Archive - Jul 27, 2009

• Tensions rise in Honduras-Nicaragua border following President Zelaya´s visit
• Honduras interim government reacts to deposed President´s moves
• Walmart pushes for expanded health care coverage
• Protests over Iran elections continue as Ahmadinejad prepares inauguration
• Gay sex ruling challenged in India´s Supreme CourtGay sex ruling challenged in India´s Supreme Court
• Democracy Restoration Act could allow ex convicts to vote

• North Korea Says it's Open to New Dialogue on Nukes
• Gaza Judge Orders Lawyers to Wear Traditional Islamic Dress
• Hamas bars Fatah officials from traveling to West Bank
• More than 150 killed in Islamist Attacks in Nigeria
• Toronto Strike May be Nearing an End
• Strikes paralyze South Africa
• Iraqi Jobs Program Suspended Due to Charges of Fraud

Tensions continue to grow in Honduras, nearly one month since the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile.  Over the weekend, the ousted president traveled by caravan to the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, stepping symbolically into Honduras for a press conference.

Military roadblocks and a 24 hour curfew impeded thousands of Zelaya supporters from reaching the border to accompany the ousted president back into the country.   FSRN´s Tim Russo has more from Honduras.

Honduras Interim President Roberto Micheletti appealed to US political leaders and citizens today on the pages of the Wall Street Journal.  In an op-ed, Micheletti said President Zelaya was legally removed from power, after the judicial and legislative branches of the Honduras government found that Zelaya had “violated the country´s laws and constitution.”

Micheletti´s words come as human rights organizations criticize his government for persecuting people who support the deposed President Zelaya.  Some say the human rights situation is now critical in the border region between Honduras and Nicaragua, where Zelaya supporters are stuck between road blocks.

To learn more about the interim government response to this weekend´s FSRN spoke to Suyapa Portillo a research fellow at Pomona College. Portillo is from Honduras and she is closely monitoring the political standoff.

Walmart recently teamed up with some unlikely allies to call for employer-paid health care. Walmart is one of America´s largest employers, and it currently provides health care to more than half of its US work force.  Some Walmart officials want to extend health benefits even beyond what President Obama is calling for.  FSRN´s Tanya Snyder reports.

More than 20 Iranians died in the crackdown that followed the country's disputed June 12 election and hundreds more have been jailed or have disappeared.

Despite the unrest, President Mahmood Ahmadinejad's inauguration is set for the first week of August, after which he will serve out his second and last four year term. Still, the protests over Ahmadinejad´s election continue in several countries with people saying this is not only about an election, but about human rights.  FSRN´s Rose Ketabchi filed this report from San Francisco.

The gay rights movement in India won a resounding victory earlier this month, when an Indian Court overturned a colonial-era law that defined gay sex as a criminal act.

While the ruling has been praised by the gay community in India and rights groups across the world, it is facing stiff resistance within the country from religious and nationalist groups. The ruling has been challenged in the Supreme Court and is the focus of a heated debate across the country. FSRN´s Bismillah Geelani has more from New Delhi.