Newscast for September 30, 2009

Earthquake kills 75 in Indonesia; Tsunami hits Samoa islands
In the past 72 hours several major natural disasters have killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of buildings and homes.  In Indonesia, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit early this morning near the city of Padang, on the island of Sumatra. At least 75 people are dead and officials say thousands could be trapped under the rubble.  At least one shopping mall and two hospitals collapsed.

This follows another earthquake with an 8.0 magnitude that struck near the South Pacific island nations of Samoa and Tonga and the US territory of American Samoa.  The quake triggered a massive tsunami that killed an estimated 100 people, including more than 30 people in American Samoa. President Obama addressed the disaster earlier today.

“My deepest sympathies are with the families who have lost loved ones and the many people whose lives have been affected by the earthquake and the Tsunami. To aid in the response I´ve declared this a major disaster, to speed the deployment of resources and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working closely with emergency responders on the ground and the coast guard is helping to provide immediate help to those in need.  We also stand ready to help our friends in neighboring Samoa and throughout the region and we´ll continue to monitor the situation closely as we keep the many people who´ve been touched by this tragedy in our thoughts and in our prayers.”

Local officials say the death toll could rise in Samoa as more information arrives from remote villages. FSRN spoke with Dr. Jeff Masters from Weather Underground. His website tracks storms and natural disasters around the world.

After wrecking the Philippines, Tropical Storm Ketsana advances through Vietnam
Tropical Storm Ketsana continues to advance. Yesterday it hit Cambodia and Vietnam, where the government reports at least 66 deaths from flooding.  Ketsana killed more than 240 people when it passed through the Philippines last weekend.  Dr. Marinus Gotink works with UNICEF´s office in the Philippines. He just visited some of the hardest-hit areas.

“What one can see right now is that major damage has happened along the waterways. The people described it as a "tsunami came".  In about one hour or less the water levels raised up to four to five meters above the normal levels which means that houses built alongside of the river, bridges, everything was completely destroyed actually. And the water has retreated right now in many places and it left an enormous amount of debris and mud so that there's a cleaning operation going on. There are many poor living alongside of the river in shanty houses and they are trying to rebuild, they are trying to clean up with the very little thing they had. And it's kind of heartbreaking to see how well they keep up their spirits. And these people have lost everything so they need to have something to restart. That's what I saw.”

In Vietnam, authorities say they evacuated more than 170, 000 people in preparation for the storm. Ketsana also hit neighboring Cambodia where local authorities have put the death toll at 11.

Iraq General Odierno says obstacles to US troop scale-down remain
On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers heard from the commanding general of multinational forces in Iraq. As a troop withdrawal timeline looms, General Raymond Odierno said many problems remain with the scaling back of US troops.  FSRN's Karen Miller reports.

US Senate calls for 20 percent cut in greenhouse emissions
The US Senate has released its version of climate change legislation. It proposes to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. This proposal is the most aggressive yet. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

AIDS campaign featuring Hitler stirs controversy in Germany
The Ryan White Care Act sunsets Wednesday. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working to extend the measure, which helps fund HIV-AIDS treatment for low-income people.  Health care advocates are confident the funding will be renewed, but some are concerned that the current levels of funding aren´t enough.

According to the Iowa Independent, eight states that receive federal funding – including Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas – all have waiting lists for low-income people in need of HIV-AIDS medicine.

Globally, some 5 million people lack AIDS medicine, according to data released today by the United Nations.  However, UNAIDS said the number of people receiving HIV-AIDS treatment has reached 4 million, a tenfold increase over the past five years.

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981 according to UNAIDS. And with another 33 million people infected with HIV, thousands more die each day.  To raise awareness about these statistics and HIV-AIDS prevention, the German organization Regenbogen, created  a new AIDS awareness campaign, but it has led to an international controversy.  While many say the campaign is certainly shocking, AIDS activists say it's shocking for all the wrong reasons. FSRN´s Cinnamon Nippard reports from Berlin.