Newscast for Friday, April 9, 2010

Supreme Court Justice Stevens, leader of liberal minority, announces retirement
US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced today he’ll step down from the bench this summer. Though he’s a Republican and was appointed by Gerald Ford, a Republican president, Stevens is a leader of the liberal wing of the Court. Tanya Snyder has more.

Sudanese go to polls in first multiparty election in over two decades
This Sunday, voters begin three days of polling in Sudan in the first election with multiparty candidates in 24 years. Voters will elect the next president. They’ll also fill the 450 seats in the national assembly. Incumbent President Omar Al Bashir, who took over leadership in a 1989 coup and is currently under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, is expected to win. But conflict continues in the region and this week the European Union pulled election monitors out of Darfur, citing safety concerns. That, along with an electoral boycott by opposition parties, has cast questions about the legitimacy of the outcome.

Still, according to the nation’s electoral commission, 81 percent of eligible voters have registered to vote. Two Sudanese voters in Unity State told reporter Lonya Bany that they're hopeful.

"I think it's going to be okay...I"m traveling to [Juba] tomorrow for the elections."

The Sudan People's LIberation Movement, the opposition party from the south, has pulled out - at least partly - from the election. FSRN’s Zach Baddorf is in Rambak, Sudan. He explains the implications.

“In a lot of media reports, you’ll see that the SPLM, the opposition party has boycotted elections and in part that’s true…and make it so that Bashir doesn't have the legitimacy that he’s trying to go for."

Southern Sudan plans to vote on a referendum next January that would establish its independence from the North in 2011. That referendum is a key issue in the current election. Again, Zach Baddorf.

"This is a big part of the puzzle, especially for the South…control the oil revenue in the south...Unfortunately, they do have to continue to work with the North because that's where all the refineries are."

That's FSRN's Zach Baddorf in Sudan talking about the elections this weekend. Polling will continue through next week.

Call for equity in climate change talks as negotiations enter next round
International representatives are gathering in Bonn Germany today for the next round of talks on climate change. It's the first meeting since the December conference in Copenhagen. At issue are differences over emissions reductions and the roles of developing and rich nations ahead of the summit at the end of the year in Mexico.

One of those in attendance is the Stockholm Environment Institute, an international science and policy research group. FSRN recently sat down with the institute's executive director Johan Rockstrom during a visit to New York for the State of the Planet Conference. We began by talking about the issue of equity in the climate change debate.

Despite discrimination in Russia, LGBT movement increases visibility
The Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement in Russia is growing even amid aggressive social and official repression. Across the country this week, activists are striking back against deeply-rooted homophobia in Russia through a series of events aimed at increasing the visibility of the rights movement. Jenny Johnson reports.

Sri Lanka’s ruling party wins parliamentary elections as low turnout recorded
Today, Sri Lanka's ruling party emerged victorious in parliamentary elections. But it fell short of the two-thirds majority that would have allowed president Mahinda Rajapakse to amend the constitution. It's the first election since the government's defeat of the Tamil Tigers last year and turnout was low. FSRN’s Ponniah Manikavasagam has the story.