Headlines for Tuesday, August 24, 2010

District Court Judge: Troy Davis “is not innocent”
A federal judge ruled today that Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis did not prove his innocence during a US Supreme Court ordered hearing held in June, clearing the way for the state to pursue his execution. U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. wrote that while executing an innocent man would in fact violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, Davis is not innocent. He did allow that new evidence presented at the hearing cast doubt on his conviction – he characterized that doubt as minimal and said the evidence was “largely not credible.” Mr. Davis intends to appeal today’s ruling.

Relief efforts slow in flood devastated Pakistan
Yesterday brought more rain to Pakistan, where according to the UN, three quarters of a million people can only be reached by air.  They say they need forty more heavy duty helicopters. FSRN’s Scott Pham reads for our Pakistan correspondent Gabe Matthews.

Four million people remain homeless. Most are still in need of shelter, clean drinking water, food and medicine.  Response from the international community is slow, yet it is faster than Pakistan’s response.  The government has only redeployed about 10 percent of its military to rescue and relief efforts.  Fayaz Khan is a teacher. Now homeless, he and his nine family members live in a make shift tent. He has not received any help from the government.

“Our leaders come in helicopters and then leave. They don’t have any sympathy for us at a time when we’ve lost everything. We are not from other countries. If the government does not support us, it would be better to assemble the poor in one place and kill us all so that we could die only once with our children.”

The monsoon destroyed thousands of villages and killed more than 1800 people.  Some half a million of women are expected to give birth to children in next few months. Most have no hope of going home anytime soon. I’m Scott Pham reading for Gabe Matthews, FSRN, Pakistan.

Pakistan's finance minister will meet with IMF officials tomorrow to discuss restructuring the nation’s current debt and the possibility of emergency funding for recovery efforts. In addition to the devastating loss of life – some 2.8 billion dollars worth of crops were lost as well.

Defense Department surveys military spouses about repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Many military wives and husbands found a survey in their mailboxes today. The Department of Defense wants to know how they feel about a possible repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the policy that prevents lesbian and gay members of the military from living openly. The form was only sent to “legal spouses," therefore excluding partners in civil unions or domestic partnerships. The questionnaire asks how a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would affect the family's willingness to live on base. The survey also asks how the spouse would react should a gay soldier's partner participate in family support services. Results of the survey - sent to 150,000 service spouses - are not expected to be made public.

Mass rape in eastern DR Congo, babies among victims
As many as 200 women and children were raped over a recent four day period in the Democratic republic of Congo. The children were all less than a year and a half old - one baby boy was just four weeks of age. The attacks – carried out by Rwandan FDLR and Congolese Mai-Mai rebels in the North Kivu Province – began on June 30th and continued until August 4th. The rebels occupied the town of Bunangiri – just a short distance from a UN military base. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky:

“The mission has a military company operating base in Kibuwa, which is some 30 kilometers to the east of this particular location. And the FDLR attackers blocked the road and prevented villagers from reaching the nearest communication point. I may also point out that 30 kilometers may not sound very far but in densely wooded areas this is quite a distance.”

Earlier this year, the Congolese government called for UN troops to leave the country, saying it has failed to carry out its most important charge:protecting civilians.

More food recalls; FDA calls for power to order recalls in future
There's another major food recall today – almost 400,000 pounds of deli meat sold at Walmarts around the country may contain Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that could lead to fatal illness. The meats used in Marketside Grab and Go sandwiches were voluntarily recalled by Zemco Industries and Walmart has ordered the sandwiches off the shelves. The USDA says they haven’t received any reports of illness caused by the contaminated meats. And according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, only half of almost 3000 scientists at the FDA think the agency adequately monitored the egg industry for food-borne illnesses before the recent salmonella outbreak. FDA chief Margaret Hamburg says while new rules set in place last month might have allowed the agency to stem the outbreak – the agency needs the authority to mandate food recalls. Current law relies on producers to voluntarily recall contaminated products.