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FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
North Korea Nuclear Test
Hundreds Of Iraqi Police Poisoned
India Readies To Execute Kashmiri
A Year After Earthquake In Pakistan
Connecticut Gubernatorial Candidate Wants To Legalize Drugs
AIDS Hurts Elderly In Africa
FSRN Headlines
NEW CABINET FOR THAI GOVERNMENT
Thailand's king today approved a new cabinet for the country's
post-coup government. The head of the central bank has been
picked for the positions of Finance Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister. Other cabinet positions have gone to high-profile
bureaucrats, former diplomats, and military figures. Thailand's
Army led a bloodless coup on September 19th and installed
a former army chief as prime minister. The interim government
is to hold power until elections scheduled for October of
next year.
NATIONWIDE LETTUCE RECALL
California's Salinas Valley is at the center of a nationwide
E-Coli scare. A recent outbreak of E-Coli has been traced
to contaminated spinach from the region, and now a popular
brand of lettuce has been voluntarily recalled. Vinny Lombardo
reports.
Salinas-based Nunes Co. announced Sunday it has recalled
some 8,500 cartons of its Foxy brand green leaf lettuce sold
in seven states, amid concern the produce might carry E-Coli
bacteria. Company officials fear irrigation water used on
the lettuce might be contaminated with E. coli. The voluntary
lettuce recall comes just days after FBI and FDA agents visited
the facilities of two other regional produce companies as
part of a criminal investigation into the origins of the recent
E-Coli spinach scare. To date, 199 people in 26 states have
been sickened from E-Coli contaminated spinach. Three have
died. No illnesses have been reported from the recalled lettuce,
the company said in a press release. Cartons of the recalled
Foxy brand lettuce are labeled are marked with lot number:
6SL0024, and were distributed to grocery stores Oct. 3-6th.
For FSRN, I'm Vinny Lombardo reporting.
MILITARY LAWYER MUST RETIRE AFTER SUPREME COURT VICTORY
The Navy lawyer who successfully challenged the constitutionality
of the ad-hoc tribunals at Guantanamo Bay has been passed
up for a promotion and will therefore have to leave the military
altogether. Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift won the recent landmark
Supreme Court case known as Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld. Navy lieutenant
commanders must retire if not promoted within a certain period
of time. Swift has served in the military for two decades
and was recently named by the National Law Journal as one
of the country's top 100 lawyers.
CANADA PROTESTS U.S. HANDLING OF ARAR CASE
Canada's Prime Minister has told President Bush that Canada
wants a formal explanation for the US' deportation of a Canadian
man to Syria in 2002. FSRN's Alison Benjamin has more.
Canada has sent an official letter of protest to the US for
its handling of the case of Mahar Arar. Arar remains on a
US no-fly list, even though he has been absolved of any wrongdoing.
He was arrested at New York's JFK airport in 2002 and deported
to Syria, where he was tortured and imprisoned for a year
under suspicion that he belonged to the al-Qeada terrorist
network. A recent Canadian inquiry into the case said that
US officials violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
in their treatment of Arar because they weren't candid with
the RCMP or with Canadian consular officials. While in custody
in New York, Arar was denied access to Canadian consular officials
and was unable to contact a lawyer. Meanwhile, opposition
MPs in Canada are criticizing the Canadian government's ongoing
delay in apologizing to Mr. Arar. Prime Minister Stephen Harper
says Canada cannot apologize until a compensation package
is decided upon. For FRSN, I'm Alison Benjamin.
OAXACAN TEACHERS AND ACTIVISTS ARRIVE IN MEXICO CITY
Striking public school teachers and members' of Oaxaca's popular
assembly movement will arrive in Mexico City today after marching
more than 300 miles on foot from Oaxaca City. The thousands
of marchers received an enthusiastic welcome last night in
the poor suburb of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl - an area heavily
populated by Oaxacan migrants. Mexico City authorities have
mobilized 1500 riot police to accompany the march into the
heart of the capital city. The march's arrival coincides with
the latest round of negotiations between members of Oaxaca's
popular movement and Mexico's Secretary of the Interior.
INDIAN PM BEGINS EUROPEAN TOUR
India's Prime Minister today begins a six day tour to Europe,
where he will seek support for the Indo-US nuclear deal. Binu
Alex has more.
