Headlines for Friday, July 17, 2009

Protests revived in Iran as former leader speaks out
Protests in Iran continued this week as opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi announced he plans to form a new reform party to challenge the conservative government.  Today, Mousavi’s most prominent clerical supporter, Ali Akbar Rafsanjani spoke before tens of thousands at the country’s largest Friday prayer gathering in Tehran.  State security forces fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.  Rafsanjani rallied the crowd, calling for tolerance, dialogue and the release of detained protesters.

Reporters Without Borders says at least 8 Iranian photographers and cameramen have been arrested – five of those arrests happened within the past week.   And yesterday the whistleblower website WikiLeaks announced that Iran has blocked its citizens from accessing the site.  In a release, WikiLeaks administrators said, “In censorship terms, the blocking of WikiLeaks is Iran's Berlin wall moment; it is not an attempt to keep enemies out, rather, it is an attempt to lock Iranians in.”

Deadly bombs damage two hotels in Indonesia
This morning, two bombs exploded at hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.  Both the Marriott and Ritz Carlton were targets, and Bloomberg is reporting from the scene that the streets surrounding the buildings are littered with blood and glass shards.  At least 8 people were killed in the blasts – and more than 50 injured, among them approximately 8 Americans according to the US State Department.

Planned Honduras mediation talks uncertain
Thousands of protesters are once again in the streets of Honduras ahead of planned mediation talks between the coup government and ousted president Manuel Zelaya.  Mediation talks scheduled tomorrow in Costa Rica have been encouraged by the US.  But whether those talks will actually happen still remains to be seen.  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez announced that Zelaya is going to attempt to return to the troubled country on Friday.  And now Chavez and other leftist Latin American leaders are once again accusing the US of stalling and backing the coup government.

US say international victims of domestic violence can seek asylum
The Obama Administration has signaled a possible shift in immigration law, theoretically allowing survivors of severe domestic and sexual abuse to obtain asylum in the United States.  FSRN’s Ann Raber reports.

The new policy reverses a Bush administration position that maintained women from countries where domestic and sexual abuse is tolerated are not a "persecuted group."  The Administration argued that domestic abuse is a family or private matter.

The change is a response to a case filed in immigration appeals court in San Francisco.  In that case, a woman from Mexico is requesting asylum, saying she fears she will be murdered by her husband if she returns to her home country.  Obama administration lawyers say asylum for the woman is a possibility. This represents a stark shift from the Bush era.  In the same case last year, lawyers argued that the woman did not qualify for asylum under American law.

Human rights groups have welcomed the change, but they are cautious. Even under the new policy, a woman must provide evidence of the abuse and lack of recourse in her own country. The shift in policy does not apply to women attempting to escape female genital mutilation.  Ann Raber, FSRN.

Health legislation clears another committee hurdle
Two more Congressional committees have now passed a version of massive health reform legislation.  The House Education and Labor Committee and the House Ways and Means committees both passed the House version this morning.  Obama is pushing Congress to pass a version of the Health Care bill before the summer recess in August.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that the House was on schedule to meet that goal.

“Goals that we have are universality, affordability and accessibility.  And we want to do this in a way, as we continue to lower costs and strengthen the package.  As America’s Affordable Health Choices Act moves through the legislative process, we continue to build more momentum.”

The House version of the bill includes a public option.

Obama Administration overturns controversial logging plan in Oregon
Conservation groups are applauding Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement that he’s scrapping a Bush Administration plan to increase logging in Oregon. FSRN’s Rachael McDonald reports.

The Western Oregon Plan Revision or WOPR, was a response to a timber industry lawsuit and would have more than tripled logging in federal forests. Josh Laughlin is with the Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands, a conservation group that has been fighting the WOPR since its inception.

“We believe this is a great first step toward creating lasting policy that will permanently protect iconic old-growth forests that remain here in western Oregon.”

Plans for increased logging under the WOPR moved forward in part because of reductions in spotted owl protections pushed through by the Bush Administration.  In explaining the decision to overturn the controversial logging plan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said it would not stand up to legal challenges under the endangered species act.  Rachael McDonald, FSRN, Eugene