June 15, 2010
- Vietnamese in Gulf Coast face extra hurdle in getting BP compensation
- Supreme court rules against deportation for minor drug offenses
- Congress closes in on financial reform with focus on derivatives and consumer protection
- Aid begins to reach Kyrgyzstan as thousands remain displaced by violence
- Landowners move to close makeshift camps in Haiti, threatening displaced
HEADLINES
Bloody Sunday probe released – Cameron says what happened was unjustified and wrong
A long awaited UK probe into the events known as Bloody Sunday was released today. On January 30th, 1972 twenty-seven protestors were shot by British forces during a civil rights march in Northern Ireland – 14 people died as a result. British Prime Minster David Cameron details the findings in the report by Lord Saville:
(Sound Clip)
Cameron said what happened on Bloody Sunday was unjustified and unjustifiable – and he issued a formal apology.
Egyptian prosecutor orders second autopsy on Khalid Saeed
Authorities in Egypt ordered another autopsy today on the corpse of a man allegedly beaten to death by police in Alexandria more than a week ago – this time observed by three independent forensic experts. Khalid Saeed died after plainclothes officers hauled him out of an internet cafe when Said refused to be searched. Human rights groups and witnesses say he was brutally beaten to death. Officers claim Said was trying to swallow a joint and choked. Photos of Saeed show a young man’s face disfigured, bloody and swollen – Amnesty International calls the pictures horrific. Over the weekend – police arrested dozens demonstrators who protested Saeed’s death they have since been released.
Thousands of Romanian gov’t employees protest salary cuts
State employees took to the street in Romania to protest deep cuts in their incomes — Dana Lepadat has more.
Thousands of protesters blocked two streets in front of the Romanian parliament today — they called on President Traian Basescu to keep his campaign promise to quote “fight the pricks in the union market.” A no confidence vote in the parliament failed today — giving the green light for austerity measures that cut government workers already meager incomes by 15 to 20 percent. Daniel Canrea was among the protesters.
“We came to ask for our rights. After 30 years of work – I have the right to a good pension — not this mockery. We protest for our children, our grandfathers. We can not live like this any more. The Government must fall.”
Protesters say they’ll be back in the streets in September. Dana Lepadat, FSRN, Romania.
Another humanitarian organization shuttered in Somalia
Hard-line Islamic extremists shut down a humanitarian aid agency today in Central Somalia – Abdulkarim Jimale reports.
Al-Shabaab extremists forcibly shut down an office of the International Medical Corps in a strategic town in central Somalia on Tuesday. The incident in Baladweyne came just one day after the militants captured the city from a rival rebel militia. Al-Shabab militias control most of south and central Somalia, including large parts of the capital. They have banned the IMC, the World Food Program and other international aid agencies from operating in areas under their control after the humanitarian groups refused to pay the militants $40,000 in taxes each year. The UN estimates nearly 3.7 million Somalis are in dire need of urgent aid. The country has been in political chaos since the government collapsed in 1991. Abdulkarim Jimale, FSRN, Nairobi.
Mercy Corps closes doors in Pakistan after employee kidnapped and killed
In Pakistan, a humanitarian group closed its own doors today after one of its employees was kidnapped and killed. A driver for Mercy Corps’ known as Habibullah was kidnapped along with three other aid workers in February. The organization announced today that he was killed by his captors – there’s no word on the other three. Mercy Corps has provided humanitarian aid in Pakistan since 1986 – it’s not clear how long they will remain closed.
FEATURES
Vietnamese in Gulf Coast face extra hurdle in getting BP compensation
On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers questioning oil executives from five top companies said their disaster response plans were out of date, inaccurate and vastly underfunded.
Executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Conoco Philips, Shell and BP testified. They said that the explosion on BP’s oil rig was an isolated event and that they were prepared for a similar incident, but several lawmakers noted that the response plans for all five companies were virtually identical. Rep Edward Markey pointed out that the plans included verbatim passages and similar errors – such as out of date phone numbers. According to Rep Markey, the five oil companies charted profits of $289 billion over the past three years and yet spent only $20 million a year on prevention or emergency planning, which amounts to less than one-tenth of one percent of profits.
In response to a question about compensating those affected by the spill, BP America’s President and CEO Lamar Mackay said that he was not prepared to commit to a separate account, such as the one proposed by President Obama, instead restating the company’s pledge to honor all legitimate claims.
“I cannot comment on whether there will be a fund set aside or not, we’ve made it clear that the company stands behind these commitments. We’ve got a strong balance sheet, we’ve got a strong company, we intend to stand behind those. I cannot commit one way or another on whether a fund would serve that and further on.”
President Obama will speak to the nation in a prime time address from the oval office. He’s expected to discuss the plan for a victims compensation fund.
Meanwhile, many in the Gulf are facing problems in filing claims with BP, including the sizable Vietnamese community, who face an added hurdle to obtaining compensation and work because of inadequate interpreting services. FSRN’s Zoe Sullivan reports.
Supreme court rules against deportation for minor drug offenses
On Monday the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that immigrants convicted of minor drug offenses cannot be automatically deported. FSRN’s Renee Feltz reports this decision could impact thousands of cases.