India's search for sources of nuclear fuel for civilian purposes
and support for Indo-US nuclear deal are on the top of the
agenda as the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began a
six-day visit to Europe today. Singh will also meet his British
counterpart Tony Blair before a two-day summit with European
Union leaders in Helsinki. Trade and the fight against terrorism
are the other issues to be discussed. India considers the
European Union not only as the largest trading partner, but
an important source of Foreign Direct Investment. The PM's
discussion with Blair will focus also on the Doha round of
trade talks which collapsed three months ago when poorer countries
led by India and Brazil said the United States and Europe
were not offering enough concessions in the industrial, agriculture
and services sectors. I am Binu Alex for Free Speech Radio
News.
PROMINENT RUSSIAN JOURNALIST MURDERED
The publisher of the Russian newspaper where murdered journalist
Anna Politkovskaya worked has offered a reward of nearly one
million dollars for information about her assassins. Politkovskaya
was well-known for her investigative reports on abuses by
the Russian military in the separatist region of Chechnya.
She was gunned down in the elevator of her Moscow apartment
building on Saturday in an apparent contract killing. Shortly
before her death, the Committee to Protect Journalists had
named Politkovskaya as one of the world's leading press freedom
figures of the past 25 years.
[top]
North Korea Nuclear Test (4:48)
North Korea declared last night it had conducted its first
nuclear test. The announcement met with criticism around the
world, and the UN is considering sanctions again North Korea.
Yanmei Xie reports in Washington DC.
[top]
Hundreds Of Iraqi Police Poisoned (3:11)
In Iraq today, armed men wearing police and military uniforms
and driving police cars, killed the brother of the Prime Minister.
It's not clear whether the assailant was a member of the Iraqi
police or security services. Meanwhile, in Southern Iraq hundreds
of Iraqi policemen became ill from possible food poisoning.
The poisoning took place at a base in Southern Iraq, while
the policemen ate a late dinner to break their Ramadan fast.
Salam Talib reports.
[top]
India Readies To Execute Kashmiri (2:46)
The government of India is preparing to execute Mohd Afsal,
a Kashmiri who was convicted in connection with a terrorist
attack on the Indian Parliament. The execution is scheduled
for October 20th. The last time India executed a Kashmiri
there was a sudden upsurge of violence in the disputed territory
that lasted for ten years, and took a toll of over 50,000
lives. After India hung the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front, thousands of Kashmiris took up guns and
crossed the border to Pakistan, only to strike back on India.
Concerned about a second upsurge in violence, human rights
lawyers and left-wing leaders have joined with the people
of Kashmir in demanding the clemency from the President of
India. Vinod K. Jose reports.
[top]
A Year After Earthquake In Pakistan (4:01)
A year after a killer quake shook large parts in Pakistan
and Kashmir most of the survivors are still living in temporary
shelters across the quake zones. Aid agencies are voicing
concern over the need for houses as another winter approaches.
Thousands of people are still living in camps in Pakistan
administered Kashmir. The – quake which struck South
Asia a year ago yesterday -- measured 7.6 on the Richter scale,
killed more than 70000 people and made 3 million homeless.
Shahnawaz Khan has more.
[top]
Connecticut Gubernatorial Candidate Wants To Legalize
Drugs (2:44)
This electoral season, the state of Connecticut can offer
political junkies more than just the Joe Lieberman/Ned Lamont
race for the U.S. Senate. It is also home to a governor¹s
race that includes a Green Party candidate who supports drug
legalization. His stand has opened the door to the efforts
of an organization called LEAP Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition to promote drug legalization as a national
policy as its speakers crisscross the state. This political
opening is generating some serious discussion among mainstream
Americans about alternatives to the War on Drugs. Melinda
Tuhus reports from New Haven.
[top]
AIDS Hurts Elderly In Africa (2:14)
The high rates of HIV/AIDS in sub Sahara Africa is aggravating
the situation of the elderly in the region. The elderly often
have the responsibility of caring for grand children left
behind by their children who die of the scourge. Unlike in
the west where there is a welfare plan for the aged, in many
African societies children have historically been the source
of insurance for the aged. Joshua Kyalimpa reports from Kampala.
[top]
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