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> Thur., Nov. 30, 2006
FSRN
FREE SPEECH RADIO NEWS
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Today's lead stories:
Washington Advisors May Press for Troop Withdrawal
Bush and Maliki Meet to Discuss Iraq’s Security
Lawyer Accused in Connection to Madrid Train Bombing Finds
$2-million Settlement with Federal Government
Iowa Governor Announces Bid for Presidency
Unrest Continues in Oaxaca on Eve of Presidential Inauguration
Australians Demonstrate Against New Labor Laws
National Methamphetamine Awareness Day
FSRN Headlines
SURGE OF VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
Hundreds are feared dead after three days of heavy fighting
in Southern Sudan. This week's surge in violence is the most
serious since a peace agreement signed nearly 2 years ago
ended the long-running civil war in Southern Sudan. A resident
of the southern city of Malakal told Reuters that dead bodies
are lying in the streets and that desperate residents have
been risking their safety to collect water from the river
since the town's water service was cut off.
FLARE-UP IN COLOMBIA'S CAUCA REGION
In Colombia's southern province of Cauca, violence erupted
yesterday when police tried to evict thousands of indigenous
Nasa people who began a land recuperation on Monday. Nicole
Karsin has more.
A peaceful land recuperation in Cauca turned violent yesterday
when police used tear gas and fire arms to evict thousands
of indigenous people. Seven Nasa people were injured and three
are reportedly missing. An improvised explosive device killed
one policeman and injured three others. The land-takeover
began on Nov. 27th to protest the government's failure to
comply with an 11 month-old pact to compensate the Nasa people
with some $85,000 dollars worth of land as a settlement for
the killing of 20 Nasa people in 1991, known as the massacre
of El Nilo. Today Northern Cauca's government association
issued a communique saying it laments and condemns the death
of the policeman and the use of violence in the confrontation
with police. Indigenous authorities ask for an investigation
into the killing since their movement has been characterized
by non-violence. For FSRN, I'm Nicole Karsin in Bogota.
REPORT ON PALESTINIAN FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho today to discuss issues ranging from
the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Territories to the
ceasefire in Gaza. Rice's visit coincides with a report issued
by the UN accusing Israel of breaking all provisions in a
year-old US brokered agreement on Gaza's border crossings.
Laila El-Haddad reports.
The Agreement on Movement and Access, signed in November
of last year following the Israeli Disengagement, was supposed
to facilitate the movement of Palestinian peoples and goods
in and out of Gaza. It also promised Palestinian control over
the Rafah Crossing into Egypt by November of 2006, after a
transitional year of EU monitoring and Israeli video surveillance.
At the time, the Agreement was hailed by Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice as a breakthrough that would "give the
Palestinian people freedom to move, to trade, to live ordinary
lives". But according to a report released today by the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, Palestinians are worse off than they were a year
ago, both in terms of their freedom of movement and overall
economic situation. All of Gaza's border crossings, including
the Rafah Crossing continue to be controlled by Israel, and
movement between Gaza and the West Bank has become virtually
impossible. The Karni commercial crossing has allowed through
an average of only 12 out of a promised 400 trucks a day,
and access to Rafah, the only route in and out of Gaza for
1.4 million Palestinians, has been limited and erratic since
June of this year. For FSRN at the Rafah crossing, I'm Laila
El-Haddad.
NO DATE FOR NK NUKE TALKS
Talks between US and North Korean envoys this week made little
progress to re-start stalled six-party nuclear negotiations.
From Seoul, FSRN's Jason Strother reports.
After two days of mediation, there was still no date set
for the resumption of multilateral talks. Washington's chief
negotiator, Undersecretary of State Christopher Hill, met
in Beijing this week with his North Korean counterpart. The
US's central demand is that Pyongyang certifiably relinquish
its entire atomic program; something that the North says is
impossible without security guarantees and the lifting of
economic sanctions. Mr. Hill told reporters Thursday that
he is still hopeful that the rounds will restart by the end
of this year. The nation's reclusive leadership raised the
stakes in October, when it test-fired a nuclear device. North
Korea soon after pledged its return to the negotiations, but
talks have been frozen since last September. Reporting for
Free Speech Radio News from Seoul, I'm Jason Strother.
