncing Hezbollah than the Bush Administration's
response. Washington Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
Lebanese-Canadian Community Rallies in Canada
(2:24)
Canada has yet to take a formal position on the situation
in the Middle East, but did begin its evacuation effort of
about 50,000 Canadian nationals in Lebanon yesterday. Lebanese-Canadians,
meanwhile, are taking to the streets in response to the crisis.
Aaron Lakoff has more from Montreal.
[top]
Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo Prepare
to Head to the Polls (3:06)
Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo head to the polls
at the end of this month to elect a president and parliament
in what is hoped to be the country's first fully democratic
vote since independence. The elections are part of a U.N.-led
three year transition expected to end over four decades of
corruption, dictatorship and wars, which have killed more
than three million people. Joshua Kyalimpa reports from neighboring
Uganda.
[top]
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