Archive - Mar 29, 2010

• Obama visits Afghanistan as US prepares for second major offensive
• Violence in Ciudad Juarez closes business, forces residents to flee
• New information on attacks in Democratic Republic of Congo points to LRA
• Push for reform on prisoner counting addresses voting districts, funding
• Rise in elderly homelessness to exceed current services

• Miners trapped in China coal shaft – rescue efforts ongoing
• Rio Tinto executives sentenced and fined
• Chinese human rights lawyer reappears mysteriously
• Recess appointments raise hackles among both left and right
• US cities react to Moscow metro blasts that kill 39
• FARC frees hostage; says another to follow tomorrow
• Militia members charged with sedition and weapons offenses
• Increased tension along the Gaza border, Arab leaders hold summit

President Obama returned to Washington today after a surprise trip to Afghanistan. He warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai against corruption plaguing the political system and propping up the drug trade. He also met with US and NATO troops stationed there. His visit comes as western forces are preparing for a second major offensive this year. This time in the urban center of Kandahar. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

In Mexico, Chihuaua state police announced the arrest of a suspect in the killing earlier this month of three people connected to the US consulate in Ciudad Juarez. The city has become an increasingly dangerous place – about six people a day are murdered. On Sunday, police found five bodies lined up and shot to death on a rural road outside the city.The violence between rival drug cartels has caused people to abandon their homes, close their businesses and flee across the border. From El Paso, Texas, FSRN's Dolores M. Bernal brings us this report.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a rebel group has killed more than 300 civilians and abducted 250 others, including 80 children. That's according to new information from Human Rights Watch, who sent investigators to the country last month. The four days of killing took place in December 2009 and until now had been unknown outside the region.

A number of States are considering laws to change how prison inmates are counted in voter districts.  Advocates say the current system shifts political representation and diverts much-needed funds outside of prisoners' home districts. In New York, a coalition of prisoner rights groups and lawmakers are pushing a bill that could change the way prisoners are counted. Supporters say it could reform decades of inequality. Rebecca Myles has more.

The elderly homeless population could increase by a third in ten years and more than double by 2050. That's according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, which announced the projections today. Nan Roman is president of the Alliance. At a teleconference, she told reporters that elderly homelessness has traditionally been low, but that could change with the aging baby boomer generation.