July 20, 2004
HEADLINES
Sudan Gov’t Participants in Darfur
Human Rights Watch says that they have documents showing the Sudanese government is directly involved in atrocities in the Darfur region. Kody Emmanuel reports from WBAI.
Israelis and Palestinians Clash in Lebanon
Fighting has erupted in Southern Lebanon as the Israeli military and the Palestinian resistance group Hezballah exchange fire at the Israeli-Lebanese border. Mohammed Shublaq reports from Beruit.
US Army Biolabs Shut by FBI
One of the U.S. Army’s bio-warfare research labs have been shut while the FBI searches for evidence related to the 2001 anthrax scare. Kellia Ramares has more.
Black Farmers Want Restitution
Black farmers who won a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked Congress to reopen the case since most are still waiting for restitution. Tom Gomez has more from D.C.
FEATURES
Marine Corp Developing Chemical Weapons?
A government watchdog group says that at the request of the Marine Corp it has removed documents obtained from the Pentagon from its website. The documents may suggest the Marine Corp is developing chemical weapons that were outlawed by the Convention Against Chemical Weapons treaty. Mitch Jeserich has more.
Supreme Court Deluged Regarding Juvenile Executions
This fall, the Supreme Court will weigh whether it is constitutional to sentence juvenile offenders to death. A flurry of friend of the court briefs was filed with the high court yesterday demonstrating that its decision will be closely watched. As Renee Feltz reports from KPFT in Houston, the case, Roper Vs. Simmons, could have special relevance in Texas, where 13 of the 22 juvenile executions have been carried out in the modern capital punishment era.
India and Pakistan Discuss Jammu and Kashmir
Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh is holding meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Foreign Ministers’ meet in Islamabad. The Indian Foreign minister is also likely to meet Pakistani President General Pervez Musharaff. Yesterday, Indian and Pakistani diplomats met in Islamabad to continue bilateral discussions between the two countries. The SAARC Charter at the moment does not allow bilateral and political disputes in its deliberations, but Pakistan has been asking for their inclusion. The meetings hope to carry forward the peace process between the two nuclear neighbors who are locked in a dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association went on a token strike yesterday in Indian administered Kashmir protesting the treatment meted out to prisoners of the state. Shahnawaz Khan has more.
Virginia’s Anti-Crime Law
Since July 1st, English and Spanish language newspapers in the metro-DC-area have been reporting on the alarming sense of fear experienced by illegal immigrants as a result of Virginia’s new anti-crime law. The law has granted police officers broad powers to detain illegal immigrants in that state, and many in Congress have been considering such measures as a nationwide initiative to crack down on illegal aliens. Dolores M Bernal has more on this story from Washington, DC..
