Headlines Package - October 22, 2007

• Bush Wants Billions More for War
• Oil Production Peaked in 2006: Report
  
• Tamil Tigers Attack Sri Lanka Air Base
• Outcome of Chinese Communist Party Congress
• Shipwreck Kills Migrants Near Oaxacan Coast

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Bush Wants Billions More for War
President Bush today formally requested 46 billion additional dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today's request brings the Bush Administration's 2008 emergency war supplemental to roughly $190 billion dollars. The war supplemental is separate from the $460 billion dollar Pentagon budget currently pending before Congress.

Oil Production Peaked in 2006: Report
A report released today in London states that global oil production peaked in 2006 and the now steep decline in oil production will increase the chances war and unrest. Naomi Fowler has the story.

Today's report says government and the energy industry are in "institutionalised denial" about the seriousness of rising demand for oil against a rapidly shrinking supply. The Energy Watch Group employed scientists independent of government and corporate interests to research the issue. While official industry estimates say global reserves are equivalent to 42 years of supply at current consumption rates, scientists of today's study put the figure at only two thirds of that. Editor of the Petroleum Review Chris Skrebowski: "Here you've got a government confronting the idea that it has all sorts of threats to our generalised welfare which it must address, but the government has been very favourable towards the idea of the market and market solutions which in this context, simply aren't going to work." Many peak oil experts advocate transferring subsidies from the oil industry to develop take up of renewable energy sources, a policy already being adopted in some European countries. This is Naomi Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio News.

Tamil Tigers Attack Sri Lanka Air Base
In Sri Lanka, a Tamil Tiger suicide squad attacked a key air force base this morning, in an unprecedented ground and air assault leaving 34 combatants dead. Ponniah Manikavasagam reports from Sri Lanka.

A government spokesman said 13 members of Sri Lanka 's security forces and 21 Tamil Tiger rebels died in the attack on an air force base in the northwestern capital town of Anuradhapura. A rebel leader in the northern town of Kilinochchi said 21 members of the Black Tiger unit and two light aircraft struck the base from ground and the air. He said the assault planes returned to their base after the attack mission having destroyed 8 air crafts including a beach craft fitted with advanced electronic spy devices. The government forces have been carrying out an intense campaign against the rebels in the northern part of the island. Observers speculate that today's raid may have been a pre-emptive attack by the rebels as the government prepares a major showdown to crush the Tamil Tigers. For Free Speech Radio News, I am Ponniah Manikavasagam from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.

Outcome of Chinese Communist Party Congress
China's 17th Party congress, held once every five years, has concluded with the announcement of new members to the country's all powerful politburo standing committee. Elise Potaka reports from Beijing.

China's President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were today reappointed to the politburo standing committee, ensuring their rule over the country for a second five year term. Members of the Communist Party's Central Committee also elected two newcomers to the standing committee; Shanghai party head Xi Jinping and Liaoning party head Li Keqiang. These two men are now the most likely contenders to take over the top leaders' jobs in 2012. Both Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are seen by many as part of a new more open-minded generation of party leaders. Both, in the past, had ties with supporters of the Tiananmen Square protestors. The announcement of the new standing committee concludes the Chinese Communist Party's ten-day congress which has seen the country's leaders pledge to close the gap between rich and poor, and increase inter-party democracy. I'm Elise Potaka in Beijing for FSRN.

Shipwreck Kills Migrants Near Oaxacan Coast
The Mexican Navy continues to search for survivors of a boat that shipwrecked off the coast of Oaxaca while carrying would-be migrants from Central America. Vladimir Flores reports.

At least 15 people have been found dead after a boat transporting 24 Latin Americans shipwrecked at sea. Oaxacan fishermen found the first bodies on Friday and the Mexican Navy will continue to search for survivors until this evening. The boat left for Guatemala and was carrying mostly Central Americans, although one Peruvian passport has been found in the wreckage. Only 3 survivors have been found. All are from El Salvador. The boat's passengers had paid up to 25-hundred dollars each to travel to Tijuana. Mexican immigration authorities have recently increased patrols on land crossings from Central America, which has forced migrants to use the more dangerous option of crossing into Mexico by ocean on their way to the United States. In Oaxaca, Mexico, Vladimir Flores, Free Speech Radio News.