Headlines for Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Romanian government falls apart, leadership debate ongoing
The Romanian Government collapsed today, barley a month before Presidential elections. FSRN's Dana Lepadat reports from Bucharest.

The Romanian Parliament debated interim leadership today after passing a no-confidence vote against Liberal Democrats and Prime Minister Emil Boc. It’s the first such break down in Romania since Democracy took hold two decades ago. Supporters of the measure say that the Liberal Democrats no longer held a majority after Social Democrats quit their coalition last week. The opposition also cited poor management of the economic crisis in Romania. This evening, liberals proposed that incumbent President Traian Basescu name an interim Prime Minister and appoint a technocratic government – negotiations are ongoing. Dana Lepadat, FSRN, Bucharest.

Reports percolate about 13,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but deployment not new
US defense officials acknowledge that some 13,000 support troops are deployed to Afghanistan – but they add they are part of the ramp up announced at the beginning of the Obama administration. FSRN’s Asma Nemati has more from Kabul.

The additional 13,000 troops are support personnel, including engineers, medical specialists and military police force. According to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, the figure of 21,000 widely reported earlier this year referred only to combat troops, but those troops require ground support as well. Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the announcement. The US Military force in Iraq and Afghanistan now surpasses the highest levels seen during the Iraq surge of the Bush administration. And based on a report submitted by General Stanley McChrystal, there’s also rumor of further deployment of up to 40,000 more troops that could possibly bring the total troop level to about 108,000 in Afghanistan alone. For FSRN, this is Asma Nemati reporting from Kabul.

Japan will not renew refueling program that supports US-led Afghan war
Japan’s Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa announced today that it will not renew its naval refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. Japan’s previous conservative administration had periodically reauthorized the mission, however Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government has made no efforts to continue the program. Kitazawa did say that Japan is thinking about other types of non-military support to the Afghanistan mission, like job training for former Taliban members.

Somali legislators issue call for humanitarian aid
In drought stricken Somalia, members of Parliament called on International relief organizations today to initiate a life-saving campaign to prevent humanitarian disaster. Somali lawmakers voiced concern about the lives of those in areas where drought has already killed hundreds of livestock and many people are on the verge of dying of thirst and hunger. Parliament member Mohamed Omar issued the call for humanitarian aid:

I call on the international relief organizations and Somali business community to extend emergency humanitarian assistance to the needy people; we can understand the insecurity here but we ask assistance from any one who can.

Somalia’s humanitarian situation has deteriorated after al-Shabab banned aid agencies and most relief workers were pulled out of the country due to insecurity.  This report was prepared by FSRN’s Mogadishu correspondent Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar.

NOAA calls for Interior Department to scale back offshore drilling proposal
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released copies yesterday of recommendations made by The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to dramatically scale back a Bush-era plan to drill for oil and natural gas off US coasts —FSRN’s Sean Kinane has more from Tampa.

If accepted, the Interior Department’s Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010 to 2015  would offer twelve large lease areas in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic and Pacific continental shelves. But on September 21st, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere wrote to the director of the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, questioning the scale of the proposed drilling Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, says NOAA raised a “whole host of red flags concerning not only where but how fast and in what manner drilling was going to take place.”

“For the most part, for environmental reasons: that they contain key fish resources, there are wildlife migratory corridors, as well as the lack of preparation for avoiding and responding to oil spills.”

The drilling policy will ultimately be determined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. A copy of the letter from NOAA can be found on the website PEER dot ORG. Sean Kinane, FSRN, Tampa.

One of Cuban Five re-sentenced, judge exceeds recommendation
A federal judge resentenced one of the men known collectively as the Cuban five today- giving him two years more than was agreed upon by lawyers on both sides. Antonio Guerrero will now serve another 11 years. Guerrero was convicted of spying in 2001. Last year an appeals court tossed out his life sentence saying the punishment was unduly harsh as no US secrets were stolen.