Headlines for Friday, December 4, 2009

Nato pledges to send 7000 additional troops to Afghanistan
NATO says it will send 7000 additional troops to Afghanistan to aid the US in its planned troop surge.

“If this international effort is to succeed – and it will – it must be a true team effort.  The fact remains that what happens in Afghanistan has a direct effect on our own security.”

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the additional troops would come from 25 countries – but Germany and France were not among them.  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the pledge.

“This is a crucial test for NATO.  We are keenly aware that the members of this alliance have paid a steep price in lives and treasure.”

Secretary General Rasmussen also pledged that more troop support would come.  Anti-war activists in the United States have been protesting Obama's surge announcement all week.

Uncertain future in Guinea as President shot by staff member
On Thursday, Guinean president, Moussa Daddis Camara was shot by his own aid at a military base.  The president and one of his ministers have been evacuated to Morocco for medical treatments.  Businesses remain closed and security is tight in the city.  This comes as the country recovers from violently suppressed protests and looks ahead to national elections.  Community News Production Institute member and FSRN reporter Abdulai Bah has more from Conakry.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has escaped an assassination attempt from one of his closest aids, Abubakar Sidiki Diakite – also known as Toumba.  The incident took place yesterday evening at a downtown military base.  According to the government, the president suffered a non-life threatening injury.  One of his ministers was also injured and two unidentified people have been confirmed dead.

Despite what many here view as a growing tension within the army, Communication Minister Idrissa Cherif says there is no reason to panic.

“Sachez que le chef d’Etat va bien.  Ce matin, il a pris son petit dejeuner et il a reunit ses different chefs d’etat majors, et je pense que tout va bien.  Et la situation interieure de la Guinee va bien, meme jusqu’a l’interieur du pays tout va bien.”

“Keep in mind that the president is doing well.  This morning, he had breakfast and met with his military aids.  I think everything is ok.  The current situation in Guinea is under control, including the interior of the country.  Everything is ok.”

Despite these assurances, the president was medically evacuated to Morocco without any formal request addressed to the Moroccan government.  The assassination attempt follows last September’s killings of over 150 civilians who had gathered at the national stadium to express their support for opposition leaders.  A UN-backed mission is currently in the capital to investigate the rape and killing that many here believe were orchestrated by the junta leaders, including the shooter.

As of Friday, Toumba has not been arrested.  No word yet if January’s scheduled national elections will go forward as planned.  For FSRN, I’m Abdulai Bah in Conakry, Guinea.

Human slavery operation broken up in Mexico City
Mexico City police have busted a massive human trafficking operation, freeing more than 100 slaves and arresting 25 alleged perpetrators.  Shannon Young has more.

The facade of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center hid a clandestine factory where 107 men and women were forced to work 16 hours a day without pay, making handbags and clothespins.  They were housed behind bars in overcrowded dorms with prison-style triple bunk beds and metal latrines.

Some were addicts whose families had checked them in for rehabilitation support, but the vast majority of those rescued had been abducted off the streets surrounding Mexico City's massive "Central de Abasto" food market.  Police patrolling the central market area allegedly participated in abductions.

The victims are primarily indigenous men from rural areas and several do not speak Spanish.  Many of the rescued have been hospitalized for severe malnutrition, dehydration, skin infections, and injuries.  Records show that the rehabilitation center has been in operation for more than 8 years.  Shannon Young, FSRN, Mexico.

SCOTUS denies appeal – Bobby Wayne Woods executed in Texas
After the US Supreme Court denied a final appeal, Texas executed Bobby Wayne Woods last night.  Woods’ IQ was low enough that many questioned whether his sentence violated a Supreme Court ruling against executing people with mental retardation.

Jobless rate begins to inch down
And finally, some promising news from the Labor Department today… the jobless rate in the US declined in November from 10.2 percent to an even 10 percent.  And the number of jobs lost plummeted to from 111-thousand in October to 11-thousand in November.  These are the best job-loss numbers since the recession began in 2007.  The alternate unemployment rate that includes part time workers who want to work full time and those who have given up looking for work is coming down as well.  But still 17.2% of the civilian workforce falls into this category.