Congress closes in on financial reform with focus on derivatives and consumer protection
The House and Senate have begun creating a final version of the financial reform bill to send to the President’s desk. Today, a conference committee with representatives from both houses met to amend the bill. Debate continues on how best to regulate risky derivatives trading. And the formation of a stand-alone consumer protection agency is under fire from the banking industry. FSRN’s Matt Pearson reports.
Aid begins to reach Kyrgyzstan as thousands remain displaced by violence
Humanitarian aid began arriving to the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan today, after thousands were displaced by violence in the southern part of the country. Still, Many Uzbeks remain cut off from aid and assistance. Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, said more could still be pushed from their homes.
“The situation in Osh and Jalalabat remains tense and difficult with sporadic fighting and attacks on civilians, including women and children, continuing yesterday. We fear that unless peace and order is restored swiftly more people could be displaced as they flee to the countryside or try to cross the border to Uzbekistan.”
Officials raised the death toll to 171, but the International Red Cross estimates several hundred could be dead. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands are still massed along the southern border with Uzbekistan and one UNICEF official described the scene as “chaotic” with refugee camps lacking safe water and sanitation. The exact cause of the latest violence is still not clear, but authorities arrested the son of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in England today and the UN high commissioner on human rights said there is evidence that the violence was coordinated.
To learn more, we’re joined by Rachel Denber, the deputy director for Europe and Central Asia with Human Rights Watch.
Landowners move to close makeshift camps in Haiti, threatening displaced
It’s been five months since a 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing at least 200,000 and displacing nearly 2 million people. Now, Haitians made homeless by the quake are at risk of being displaced for a second time as private landowners throughout the city grow impatient with makeshift refugee camps on their properties. FSRN’s Ansel Herz reports from Port-au-
On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers questioning oil executives from five top companies said their disaster response plans were out of date, inaccurate and vastly underfunded.
Executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Conoco Philips, Shell and BP testified. They said that the explosion on BP’s oil rig was an isolated event and that they were prepared for a similar incident, but several lawmakers noted that the response plans for all five companies were virtually identical. Rep Edward Markey pointed out that the plans included verbatim passages and similar errors – such as out of date phone numbers. According to Rep Markey, the five oil companies charted profits of $289 billion over the past three years and yet spent only $20 million a year on prevention or emergency planning, which amounts to less than one-tenth of one percent of profits.
In response to a question about compensating those affected by the spill, BP America’s President and CEO Lamar Mackay said that he was not prepared to commit to a separate account, such as the one proposed by President Obama, instead restating the company’s pledge to honor all legitimate claims.
“I cannot comment on whether there will be a fund set aside or not, we’ve made it clear that the company stands behind these commitments. We’ve got a strong balance sheet, we’ve got a strong company, we intend to stand behind those. I cannot commit one way or another on whether a fund would serve that and further on.”
President Obama will speak to the nation in a prime time address from the oval office. He’s expected to discuss the plan for a victims compensation fund.
Meanwhile, many in the Gulf are facing problems in filing claims with BP, including the sizable Vietnamese community, who face an added hurdle to obtaining compensation and work because of inadequate interpreting services. FSRN’s Zoe Sullivan reports.
Supreme court rules against deportation for minor drug offenses
On Monday the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that immigrants convicted of minor drug offenses cannot be automatically deported. FSRN’s Renee Feltz reports this decision could impact thousands of cases.
Congress closes in on financial reform with focus on derivatives and consumer protection
The House and Senate have begun creating a final version of the financial reform bill to send to the President’s desk. Today, a conference committee with representatives from both houses met to amend the bill. Debate continues on how best to regulate risky derivatives trading. And the formation of a stand-alone consumer protection agency is under fire from the banking industry. FSRN’s Matt Pearson reports.
Aid begins to reach Kyrgyzstan as thousands remain displaced by violence
Humanitarian aid began arriving to the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan today, after thousands were displaced by violence in the southern part of the country. Still, Many Uzbeks remain cut off from aid and assistance. Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, said more could still be pushed from their homes.
“The situation in Osh and Jalalabat remains tense and difficult with sporadic fighting and attacks on civilians, including women and children, continuing yesterday. We fear that unless peace and order is restored swiftly more people could be displaced as they flee to the countryside or try to cross the border to Uzbekistan.”
Officials raised the death toll to 171, but the International Red Cross estimates several hundred could be dead. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands are still massed along the southern border with Uzbekistan and one UNICEF official described the scene as “chaotic” with refugee camps lacking safe water and sanitation. The exact cause of the latest violence is still not clear, but authorities arrested the son of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in England today and the UN high commissioner on human rights said there is evidence that the violence was coordinated.
To learn more, we’re joined by Rachel Denber, the deputy director for Europe and Central Asia with Human Rights Watch.
Landowners move to close makeshift camps in Haiti, threatening displaced
It’s been five months since a 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing at least 200,000 and displacing nearly 2 million people. Now, Haitians made homeless by the quake are at risk of being displaced for a second time as private landowners throughout the city grow impatient with makeshift refugee camps on their properties. FSRN’s Ansel Herz reports from Port-au-Prince.
