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> Tue., Aug. 15, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Bush Administration Responds to Ceasefire
Thousands of Lebanese Attempt to Make Their Way Back Home
Not the Full Picture: Israel’s Media Censorship
Electricity: Another Casualty in Gaza
40,000 Tea Workers on Strike in Nepal
FSRN Headlines
Japanese PM visits war shrine
A visit today by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
to a Tokyo shrine that commemorates the Japanese dead from
World War II has sparked outrage in a number of Asian countries.
The shrine is controversial because it houses the remains
of 14 convicted war criminals. Koizumi's past visits to the
Yasukuni shrine has damaged relations with regional countries
that bore the brunt of Japan's military expansionism in the
1930s and 40s. The governments of China and South Korea have
both summoned the Japanese ambassadors to their respective
capitals in response. Today's visit falls on the anniversary
of Japan's 1945 surrender to Allied Forces.
Caravan for Fujimori Extradition
Peruvian family members of victims of political violence during
the administration of former president Alberto Fujimori are
travelling in a bus caravan to Chile, to demand Fujimori's
extradition so he can face charges for human rights violations.
From Santiago, FSRN's Jorge Garretón has more.
A bus carrying some twenty family members of victims of political
assassinations is travelling to Santiago to ask judicial authorities
to extradite former President Alberto Fujimori to Lima. Fujimori
arrived in Santiago last November, after he ended his five-year
self-imposed exile in Japan. He was detained soon after arrival
and faces extradition charges that include human rights violations
and corruption. On Sunday, Peru's Supreme Court said it will
submit to Chilean courts the testimony of soldiers prosecuted
in the 1991 murder of 8 students and a professor at the University
of La Cantuta and the 1992 killing of 15 people during a community
social event in Barrios Altos. The Peruvian soldiers say they
acted under direct orders from Fujimori and his security advisor,
Vladimiro Montesinos. The trip by the family members travelling
to Santiago is known as the "Caravan Against Impunity",
it plans to collect the signatures of Chileans for a petition
that the group hopes to present President Michelle Bachelet.
Fujimori is currently free on bail, pending the outcome of
the extradition case. He has taken time to travel around central
Chile, where he has been received at times like a celebrity.
For FSRN this is Jorge Garretón in Santiago.
Post-electoral clash in Mexico City
Clashes erupted yesterday in Mexico City as federal police
used tear gas and batons to remove protesters attempting to
set up camp outside of Mexico's congressional building. Protesters
retaliated by throwing rocks at the police. The incident is
the first time that police have reacted to the post-electoral
protests in Mexico City. Some 30 protesters were reportedly
injured in the clashes, including legislators with PRD party
of presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The
demonstrators are part of the massive movement that has been
occupying the historic city center and business district of
Mexico City, calling for a vote-by-vote recount of the country's
July 2nd presidential elections.
News laws to benefit for 9-11 first responders
Nearly five years after the Sept. 11th attacks, first responders
at Ground Zero may be eligible for aid to pay for the costs
of treating debilitating illnesses resulting from the toxic
fallout of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
New York Governor George Pataki yesterday signed into law
measures that will permit first responders to re-apply for
workers' compensation and give full line-of-duty death benefits
to family members of rescue workers who died as a result of
their work on 9-11.
BP lawsuit and energy debate
Private investors in BP have filed a class action lawsuit
against the company in a Manhattan federal court. The investors
are blaming BP's top executives for failure to maintain and
repair equipment at Alaska's massive Prudhoe Bay oil field.
The subsequent closure of some operations at the field caused
the value of BP stock to fall. At the same time, the Prudoe
Bay oil disruption has added new energy to the debates over
alternative fuels and offshore drilling. Matt Kaye reports
from Washington DC.
