Archive - Mar 10, 2009

Lawmakers consider spending more money on Mexico-U.S. Merida Initiative
Employee Free Choice Act introduced in Congress
Tibetans in exile mark 50th anniversary of uprising against Chinese rule
Palestinians head to Cairo for national unity talks
Kashmir moves to close more than 1,000 houseboats

Mass Grave Exhumed in Peru
More Violence in Northern Ireland
Last of the Boufayed Group Released in Libya
British Police Admit Surveilling Journalists
Landless Women in Brazil Call for Agrarian Reform

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are introducing a bill that seeks to reform the way workers join unions. Unions say it's a chance for workers to join without intimidation. But big business says it eliminates so-called “secret ballots” in the workplace. Peter Grantiz has more on one of the most contentions bills about to make its way through Capitol Hill.

Kashmir’s houseboats, long promoted as part of the picture of an ideal Kashmir holiday, face an uncertain future. The High Court of Indian administered Kashmir has ordered the closure of about 1,200 houseboats because they spill waste into Dal Lake. But as Shahnawaz Khan reports, houseboat owners say there are other ways to treat the lake.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Mexico, where he’s vowed to help the country fight organized crime – Sarkozy is offering intelligence-gathering technology and law enforcement training to repress warring drug cartels. Back in the U.S., Congress is considering funding for the Merida Initiative. The two-year-old agreement between Mexico and the US supplies our southern neighbor with more than a billion dollars in military and intelligence aid.

Buddhist monks and exiles in Nepal chanted for Tibetan Independence today, which marks the 50th anniversary of the uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet –that failed uprising led to the Dalai Lama’s exile from Tibet to India. In a press conference today, the Dalai Lama called China’s continued rule over Tibet “hell on earth” and said that China is trying to aggravate the situation. Tibetan exiles gathered in several Indian cities as well today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the uprising.