Headlines for Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Occupy London evicted, camp dismantled

The grounds at St. Paul's Cathedral in London are cleared today, after officials removed the Occupy encampment there early this morning. Occupier George Barda told the BBC that removal of the camp will only shift the movement to other means of social action.

“My personal concern is that we don't allow the drama of this event to eclipse the huge an important issues that we in this country and billions across the world are increasingly facing.”

The camp removal was fairly peaceful, but 20 Occupiers were arrested.

Idaho Occupy encampment can stay sans camping

In Idaho, Occupy tents are still pitched across the street from the state capitol today after a Federal Court said they could stay--for now. Leigh Robartes has more.

Occupy Boise had gone to court arguing the state's eviction order was unconstitutional, because the 'emergency' anti-camping law signed by Governor C.L 'Butch' Otter last week targeted a specific group exercising first amendment rights. The law prohibits camping on state-owned land except at designated campsites. Occupier Dean Gunderson says they are thinking of writing a thank you letter to Governor Otter. “He tanked the entire state's case when he wrote in his signing statement to leadership that this was the authorization now to evict the Occupy Boise camp when they were saying all along through the process that this law was content neutral. It was not targeting any particular group.” Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued a temporary restraining order preventing eviction, but also prohibiting protesters from sleeping, cooking or conducting other camping-related activities on the lawn of the old Ada County Courthouse, where they have been since November. Leigh Robartes, FSRN, Moscow, Idaho.

Occupy Seattle calls for police chief's resignation

In Seattle last night, 10 protesters were arrested while occupying City Hall. They want the Chief of Police to step down after a U.S. Department of Justice probe found a pattern of excessive force.

Gaza's power plant goes dark

The only power plant in Gaza ran out of fuel today, leaving residents with no electricity for more than half of every day. FSRN’s Ghassan Bannoura reports.

This is the second time in two weeks the Gaza power plant went offline due to lack of fuel. According to the Energy Authority, residents will get 6 hours of electricity, followed by 13 straight hours of darkness. Without the 80 mega watts generated each day by the Gaza plant, the region is left with less than half of what it needs for normal operation. What little is does get, a meager 120 watts, comes from Egypt and Israel. The electricity outages hamper water service and sewage filtration. And according to Gazan Dr. Baker Hassan, the fuel crises will leave Gaza's hospitals unable to provide services. ““For sure health institutions use electricity for more than just lighting. It’s used to run vital machines like respirators and dialysis equipment.” The fuel crises escalated in recent weeks when blockade on Gaza in 2007, those tunnels have been one of the main sources of fuel to the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the coastal enclave. Ghassan Bannoura, FSRN, Bethlehem.

Keystone XL to begin on Oklahoma to Gulf Coast section

The Keystone XL pipeline is back. TransCanada says they're going to break the project into two segments, and move forward on the leg from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast. The White House says they'll expedite the permitting. Once they've hammered out an alternate Nebraska route, they'll reapply for the cross-border component.

Millions of workers in India strike to protest economic policy

In India today, millions of workers went on a nationwide strike demanding better working conditions and job security. Bismillah Geelani reports.

The strike was jointly called by more than a dozen major trade unions and saw participation from workers cutting across political affiliations. In most Indian states, including the national capital, New Delhi, businesses and banks were shut, government offices deserted and transport off the roads. Workers held protest rallies across the country demanding reversal of what they call the government’s anti-labor economic policies. Sajeev Kumar is a trade union leader. We are protesting against policies like privatization, out sourcing and contractual work. The labor class is suffering because of these policies and it is these policies which are responsible for soaring prices and unemployment. The strike evoked mixed response from West Bengal where the government had warned workers against joining it. The provincial government arrested more than a hundred workers supporting the strike. Bismillah Geelani, FSRN, New Delhi

Dozens more bodies than previously reported discovered in Mexico mass grave

Dozens of bodies have been discovered in a mass grave in the northern Mexican state of Durango. Shannon Young reports.

The mass grave located just outside of Durango's state capital contained at least 50 bodies. Officials say they were likely murdered in 2010. The site was originally discovered in December. At the time, authorities said they found just 10 bodies. News of the 40 additional victims was only made public yesterday, along with the announcement that 37 have been identified. More than 300 bodies have been discovered in mass graves in Durango since April of 2011. Shannon young, FSRN.