• Zimbabwe: Rival Factions Sign Off On Plan for Talks
• Pakistan: Taliban Targeting Girls' Schools
• Beating Death in Pennsylvania Exposes Racial Tensions
• Lessons from Maryland: Domestic Surveillance Expanded after 9/11
• The Outsiders Road Within

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Zimbabwe: Rival Factions Sign Off On Plan for Talks

Zimbabwe's rival political factions have signed an agreement to start talks on resolving the country's political crisis. Robert Mugabe of Zanu-PF, and both Aurthur Mutambara and Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change committed to talks whose goal is to reach a resolution within two weeks. Davison Makanga has more.

Pakistan: Taliban Targeting Girls' Schools

In Pakistan's Swat valley, a Taliban commander has issued a "fatwa" that women's education IS un-Islamic. His forces have bombed over a dozen girls' schools in the past month. Now The Taliban wants to transform the girls' schools into religious seminaries. More than 2,000 girls have already quit school because of Taliban threats. FSRN Correspondent Rahmanullah has more.

Beating Death in Pennsylvania Exposes Racial Tensions

An immigrant's  beating death in a small town in Pennsylvania is igniting debates over race and immigration. Luis Ramirez had been in Shenandoah for six years. He had steady work, two children, and a fiancé whom he planned to marry and bring back to mexico with him. The Saturday before last, friends dropped him off at a park—then got a call saying he'd gotten into a fight. When they returned, he was being beaten by a group of youth. After one kicked him in the head, his friends say, he started convulsing and foaming at the mouth. He died in a hospital the following Monday.

The group that beat Ramirez reportedly included several members of Shenandoah's popular high school football team. Several witnesses to the beating say the group of youth beating Ramirez shouted ethic slurs. One witness—an ex-police officer—said they shouted to Ramirez's friends that they should leave Shenandoah or, --quote—"you're going to by laying here next to him." But so far, both police, and local officials, say they don't think the beating was racially-motivated. And, though investigations continue, there have been no arrests.

Joining me to discuss the issue is Margaret Barajas. She's the CEO of PALO, the Pennsylvania association of latino organizations.

Lessons from Maryland: Domestic Surveillance Expanded after 9/11

Last Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union released documents showing that undercover officers from the Maryland State Police infiltrated and spied on peace and anti-death penalty groups in 2005 and 2006, continuing the surveillance for over a year despite finding no criminal activity. Some of the activists were placed on a watch list under the category "terrorism – anti-war activist."  Leigh Ann Caldwell takes a look at how police infiltration has expanded in the years since September 11th.

The Outsiders Road Within

A commentary from Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.