Thursday, February 22, 2007

Headlines (5:00)
ITALIAN GOVERNMENT STILL IN CRISIS
The political future of Italy is still up in the air a day after the
resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Prodi stepped down
yesterday after failing to secure the Italian Senate's approval for
key foreign policy issues like support for the war in Afghanistan and
the expansion of a US military base in the northern city of Vicenza.
Italian president Giorgio Napolitano spent a large part of today in
emergency meetings with the country's political leaders. The Italian
president is reportedly weighing the options of the formation of a new
government, the constitution of a new ruling coalition, or calling for
early elections.

MORTARS FIRED AT THE MOGADISHU AIRPORT
Suspected Islamic insurgents in Somalia attacked the Mogadishu
international airport with mortars today. Abdurrahman Warsameh has the
story.

The airport's manager Mohammed Ahmed Siad, told local radio in
Mogadishu that there were no casualties and that the mortars did not
damage the airport. However, some international media are reporting
that mortars did hit the airport and a runway. Two planes were there
at the time of the attack. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council
unanimously adopted a second resolution that endorses the deployment
of African peacekeeping forces in Somalia. The new mission overrides a
previous council-authorized operation led by the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional body, which had a more
limited mandate. In a video posting on an Islamic Web site, extremists
in Somali vowed to wage Iraqi-style guerrilla attacks with suicide
bombers and roadside bombs targeted at African peacekeepers.

TALKS IN NORWAY ABOUT BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS
Representatives from more than 40 nations are in Oslo, Norway for a
2-day conference on cluster munitions. Dozens of countries are calling
for a legally-binding international ban on the use, production and
transfer of these weapons by next years. Cluster bombs drop small
bomblets that often don't explode upon impact. These bomblets
effectively become landmines and posing a huge danger to civilians
when dropped in residential areas or farmland. The UN estimates that
hundreds of thousands of these cluster bomblets remain active
throughout Southern Lebanon since Israel's withdrawal last year.
Although the US is not attending the Oslo talks, Senators Dianne
Feinstein and Patrick Leahy are promoting legislation to ban the use
of cluster bombs in civilian areas.

KASHMIRI FAMILIES OF THE DISAPPEARED PROTEST IN NEW DELHI
A group of Kashmiri people whose relatives have disappeared in the
past 18 years of conflict carried out a one-day hunger strike in New
Delhi today as the Pakistani Foreign Minister visited for peace talks.
Shahnawaz Khan has more.

The Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons Kashmir, or
APDP, has been striving for information about missing relatives for
over a decade. APDP says around 10,000 people have been subjected to
forced disappearances by Indian security agencies in
Indian-administered Kashmir since 1989, when an anti-India armed
insurgency broke out in the region. India denies its role in
disappearances and puts the number of missing at around 3000, most of
whom it says have - crossed over to Pakistan administered Kashmir.
Most relatives of disappeared claim their kin were picked up by
security forces in front of them and never accounted for. Earlier this
month, investigators exhumed five bodies of men killed by Indian
police in Kashmir for allegedly being foreign militants. DNA evidence
is already beginning to prove the assertions that the men were
innocent civilians killed in set-up operations. For FSRN, I'm
Shahnawaz Khan.

USDA TO STEP UP INSPECTIONS IN APRIL
The US Department of Agriculture says it will soon beef up inspections
at meat processing plants that have a record of violations. Matt Kaye
reports from Washington DC.

USDA will step up inspections using existing staff at plants with more
recalls and products like ground meat, more likely to have E-coli,
salmonella, and other pathogens. Plants with fewer problems will still
be inspected daily, but for less time. USDA undersecretary for food
safety Richard Raymond (sound): "We will no longer be treating every
plant just like every other plant down the road…in terms of its
adverse health potential…and we will start using information and
inspection expertise that we already have, in ways that better protect
consumers…I would rather prevent an illness than mastermind a recall,
once an outbreak has occurred." but the effort to start in April at
250 meat, poultry, and egg plants - has already come under come under
fire from industry groups that charge USDA either lacks adequate
data...or is forcing industry changes too quickly. In Washington, Matt
Kaye, for Free Speech Radio News.

Features
New IAEA Report Could Mean More Sanctions for Iran (3:45)
The International Atomic Energy Agency - a global nuclear watchdog,
says Iran is continuing its nuclear activity. The report could trigger
another round of sanctions for the country, which insists that nuclear
energy is its right. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Jail-Like Conditions for Those Awaiting Immigration Proceedings (4:00)
Two nongovernmental organizations found immigrant families detained in
appalling jail-like conditions at two Department of Homeland Security
detention centers. Their report, issued today, details some of the
conditions men, women and children face while awaiting immigration
proceedings. Nan McCurdy files this report.

Environmentalists Denounce Funding of 11 New Coal Fired Power Plants (3:40)
Environmentalists gathered at Merrill Lynch's San Francisco
headquarters yesterday, to discourage the company from investing in TXU
Energy. The energy company has plans to build 11 new coal fired power
plants in Texas, but activists gathered at the investment giant's
offices to encourage it to invest in alternative renewable energy
sources instead. Christina Aanestad reports.

Increased Media Consolidation in Latin America Could Spell Problems for Already Limited Press Freedoms (3:30)
Government control of media around the world has not translated into
effective policies protecting freedom of the press. Latin America is
one area there that’s been evident, and with the onset of increased
media consolidation there, some question how free press issues might be
affected. Karen Miller has more.

Plan Puebla Panama Blamed for Lack of Potable Water (5:00)
Four million people in the southern Mexican state of Puebla – 80
percent of the population – lack access to clean drinking water. People
cross vast distances to get clean water at a high price, in an attempt
to avoid parasitic diseases, infections like typhoid fever, and skin
rashes from unsanitary water. Hundreds of people have held protests
around the state, and many of Puebla ’s citizens hold Plan
Puebla-Panama responsible. FSRN’s Ricardo Martinez explains why.