Headlines for Monday, January 30, 2012

New HUD rule bans discrimination LGBTs

New federal housing rules banning discrimination against  lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender individuals become final this week. US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan.  

“I am proud to announce a new equal access to housing rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose.”

The rule bans lenders from considering applicants' sexual orientation or gender identity when reviewing  FHA-insured mortgage financing. Further –  families who qualify for HUD programs can't be turned away  based on the  relationship or gender status of any one member  – either real or perceived.  And anyone who receives federal housing grants will be required to abide by prevailing state and local  anti-discrimination laws. The new rules  take effect 30 days from their publication in the Federal Register.

Arab League monitors quit Syria as violence escalates

Fighting in the suburbs of Damascus has reportedly increased dramatically today.  Arab League monitors ended their mission over the weekend. Russia slammed the Arab bloc for withdrawing – saying more observers are needed,  not fewer. And the United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors in continued effort to hammer out a draft resolution condemning the violence.  According to the opposition Syrian National Council,  state security forces corralled  hundreds of young men  in a central square in Rankus today, not far from Damascus. The SNC says the town is without power or water.  The US State Department says that  hundreds of  civilians have died in the past four days as state forces demolished occupied buildings. The UN has stopped tracking the death toll in Syria. Their last estimate  – in early December – was more than 5000 people dead during 10 months of uprisings.

South Ossetia's Jioeva sets her own inauguration for Feb. 10

The political standoff in South Ossetia continues as the winner of the annulled November vote now says she'll inaugurate herself next month. MJ Riquelme explains.

Two months ago, the Supreme Court annulled the presidential elections and rescheduled new ones for March 25. The winner of that poll, Alla Jioeva, defeated Anatoly Bibilov, who was staunchly supported by the Kremlin. After weeks of street protests, Jioeva agreed to new polls in March. Now she has canceled the agreement, and declared that she will inaugurate herself as South Ossetia's new president on February 10. In the mean time – five other candidates have registered for the March elections. No one knows what will happen on the 10th of February. Jioeva gathered thousands of supporters, but it's unclear who the Kremlin will support in the next round. South Ossetia's economy is completely dependent on Russian remittances and donations. And Jioeva has not offered any plan of action after her February self-inauguration. MJ Riquelme, FSRN, Tbilisi.

Political stalemate in Iraq eases; al Iraqiya ends boycott

The political freeze in Iraq has started to thaw with the Sunni-backed bloc agreeing to end their  parliamentary boycott. Al Iraqiya walked out after Shiite  Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government levied terrorism charges against the country's Vice President, Iraqiya's Tariq al-Hashimi. The break in the stalemate is a step toward greater power for Prime Minister Maliki. TheUS brokered a power sharing deal between Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds as part of the US withdrawal.  The New York Times reports today that the State Department is running a drone program over Iraq, to keep an eye on the security situation after the military handed off in December. The government plans to contract out the un-piloted spy plane program for the next five years.

Belgians protest austerity measures

Hundreds of thousands of Belgian workers unhappy with austerity measures introduced by the new Socialist government walked off the job today (Monday), paralyzing much of the country. More from FSRN's Liam Moriarty.

Trains, local transit and many airline flights were brought to a standstill and factories were idled, as unions called the first nation-wide general strike in nearly two decades. They're protesting plans by Belgium's government to tighten retirement, pension and employment rules. The government says the cuts are needed to bring Belgium's budget deficit down to meet EU requirements. But Rafael Lamas, with the Belgian General Federation of Labor – says the cuts will make things worse.

“If we focus only on austerity measures, we are going to enter in a vicious circle with depression, with less growth, so less revenues for the governments.”

The strike was called for today to send a message to European Union leaders, gathered in Brussels to finalize a new treaty to enforce budget restraint across Europe. Liam Moriarty, FSRN, Normandy, France.

Marine court-martialled in alleged hazing of  Lance Cpl. Harry Lew

A US Marine was court-martialled in Hawaii today regarding his role in the alleged hazing of Lance Cpl. Harry Lew.  Lew killed himself while stationed in Afghanistan in early April. Lance Cpl. Jacob D. Jacoby is one of three Marines accused of aggressively humiliating Lew. According to the AP, a plea agreement has been reached – but details were not available at air time.