Headlines for Tuesday, April 28, 2009

• Federal Appellate Court reopens suit in “rendition” flights
• Swine Flu – FDA: Tamiflu can be given to younger kids, all schools in Mexico closed
• US Senator Arlen Specter changes political parties
• Venezuela recalls Ambassador to Peru in asylum row
• Hope for Homeowners gets more hopeful
• Nigerian soldiers get life in prison – for protesting for back pay

Federal Appellate Court reopens suit in “rendition” flights
A federal appeals court ruled today that an offshoot of Boeing Co. can be sued for its part in transporting terrorism suspects who were kidnapped and sent to secret prisons. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the five plaintiffs suing San Jose-based Jeppesen Dataplan in the secret rendition case can present their case without disclosing top-secret information.  The panel said that a lower court ruling that threw out the case on the basis of “state secrets” was inaccurate.  

Swine Flu – FDA: Tamiflu can be given to younger kids, all schools in Mexico closed
In response to the swine flu outbreak, the FDA widened the dosing population for the anti-viral drug Tamiflu today, issuing emergency rules that now allow children   less than one year of age to receive the drug and increasing dosage for children over 1. A handful of US schools were closed today as officials determine if ill students actually have the virus – but in Mexico, schools throughout the nation were closed upon orders from the Secretary of Health in a preventative measure against the spread of the virus. FreeSpeech Radio News’ Shannon Young reports.

Parents throughout Mexico are coping with the shuttering of schools at all levels through at least the 6th of May. The government of Mexico City has ordered all restaurants to suspend operations with the exception of take out and deliveries. The Food and Agriculture Organization has announced the deployment of a team of experts to Mexico to "help the government assess the epidemiologic situation in the pig production sector". This comes amidst reports tracing the suspected source of the new virus to a pig factory farm in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz. Meanwhile, the US Center for Disease Control revised its number of documented swine flu cases upwards, with 45 laboratory confirmed cases in New York City out of a total of 64 cases nationwide. The disease has also spread at the international level, with cases confirmed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Spain, and New Zealand. Shannon Young, FSRN, Oaxaca.

US Senator Arlen Specter changes political parties
After almost three decades on the Republican side of the aisle in the US Senate, Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter said today that he is switching parties. Specter plans to seek reelection as a Democrat – thereby bringing the US Senate within one vote of being filibuster proof. That one dangling vote belongs to Minnesota – and the outcome of the protracted Franken-Coleman contest will decide the balance of power in the Senate. .  

Venezuela recalls Ambassador to Peru in asylum row
Venezuela has called its ambassador to Peru home after The Peruvian Government granted political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales. Free Speech Radio News’ Pamela Cueva and Alfredo Cuadros report.

Peruvian Foreign Secretary, José Antonio Garcia Belaunde:
“The Peruvian government, loyal to a historic tradition and its commitment with the international rights, has decided to grant asylum to the Venezuelan citizen Manuel Rosales.”

Rosales is a former presidential candidate and current Major of Maracaibo who claims he is being politically persecuted by President Hugo Chavez’s government.  He arrived in Peru earlier this month and formally requested asylum last week. In Venezuela, Rosales faces corruption charges regarding 60 thousand dollars he earned while he was the Governor of the state of Zulia. Last week a Caracas judge ordered his arrest and called for Interpol to investigate. Rosales calls the allegations baseless and says the charges are a political witch hunt. Along with Rosales, two other Venezuelan politicians have sought refuge since 2007 -- union leader Carlos Ortega and former governor of Yaracuy, Eduardo Lapi. Meanwhile, left-wing Chavez supporters are calling for mobilizations to demand the cancellation of Rosales’ political asylum, and calling him a criminal. Pamela Cueva and Alfredo Cuadros, FSRN, Lima.

Hope for Homeowners gets more hopeful
President Obama today broadened the scope of Hope for Homeowners – a program crafted last year which was intended to help some 400,000 people strapped by second mortgages. Currently – if a homeowner wants to refinance their first mortgage at a better interest rate – they have to get permission from the second-mortgage holder. The expanded program offers incentives to second mortgage holders to modify their loans therefore paving the way for risky note holders to switch their mortgages to more stable 30 year fixed rate loans.    

Nigerian soldiers get life in prison – for protesting for back pay
Almost thirty Nigerian soldiers – all of whom served as UN peacekeepers in Liberia – were sentenced to life in prison today for mutiny. In July of last year they took to the streets to protest back pay – but the Nigerian court martial called their civil disobedience a breach of military discipline. Only one of the soldiers who participated in the action was cleared.