Headlines for Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Britain – Shakeup in Labour Lineup
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government appears to be in crisis as his Home Secretary resigns and other cabinet ministers and Labour MPs are stepping down. From London, Naomi Fowler reports.

For the last few weeks, Britain’s Parliamentarians have been engulfed in the biggest scandal for decades over allegations regarding abuse of their expenses. Many MPs have tried for years to keep the detail out of the public domain.  But the specifics were finally sold to a newspaper, which has been publishing new allegations daily. While some MPs claimed for mortgages that didn’t exist, others claimed public buying an ornamental duck house. The Home Secretary is resigning from the cabinet after revelations about her expenses; the Children’s Minister will also not stand again as an MP. Now the Chancellor may also be forced out of the Cabinet over his expense claims. By the end of this political crisis, as many as a third of Britain’s Members of parliament from all parties may step down. Criminal charges may well follow. With the European and local elections on Thursday, all the main parties are expected to experience the worst election results in history. Small parties such as the Greens and Nationalist parties are expected to do well. Many believe with a general election only a year away, a challenge for Gordon Brown’s leadership may be imminent. Naomi Fowler, FSRN, London.

Hundreds of hostages in Pakistan free
Hundreds of people who were abducted yesterday in Pakistan while traveling in a convoy of mini-buses are free today. The caravan included students from a military run university, teachers and members of their families. Earlier - some 200 of them escaped on their own. Soldiers confronted the Taliban as they moved the remaining 71 students and 9 staff along a roadway bound for South Waziristan. While the militants escaped, all those still held were rescued.

Texas poised to execute 200th person under current Governor
A Texas death row inmate is scheduled to die this evening in the US state most likely to kill -- Rachel Clark has more.

At 6pm Central Standard Time Terry Lee Hankins will be the 200th person executed in Huntsville, Texas on Governor Rick Perry's watch.  Hankins was convicted of three counts of murder in the 2001 deaths of his estranged wife and two step children. Since taking office in December 2000, Governor Perry has authorized more executions than any other governor in United States history. Texas has the highest rate of executions in the United States and third highest in the world behind Saudi Arabia and China. Altogether, Texas has executed 437 people since 1982, including 152 under former Texas Governor and two-term president George W. Bush.  Death penalty abolition groups are encouraging individuals to flood Perry's office with faxes, emails and phone calls.  A coordinated series of vigils and protests are also scheduled to take place across the state.  Reporting from Houston, Texas, I'm Rachel Clarke, Free Speech Radio News.

China blocks some internet sites, arrests former political prison head of 20th anniversary of massacre at Tiananmen
China shut down Twitter, Hotmail, and the Huffington Post along with other internet networking sites today in advance of Thursday’s anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square. YouTube has been blocked sine March. And, Human Rights Watch said to day that former political prisoner Wu Gaoxing was arrested shortly after the publication of a letter he co-signed describing alleged economic discrimination against dissidents. This week marks twenty years since Beijing ordered the Chinese Army into the Square where thousands of students had peacefully protested for seven weeks. China says 241 were killed – others say thousands may have died.

Advocates of human rights say they are being targeted in Sri Lanka
Two weeks after the Sri Lankan government declared victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, some say repression simmers -- a rights group said today it received a threat and yesterday, a prominent journalist was attacked. FSRN’s Ponniah Manikavasagam reports.

After the declaration of victory, analysts say government supporters are angry and are directing their ire at journalists and peace activists who they say supported the rebels during the war. On Monday, Poddala Jayantha -- an award winning journalist and activist -- was abducted near his house, badly assaulted  and later dumped in the suburb of Sri Lanka’s capital -- Colombo. He is recovering in hospital today. Dr. Jehan Perera is the Director of the National Peace Council.   

Pro-government supporters are actively trying to link those who have been critical of the government and its policies with the LTTE rebels. The Centre for Policy Alternatives, or the CPA, is an NGO engaged in good governance and advocacy for peace.  The Centre’s director says they received a threatening letter today accusing them of treason. Media groups, journalists and opposition party politicians condemned the attack on the journalist and urged the government to take immediate action to bring the culprits to justice. Ponniah Manikavasagam, FSRN, Sri Lanka.