FCC HEARING IN SEATTLE
The Federal Communications Commission will hold a public hearing
on media ownership today in Seattle. Mark Taylor-Canfield
has more.
Media activists are gathering in Seattle today to testify
before FCC commissioners Adelstein and Copps on the negative
effects that corporate media consolidation has had on communities
across the US. Recent studies which have been ignored by the
FCC concluded that further corporate media consolidation can
result in less local news coverage. Activists say that relaxing
current restrictions on media ownership would only lead to
more giant media monopolies controlling the information most
Americans receive every day through radio or television broadcasts.
The FCC plans to rule on any changes to their rules on media
ownership next year. The public comment period will end by
January 2007. This is Mark Taylor-Canfield in Seattle for
Free Speech Radio News.
[top]
Washington Advisors May Press for Troop Withdrawal
(3:24)
In Washington, President Bush will come home from Jordan
to ideas on how the U.S. should proceed in Iraq. The Baker
Hamilton Commission is set to release their recommendations
next week, suggesting a gradual troop withdrawal – a
plan Bush has already rejected. But Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki
set what could be called a timeline, saying that Iraqi security
forces should be ready to take over by June 2007. Washington
Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
[top]
Bush and Maliki Meet to Discuss Iraq’s Security
(2:40)
President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
met in Jordan today to discuss the transfer of security in
the volatile, sectarian-torn Iraq. Bush said that U.S. troops
will stay in the country until the mission is complete, and
to aid in reinforcing Maliki’s authority. Bush and Maliki
met for two hours, and announced that they agree Iraq should
not be partitioned into separate zones. Oula Farawati reports
from Amman.
[top]
Lawyer Accused in Connection to Madrid Train Bombing
Finds $2-million Settlement with Federal Government
(2:17)
Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield was wrongfully arrested
in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed
191 people. Mayfield's lawyers announced Wednesday they had
reached a settlement in their civil suit against the federal
government for a sum of $2 million. Julie Sabatier has more
on the story from Portland, Oregon.
[top]
Iowa Governor Announces Bid for Presidency
(0:41)
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack became the first Democrat to announce
his candidacy for President today. Vilsack admits he is less
known than other possible candidates such as Hillary Clinton
or Barack Obama. His campaign will focus on ending the country’s
dependence on foreign oil and becoming a leader in renewable
energy – something he’s already helped accomplish
in his state of Iowa.
[top]
Unrest Continues in Oaxaca on Eve of Presidential
Inauguration (4:40)
On the eve of Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon's
inauguration, tensions flare in the Congress - and the southern
state of Oaxaca continues to suffer a series of massive human
rights violations. Fear reigns in the streets of this once
attractive tourist city, as the Federal Preventative Police
violates agreements reached between the Mexican government
and teachers union, escalating round ups of movement sympathizers
that extend to school yards. In the transition of power, congressional
representatives are resorting to fist fights as the right
wing National Action Party attempts to take over the tribunal
to secure Friday's hotly disputed Presidential Inauguration
in Mexico City. From Oaxaca, Vladimir Flores and Tim Russo
bring us more on the current situation.
[top]
Australians Demonstrate Against New Labor Laws
(3:35)
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Australia
today to voice their opposition to the industrial relations
reforms introduced by the Federal government late last year,
which demonstrators say make millions of workers more vulnerable
to unfair dismissal. The government has also introduced individual
contracts, known as Australian Workplace Agreements, which
critics say give employers have the upper hand to single out
workers. Under these new laws, unions have also been weakened
with the threat of massive fines for industrial action. The
industrial relations reforms were opposed by the Australian
Labor Party, the Greens and the Democrats, but because John
Howard’s Liberal Party has the majority in the Senate,
he was able to push them through. Cinnamon Nippard has more
from the streets of Sydney.
[top]
National Methamphetamine Awareness Day (2:37)
It's a dangerous drug that can be produced at home and spreads
fast. Tribe after tribe,Indian communities are bedeviled by
the highly addictive and equally crippling methamphetamine,
or meth. Today, on National Methamphetamine Awareness Day,
Native American tribal leaders teamed up with the federal
government to launch a program dedicated to educating Indian
youth the harms of meth. FSRN’s Yanmei Xie reports.
[top]
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