Archive - Aug 5, 2009

• Senator Leahy blocks $50 million aid package to Mexico
• Blackwater president, employees face accusations of murder
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated for second presidential term in Iran
• Honduran media say defacto government targets them
• Paid family leave celebrates its fifth anniversary in California

• Two US journalists return home after inprisonment in North Korea
• Federal Judge orders the release of 40k California prisoners
• US drone attack kills wife of Taliban leader in Pakistan
• UN Security Council resolves to expand protections of children in armed conflicts
• South America angry over potential expanded US military presence in Colombia
• South Korean auto workers met with violence from military commandos
• English green energy workers call for global day of action to protest Vestas plant closure

A US lawmaker is getting in the way of  an aid package to Mexico that is worth more than $50 million. The money is meant to help the Mexican government fight drug traffickers and the State Department is seeking Congressional approval for its release. But Senator Patrick Leahy says the State Department´s assessment of the country´s human rights record isn´t accurate. FSRN reporter Matt Pearson has more.

For years, allegations of wrongdoing have swirled around Blackwater, the largest military contractor working for the US State Department in recent years. New allegations from former Blackwater employees may be the most shocking yet.  FSRN´s Tanya Snyder reports.

In Iran today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was inaugurated for his second term as President of the Islamic Republic.  Ahmadinejad made an oath of allegiance in front of Iran´s parliament in Tehran, promising to serve the people, to support justice and to uphold the Iranian constitution.

Ousted Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya continues to negotiate for a return to power. On Tuesday, he met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Calderon reiterated his commitment to the reinstitution of the deposed president. And Zelaya confirmed his willingness to consider an agreement proposed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, as a possible way out of the Honduran conflict. Meanwhile in Honduras, President Micheletti´s defacto government is cracking down on some media.  FSRN´s Tim Russo has the story.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of California's Paid Family Leave Law, the first law of its kind in the United States. Under US law, workers can take unpaid family medical leave, but the US is one of the few countries in the world that offers no paid family leave.

California's paid family leave offers partial pay for workers who take time off to care for a newborn or a sick family member.  The state's workers fund the program through payroll deductions to the state disability fund.