The disruption of the largest oil field in North America,
likely for weeks or more, is driving fuel prices even higher...while
boosting election year pressure in Congress to open up new
offshore areas to drilling. Renewable Fuels Association Energy
Adviser, Samantha Slater: (sound) "This will absolutely
force them to the table…depending on how long the pipeline
is down…to find some sort of settlement, negotiation,
on the House and the Senate OCS bills." Two very different
bills - with the narrower Senate version focused just on the
Gulf of Mexico - and the Alaska oil interruption is also focusing
more attention on alternative fuels. (sound) "We have
to diversify our energy portfolio, not just in transportation
fuels, but for all of our energy resources…and find
alternatives that we can use, not just in emergencies…but
on a regular, daily basis." So, when pipelines go down
due to corrosion or hurricanes, it doesn't send shockwaves
through the oil markets and consumers' pockets. In Washington,
Matt Kaye, for Free Speech Radio News.
Art students want their university building back
In Argentina, art students in Greater Buenos Aires yesterday
faced off with backers of the ruling party during a protest
to take back their university building. Marie Trigona reports
from Buenos Aires.
Municipal workers and representatives from the ruling Peronist
party pushed and punched art students who were attempting
to take over the building where they previously studied in
the city suburb, Quilmes. The incident occurred while the
city mayor was inaugurating new private installations in the
former university. Earlier this year, the city government
ordered the university to move into a smaller building with
poor installations. The historic building that previously
housed the art school has been turned into a four star restaurant.
Students accuse the mayor of having a financial interest in
the new restaurant and are demanding that the art school be
returned to its original location. For Free Speech Radio News,
I'm Marie Trigona in Buenos Aires.
[top]
Bush Administration Responds to Ceasefire
(3:32)
Israel has begun withdrawing its troops in southern Lebanon.
According to Israeli army officials, the military plans start
the process of handing back captured territories to the UN-supported
Lebanese army as early as Wednesday. Meanwhile on Capitol
Hill, the Bush administration is responding to the ceasefire
deal and to criticism coming from Arab states like Syria and
Iran. Selina Musuta reports from Washington, DC.
[top]
Thousands of Lebanese Attempt to Make Their Way Back
Home (4:07) + ambience
Thousands of Lebanese refugees are streaming back home as
Israel slowly proceeds with its withdrawal from the Lebanese
occupied territory. According to the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees, up to one million people have been displaced
by the conflict. 24 hours after the U.N brokered ceasefire
came into effect, Beirut became nearly empty of its displaced
population. But the destruction of the roads, bridges and
varying infrastructure makes the return home uneasy for the
refugees. FSRN’s Khaled Sid Mohand reports from Beirut
[top]
Not the Full Picture: Israel’s Media Censorship
(3:51)
Israel's war with Lebanon, and its ongoing invasion of Palestine,
have been fought not only on the ground and air with weapons,
but also on the airwaves and the internet - as supporters
of Israel engage in new types of 'cyber-warfare' online, and
the Israeli government engages in unprecedented censorship
of media and use of cell phone messaging to inform potential
targets to evacuate. Jenka Soderberg reports.
[top]
Electricity: Another Casualty in Gaza (3:06)
Fox News has confirmed that two employees were kidnapped
by Palestinian gunmen after their car was ambushed in Gaza
City yesterday. No militant group has yet taken responsibility
for the kidnapping, and no demands have been made. Meanwhile,
more than 200,000 Palestinian families have suffered daily
blackouts since Israel began its attack on Gaza in late June.
Israeli aircraft bombed Gaza’s main power plant, leaving
homes, factories, hospitals and other institutions affected
by outages. Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza City.
[top]
40,000 Tea Workers on Strike in Nepal (3:49)
Nepal’s 35 tea gardens span more than 25,000 acres,
contain 37 processing units, and together produce some 6 million
kilograms of tea per day. Those tea gardens are now caught
in a paralytic limbo, due to an indefinite workers strike.
The laborers decided to strike after negotiations to reach
a settlement with the industry magnets collapsed. PC Dubey
reports from Nepal.
[top]
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