Headlines for Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Afghans protest  Koran burning by US forces

Thousands of Afghan protesters flocked to the gates of the US led airbase at Bagram today, after  soldiers burned confiscated copies of the Koran. Coalition guards  fired rubber bullets and helicopters shot flares at the angry crowd.  Hundreds more gathered near NATO facilities in Kabul. Commander of the International Security Forces –  US General John Allen – was swift to respond.

“I offered my sincere apologies  to the President, to the government of Afghanistan, but most importantly to the people – the noble people – of Afghanistan. So that's my first point. The second point is very important as well, and that is this was unintentional. There was no intention by any member of ISAF to defame the faith of Islam or to desecrate precious religious materials of this faith.”

Laborers hauling garbage from the base found the burned religious books in the trash. They were removed from the base library because they allegedly had been written in by so-called Extremists. The US houses detainees at the base where some say they have been tortured and abused. 

Palestinian prisoner on day 66 of hunger strike wins concession from Israel

Just before the Israeli High Court was to consider the detention of a Palestinian hunger striker near death, Israeli prosecutors agreed to his early release. FSRN's Rami Almeghari has more.

Khader Adnan agreed to end his 66 day hunger strike in exchange for early release from administrative detention. The agreement came after a high court hearing set for later this week was unexpectedly moved up. Israeli authorities agreed that barring any new  "substantial evidence" they will set the Islamic Jihad leader free by April17 and will not renew his detention. Adnan has been in an Israeli jail since last December, but was never formally charged. Today's agreement is viewed by many Palestinians as a victory for Adnan as well for the more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of them held without trial. Jaber Wishah is an Ex-prisoner from Gaza and deputy-director for the Palestinian Human Rights Center here. "I think that the misuse of administrative detention by the Israeli authorities has led to the detention of many Palestinians. Adnan's case should shed light on this illegal and inhumane procedure." There have been widespread protests in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling for Adnan's release and both the UN and the EU called for his safety of the empty-stomach prisoner after his condition became life-threatening.

Human Rights Watch says Somali kids are raped, forced to fight and forced to marry

Human Rights Watch said today that children in Somalia are increasingly forced into insurgent fighting – with entire classes of kids kidnapped and compelled to fight. Somali children are also raped, forced into marriage and used as human shields by al Shabaab. Youth in Somalia also continue to serve as child soldiers in the Transitional Government's Army and supporting militias.  Yet the US continues to provide military aid to Somalia, despite a 2008 law that bans such support to  countries that use child soldiers.

US and Mexico sign Gulf of Mexico oil and gas deal

The US and Mexican governments  signed a deal covering trans-border oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. Shannon Young reports.

The announcement of President Felipe Calderon's signature on the trans-boundary energy agreement with the US seems to have taken many Mexican lawmakers by surprise. Now they want the Energy Secretary and the head of Pemex to explain the terms of the agreement. Ratification by Mexico's Senate is required for the agreement to take effect, but it is being presented as a done deal. Oil and gas reserves in Mexico are national property, and Pemex, the state-owned entity which explores and extracts the reserves, is Mexico's number one source of national revenue. Plans to open up the industry to private investment have met stiff political resistance in the past. But much of the country's national attention has been diverted to the violence which has claimed more than 50 thousand lives since the militarization of the so-called Drug War in late 2006. Before assuming the presidency, Calderon was Mexico's Energy Secretary. Shannon Young, FSRN.

Supreme Court says police don't have to Mirandize prisoners

The US Supreme Court said today that when police question a prisoner about a crime other than the one they're serving time for, they do not have to read them their Miranda rights. According to the majority decision, when a prisoner is questioned, the fact that they are in jail does not mean they are in custody for the purposes of the interrogation.  In other orders issued today, the Court sent a death penalty case back to the Third Circuit for another look. The lower Court had ordered that death row inmate James Lambert get a new trial or be set free within 120 days, that's now on hold. Justices also refused to hear a death penalty  appeal from William Gerald Mitchell, a Mississippi man  who says he shouldn’t be killed because he's developmentally disabled and had ineffective counsel. But the High Court did agree to take review affirmative action again. They'll hear Fisher v. University of Texas next term.