Archive - Aug 28, 2009

• South American presidents debate US-Colombia military deal
• Argentine farmers protest government export taxes
• Change of guard expected in Japan´s parliamentary elections
• Web extra: Change of guard in Japan's parliamentary elections long version
• Pentagon profiles war reporters
• Housing and redevelopment lagging as New Orleans commemorates Katrina anniversary
• Martin Luther King´s “I Have a Dream” speech turns 46

• Newly-released CIA memo details detainee hunger strike in Colorado
• FL Governor appoints US Senate replacement
• Environmental group sues to stop mountaintop removal mining
• ACLU sues to reinstate the Green Party in Arkansas
• 850 refugees pack Greek detention facility designed to hold 300
• North and South Korea agree to allow cross-border family reunions
• August deadliest month on record for US troops in Afghanistan

Japan is holding parliamentary elections this Sunday. Prime Minister Taro Aso is running for re-election; his party, the Liberal Democratic Party has ruled the country for the past 50 years through coalitions or outright majorities in parliament.

South American presidents are meeting in Argentina to debate a controversial military agreement between Colombia and the United States.

The agreement would allow the US armed forces to use at least seven military bases on Colombian soil.  Colombia and the State Department say US forces will use the bases to conduct anti-drug trafficking operations.

Farmers in Argentina are holding a nation-wide strike against the government´s agricultural policies. FSRN´s Marie Trigona has more from Buenos Aires.

Japan is holding parliamentary elections this Sunday. Prime Minister Taro Aso is running for re-election; his party, the Liberal Democratic Party has ruled the country for the past 50 years through coalitions or outright majorities in parliament.

Critics are reacting to news that the Pentagon is keeping tabs on reporters covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military has contracted a company that evaluates reporters’ coverage of military operations. But some say these profiles are being used to determine which reporters get access to the front lines and which don’t. Tanya Snyder reports.