Newscast for Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thousands of Gaza residents seek refuge at relief sites after week of Israeli strikes

Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire plan crafted by Egypt and endorsed by the Obama Administration. Egypt’s foreign minister, Kamel Amr announced the truce today in Cairo with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to the ceasefire deal, Israel has agreed to stop all “hostilities” on the Gaza Strip, from land, sea and air. In turn, all Palestinian factions will stop rocket attacks into Israel. The plan said all sides will address the opening of crossings 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.FSRN’s correspondent in Gaza said that the atmosphere is festive following the announcement. Since the latest conflict began one week ago 141 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Almost half were civilians. More than 1,000 have been injured. Five Israelis have been killed by rockets launched from Gaza, according to Israeli officials. After the Israeli military ordered Gaza residents living near the border to evacuate yesterday,  more than 16,000 residents of the northern Gaza area fled to safe shelters at Gaza city's United Nations Relief and Works Agency-run schools. FSRN's Rami Almeghari has more from Gaza City.

With ceasefire in effect, studies raise concern about long term health effects of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

With a ceasefire in place, rockets from Gaza and airstrikes from Israel are expected to pause - at least temporarily - but the long-term effects of bombings and airstrikes for the residents of Gaza may linger. Two scientific studies released earlier this year found a strong correlation between Israel’s use of military weapons in the area and birth defects in Gaza children. Researchers at the University of Genoa in Italy and medical staff in Gaza saw kidney, cardiac, lung, gastrointestinal and other defects in the children of Palestinians exposed to white phosphorus, uranium and other toxic substances.

For more, we’re joined by Fabio De Ponte, spokesperson for the New Weapons Committee, the group that released the research. He joins us from Turin, Italy.

To access the studies: http://www.newweapons.org/?q=node/128

Walmart workers plan walkout on ‘Black Friday,’ demanding better pay and conditions

Workers at Walmart - the world’s largest private employer - are planning to walkout on strike this week from more than 1,000 stores across the country. The demonstration is scheduled to disrupt “Black Friday” sales on one of the busiest retail days of the year. This year Walmart and other chain stores are beginning their sale a day early, on Thursday night. Workers are demanding better pay and conditions, but Walmart has accused them of planning to picket illegally and is threatening to retaliate against participating employees. Both sides have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to rule on their behalf, and are waiting for a decision, which may hinge on different interpretations about the reason for the strike. FSRN’s Alice Ollstein has more.

Illinois inmates continue legal fight citing health effects of prison food

In Illinois, current and former prisoners continue their three year long legal fight against the state for food they say sickened them. The lawsuit accuses  the Illinois department of corrections of cruel and unusual punishment  for using a cheap form of soy protein to save money on meat. Prisoners say their complaints of health problems have been ignored. FSRN's Jay Sapir reports.