Headlines for Thursday, August 18, 2011

Seven Israeli’s Killed in Attack Near Sinai

Seven Israelis were killed and at least 20 injured in a series of attacks in Southern Israel; the Israeli military retaliated with air strikes on Gaza, killing at least five Palestinians. The attackers reportedly crossed into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. They fired on several buses and cars, and planted an explosive device on the road. Israeli defense forces say they killed several of the gunmen; it’s unknown how many escaped or were captured alive. The Israeli government immediately blamed the attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip—although Gaza is more than 130 miles away, and a Hamas spokesperson denied any involvement. Weakened security in Sinai has been a growing concern since the Egyptian revolution.

Indian anti-corruption activist will be released

Authorities in India have struck a deal with anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, allowing him to continue his hunger strike for the next 15 days. Hazare’s arrest earlier this week sparked massive protests across the country, forcing the government to order his release. But he refused to leave the prison unless permitted to go ahead with his fast. Bismillah Geelani reports.

The breakthrough came after two days of hard negotiations between Anna Hazare’s associates and the government. The 74-Year old Hazare will begin his 15-day fast tomorrow. Tens of thousands of his supporters are expected to join him there. Kiran Bedi is a member of Hazare’s group, India Against Corruption.

Hazare is demanding strong legislation to deal with corruption. Although the government presented a draft anti-corruption law in the Parliament last week, Hazare called the proposal toothless, because it exempts the Prime Minister, the judiciary and several others government officials from being investigated.  Bismillah Geelani, FSRN, New Delhi.

Guest workers protest outside Hershey chocolate packing plant

Hundreds of foreign students in the US for the summer walked off their jobs and held a protest outside the Hershey chocolate packing plant in Palmyra, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.  The workers claim the J-1 visas they paid thousands of dollars for, were for a cultural immersion experience, but instead they ended up as minimum wage laborers, who could barely afford rent. The students, from Asia and Europe, also criticized Hershey for using them as low paid workers instead of hiring local people at decent wages. Hershey said both the warehouse, and the Visas were handled by contractors. The students say they will remain on strike, which could put their visas at risk.

Verizon strike continues with protest planned outside CEO’s house

Striking Verizon workers will be protesting outside the home of company CEO Lowell McAdam tonight, as the nearly two–week old work stoppage intensifies. About 45 thousand workers in nine states are on strike, upset about the phone companies pension freeze and call for more employee contributions to their own healthcare. On Wednesday, Verizon said they would suspend many of the striking workers healthcare benefits at the end of the month if they haven’t returned to their jobs. Communications Workers of America District One Coordinator, Patrick Welsh, says the threat by Verizon is cruel.

“They can certainly afford to continue these benefits, but they decided that because we're out on strike, they’re gonna put the squeeze on the active members, and they’re pushing really hard in order to scare them.  Well that’s not going to work.  We need our medical benefits, there’s no two ways about it, but it just shows how uncaring they are, because we have thousands of workers with no medical care and many of them have children that have neurological disease, many of them have kidney dialysis, and many of our workers need constant medical care and prescription drugs.”

A Verizon spokesperson says if the workers have their benefits cut off, they will still be eligible for coverage under COBRA.

New report says cholera in Haiti is not being properly addressed-Ansel Herz

As the rainy season brings more sickness and deaths to Haiti, a new report says the international community isn’t devoting the resources necessary to counter the spread of the cholera epidemic that began last year. Ansel Herz has more.

The report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research says the international community’s response to Haiti’s cholera epidemic dropped off dramatically after the initial outbreak last October. Studies say UN peacekeeping troops inadvertently introduced the disease to the island nation. Since then, over 6,000 people have died, including 385 in July alone. But funding for UN’s cholera response flat-lined back in February, the report says. Dozens of treatment centers in some of Haiti’s most affected regions have been closed down, as multi-million dollar NGOs withdrew. Jake Johnston is one of the report’s co-authors.

The report says more treatment centers need to re-open in rural areas where mortality rates are highest. Some studies estimate Haiti will experience as many as 700,000 cholera cases and 11,000 deaths by November if treatment efforts are not ramped up.  Ansel Herz, FSRN.

Three suspected mass graves discovered in Sudan

The Satellite Sentinel Project has discovered what may be three mass graves in Sudan’s southern state of Kordofan. The area saw clashes between government forces and rebels this past June. The satellite images released show what could be piles of corpses wrapped in body bags or tarps. Another image, supplemented by eyewitness accounts, indicates a possible third mass grave under a water tower. Earlier this week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an investigation into possible crimes against humanity and war crimes during fighting in Kordofan earlier this year.