Archive - Oct 25, 2007

• The US Announces Sanctions on Iran
• Democrats Criticize Bush Administration Handling of Corruption in Iraq
• S-CHIP Legislation Still a Hot Topic on the House Floor
• Thousands of Poor in India March to Protest Corporate Land Grabs
• Freedom of Press Contentious in Nepal

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• Turkey Ratchets Up the Rhetoric
• Italian Judge Throws Out Case Against US Soldier
• Philippine President Pardons Her Corrupt Predecessor
• EU Debate Over Emissions Standards for Vehicles
• Milwaukee Passes Sweat-Free Ordinance
  

As tensions in Nepal
mount over an impasse between Maoist rebels and the Nepali Government, press
freedom in the country has come under attack. During the Royal Nepalese regime,
journalists suffered myriad persecutions - ranging from detention, assault and
abduction, to disappearance. The eclipse of royal autocracy, the advent of
democracy in April 2006, and the participation of Maoist rebels in the
government provided hope for expanded freedom of the press. But press freedom
continues to suffer – some of it at the hands of the Maoists. They have been
accused of abducting Nepalese journalists unsympathetic to their cause. And as
PC Dubey reports from Kathmandu, the government has done very little to provide
a safe environment for the press in the country.

Thousands of Poor in India March to Protest Corporate Land Grabs
The battle over land rights in India has intensified in recent
years. Whole segments of Indian society – mostly poor indigenous tribes - claim
their land is slowly being taken by powerful development groups that plan to use
it for Industrial Townships and special economic zones. In a move to counter
this unhindered development, some 25-thousand poor tribe members from various
parts of India have been marching to Delhi. They hope to press the government
for an equitable solution in order to avoid the displacement of thousands. Binu
Alex reports from western India

S-CHIP Legislation Still a Hot Topic on the House Floor
The
House of Representatives is considering the State Children's Health Insurance
Program today. The new version of the S-CHIP legislation makes some changes in
an effort to appease Republicans. Among those changes, it tightens up language
about eligibility for undocumented immigrants. However, the timing of the vote
does little but dissuade Republicans from joining. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell
reports.

At a hearing today for the Government Oversight committee, Democrats criticized Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on being vague about corruption and contractors in Iraq. Rice took heat for not denouncing out-right an order made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In that order, Maliki demands that he give approval to any corruption investigation of high-ranking ministry officials – including himself. Rice claimed the information was all new to her. Karen Miller has more.