Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Headlines(5:05)
US TALKS WITH IRAN "HEATED"

The US ambassador to Iraq met with his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad
today for the second round of talks between the two countries in
nearly 30 years. The US blames Iran for supporting Shiite militias
within Iraq - a claim Iran says Washington cannot prove. During the
reportedly tense meeting, Iran agreed to join a 3-party subcommittee
with the US and Iraq to focus on Iraq's security situation.

BRITAIN EXPERIENCES WORST FLOODING IN LIVING MEMORY

Britain is facing some of it's worst flooding in living memory. Naomi
Fowler reports on the effects of severe weather there.

Flooding isn't a modern phenomenon in Britain but the frequency of
severe flooding appears to be. Northern, Central and parts of southern
England face a rising bill of $4 billion-worth of damage; 420,000
people have no fresh water supplies and many thousands have no
electricity. There are still more heavy rains on the way. As with New
Orleans, warnings about insufficient spending on flood defences were
apparently ignored by politicians. Not only that, but half of all
homes built in the last 50 years are on flood plains. Heavy rain has
become twice as intense over the past 40 years in the UK with the
worst downpours happening four times more often and flooding is set to
increase tenfold. This is Naomi Fowler in London for Free Speech Radio
News.

MINING LAWS SPARK PROTESTS IN ARGENTINA

Residents from Argentina's Andean region mobilized in Buenos Aires
today, calling for reforms to the country's mining laws. Marie Trigona
has more from Buenos Aires.

More than 500 environmentalists formed a human chain around
Argentina's congressional building to press for legislation to impose
strict regulations on mining operations within national territory.
Minerals have become Argentina's largest export, valued at nearly 80
billion dollars over the past decade. Mining companies, like Canada's
Barrick Gold only have to pay 3 percent in royalties on minerals
extracted from Argentine territory and are allowed to pollute the
environment with chemicals like cyanide; used to extract mineral ores
from open-pit mining sites. Argentine congressman Carlos Tinnirello
has been pushing for reforms to the country's mining laws. (audio)
"For me life doesn't have a price, not for 3 percent or 50 percent,
the new legislation should ban open-pit mining and the prohibition of
using water sources, rivers, lakes and streams for mining." Earlier
this year Argentina's Supreme Court rejected a proposed open-pit gold
mine using cyanide, however more than 200 mining projects are
currently in operation. For Free Speech Radio News, I'm Marie Trigona
in Buenos Aires.

CANADA RENEWS FUNDING FOR THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Canada's Conservative government has announced it will resume
financial aid for the Palestinian Authority, weeks after Pro-Western
President Mahmoud Abbas expelled Hamas legislators. Stefan Christoff
reports from Montreal.

The Canadian government HAS pledged a limited $7.6 million towards the
Palestinian Authority, 18 months after Canada became the 1st western
government to cut all financial and diplomatic ties with the PA. The
Canadian government launched a western boycott of the PA, just days
after Hamas won a parliamentary majority in legislative elections in
January of 2006. Khaled Mouammar is the President of the Canadian Arab
Federation. (audio) "By imposing this blockade and boycott against the
Palestinians, they wanted to encourage civil-strife, to try to remove
the democratically elected government of Ismail Haneyeh." None of the
resumed Canadian aid will be directed toward the 1.5 million
Palestinian residents of the impoverished Gaza Strip, WHERE [CUT:in
which] Hamas maintains political control. This is Stefan Christoff in
Montreal, reporting for FSRN.

MINIMUM WAGE HIKE TAKES EFFECT

A raise in the federal minimum wage takes effect today. Hourly rates
went up to $5.85 in the first of three annual 70 cent raises. The
hourly minimum wage will be $7.25 by the summer of 2009. Today's
increase was the first time in ten years that minimum wage workers
have received a raise.

NEW HAVEN LAUNCHES I.D. CARD FOR ALL RESIDENTS

New Haven, Connecticut rolled out its resident photo ID card today.
The identificaton is available to all regardless of immigration
status. Melinda Tuhus reports.

The idea for the card came from a grassroots group, Latinos United in
Action, which has been working with New Haven's immigrant community
for the past four years. The municipal ID card will enable those
without a social security number to open a bank account. Mayor John
DeStefano cut the ribbon to the new office of resident services,
saying the measure of the American soul is the willingness to help
each other, not the waving of the American flag, as about 40
protesters were doing outside City Hall. Then dozens of people lined
up to apply for the card. Jennifer Cruz was in line with her
boyfriend, who's Guatemalan, and a friend, who's Ecuadoran. Both have
U.S.-born babies. (audio) "What they're trying to do is just improve
their life. They want to make it better for the baby, better for
themselves. They want to go out and work so they can put food on the
table." As residents left City Hall waving their cards, they were
cheered by supporters outside. For FSRN, I'm Melinda Tuhus in New
Haven.

Features
AG Gonzales Returns for Another Round On the Hill(3:27)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales provided controversial testimony to a
Senate panel about his involvement of several scandals including the
firing of US attorneys, the authorization of the domestic surveillance
program, and the Administration's use of torture. FSRN's Leigh Ann
Caldwell has more on this story.

Democrats On-Line Debate(1:03)

All 8 Democratic contenders for their party's presidential nominee
debated last night at the Citadel military college in Charleston, S.C.
It was the first time candidates were asked question by video bloggers
through the website Youtube.

VA Charged with Failing Soldiers with PTSD(4:06)

Two veterans' groups have filed suit against the Department of Veterans
Affairs in a San Francisco federal court on Monday. The suit charges
the government of "shameful failures" in helping the tens of thousands
of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Aaron Glantz reports.

Step Towards Independence in Kosovo(4:03)

A draft resolution at the UN Security Council calls for an end of the
UN presence in Kosovo and proposes to create what's called "supervised
independence" for the province. There has been a long standing
political and territorial dispute in Kosovo between the ethnic
Albanians and Serbian government that resulted in much bloodshed and a
NATO bombing campaign in 1999. The Albanian leadership in Kosovo are
welcoming the proposal while Serbia is in opposition. Russia, which has
veto powers on the council, has already said it will reject the
measure. Amy Miller has more from Belgrade.

Immigrant Workers Mistreated in South Korea(4:08)

The US isn't the only country that relies on migrants to work jobs that
many natives don't want to do. In South Korea, immigrants are filling
positions at factories that require low or no technical skills. But
human rights activists charge Korean companies with treating migrants
less than human. FSRN's Jason Strother has the story from Seoul.

Another Execution Scheduled in Texas.(4:13)

Texas is scheduled to execute another black man next month, even though
he did not commit the murder himself. Kenneth Foster was sentenced to
death under the 'law of parties,' that allows the death sentence of
someone who was not the primary actor in crime. FSRN's Renee Feltz has
more: