Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Headlines (5:45)
ECUADOR'S HIGH COURT JUSTICES FIRED
All nine of Ecuador's Supreme Court judges have been fired for trying
to reinstate opposition lawmakers removed from Congress two weeks ago.
Quito correspondent Joseph Mutti files this report.

Since taking office on January 15th, President Rafael Correa has
managed to successfully take on his nation's entrenched political
establishment without a single member from his own political
organization seated in a Congress he had described as a "sewer of
corruption". The judges from the nation's highest body, called the
Constitutional Court in Ecuador, were removed by a newly reformed
Congress for going against the will of 82% of the electorate which
recently approved a new Constituent Assembly. Six of them are likely
to face charges for abusing their authority by reinstating 57
opposition congressional representatives after they had been removed
by another court two weeks ago for blocking the referendum. With
police deployed around Congress on Tuesday to ensure that none of the
fired lawmakers entered the building, Correa has made in an open war
with the powerful oligarchy that had ruled the country uninterrupted
until his election last November. "We are living a magical moment in
Ecuador's history with an awakening of a people who have said
'enough!' " declared Correa on Tuesday night – his 100th since taking
office. For FSRN, I'm Joseph Mutti.

US SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS 3 DEATH SENTENCES
The US Supreme Court today overturned the death sentences for 3 Texas
inmates on the grounds that jurors were not given proper instructions
when they chose between life in prison or a death sentence. All three
inmates had been convicted before Texas revised its sentencing
guidelines in 1991 to allow jurors to consider mitigating factors such
as mental retardation and child abuse when deciding on the severity of
punishment in capital cases.

UPRISING IN PRIVATE PRISON IN INDIANA
A 2 hour riot in an Indiana prison has caused the state's correctional
officials to suspend plans to accept hundreds of inmates from Arizona.
Prison authorities say around 500 inmates took part in yesterday's
unrest. Arizona prisoners allegedly started the riot, unhappy over
their recent transfer and lack of recreation time. Prison staff
reportedly used concussion grenades and tear gas inside of the
facility to regain control. More than 200 inmates have since been
transferred from the New Castle prison. The facility is run by the
Florida-based GEO group, formerly known as the Wackenhut Corrections
Corporation.

BANGLADESH'S MILITARY GOVT EASES RESTRICTIONS ON FORMER LEADERS
Just two days after banning the entry of a former Prime Minister,
Bangladesh's military government today took a U-turn and lifted
restrictions on two of the country's former leaders. Vinod K. Jose
reports.

One former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, has been under virtual house
arrest in the capital, Dhaka. Another former Prime Minister, Sheikh
Hasina, has not been allowed to return home from abroad. Hasina was
this week blocked in London from boarding a flight and told to take
refuge in Saudi Arabia. The military-backed interim government is
behind the recent decisions to slap restrictions on the country's most
recognizable figures. The interim government took control in January,
charged with creating the conditions for a free and fair general
election. But now it is up against two former Prime Ministers, Awami
League party leader Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party
leader Khaleda Zia. The two women were fierce political opponents for
over 20 years. Now they find a common ground. Charges against the 2
former leaders vary from corruption to murder. But the interim
government made a U-turn today, announcing that all restrictions on
the two former prime ministers had been lifted. That would mean Sheikh
Hasina can come back home and Khaleda Zia can leave her house.
Temporarily at least, the two women seem to have won this particular
battle with the government. But elections are nowhere in sight. For
FSRN, From New Delhi, this is Vinod K. Jose.

FRANCE'S 3RD PLACE CANDIDATE SHUNS TOP TWO
The French politician who came in third in the first round of
presidential elections has founded a new party and refused to back
either of the candidates in the May 6th run-off. Tony Cross reports
from Paris.

François Bayrou won nearly seven-million votes last weekend … so his
voters hold the balance between the two candidate who went through to
the second round. (sound Bayrou..fade down) Bayrou says he won't
recommend support for either right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy or Socialist
Ségolène Royal. The 3rd place candidate seems to harbor more ill-will
towards Sarkozy, although most of his supporters seem set to vote for
the right-winger. Bayrou claimed that the main-stream right-wing
candidate has "a taste for intimidation and threats" and that he would
concentrate power as never before. When it came to Royal, Bayrou
judged her less of a threat to democracy but more of a threat to the
economy. Bayrou went on to declare that he will establish a new party,
the Democrats. He already had one - the UDF - and has been a minister
in previous right-wing governments. But now he hopes to capitalize on
his unexpected support in the presidential poll by portraying himself
as a centrist. He's advocated coalition government and says he wants
"social democracy for the 21st century". Judging by his criticisms of
the Socialists, that would tend to the right on the economy, while
defending liberal social attitudes. For FSRN, I'm Tony Cross in Paris.

FIRST TERM ABORTION LAW PASSES IN MEXICO CITY
The Legislative Assembly of Mexico City has overwhelmingly passed a
law to legalize first trimester abortions. Political observers say the
measure could inspire a shift in abortion policy in other parts of
traditionally Catholic Latin America. Abortions performed after the
first 12 weeks of pregnancy continue to be a crime in Mexico City,
punishable by prison sentences for both the doctor and the patient.

Features
Congress Issues Subpoenas (4:10)
Flexing their oversight muscle, Congress issued a number of subpoenas
today on a variety of issues, including the US attorney scandal, the
improper use of Republican campaign resources, and the Iraq war.
Washington Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

House Set to Vote on Iraq Supplemental Bill (1:00)
The House of Representatives will vote on the Iraq supplemental this
evening. The $124-billion emergency spending bill calls for a troop
withdrawal to begin as early as July, no later than October, with a
non-binding goal of completing the withdrawal of combat forces 6 months
later. The supplemental passed the House the first time by 2 votes – a
narrow passage is expected again. Just before the House is set to vote
on the supplemental, General David Petreus visited the Hill to meet
with both legislative bodies. He is expected to tell lawmakers that the
troop surge is working, and that the military needs the emergency
funds. But it will be a tough sell to a skeptical Democratic majority
who is clinging to something else Petreus has said. Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid:

Tiny Minorities Targeted in Iraq (3:20)
The February 2006 bombing of the Askariya Shrine in Samara – a site
sacred to Shiites – marked the start of sectarian war between Sunnis
and the Shiites. Since then, thousands of Iraqis have been killed.
While the occupying US Army faces opposition to its plan to wall in
Baghdad’s Sunni and Shi’a populations into separate zones, FSRN’s Hiba
Dawood reports that sectarian violence is extending its reach to even
the tiniest minorities in Iraq.

Kucinich Introduces Impeachment Article (2:30)
Dozens of supporters of impeachment of both President Bush and Vice
President Cheney gathered on Capitol Hill today. They brought their
message to their representatives on the heels of the introduction of
articles of impeachment for the Vice President, submitted by Democratic
Congressman Dennis Kucinich on Wednesday. Darby Hickey reports.

Vaccines: WHO vs. Indonesia (4:50)
Indonesia has led the struggle for what they describe as a fairer,
wiser and better system of disease prevention at the World Health
Organization. Indonesia continues to push for revisions to the way the
50 year old system of vaccine products work, which they say puts
developing countries at a disadvantage. Rebecca Henschke reports from
Jakarta.

Radical Math Conference in New York Draws Conservative Criticism (4:00)
Teachers in New York City are holding a conference this weekend on
making math more relevant to students. The conference, dubbed "Creating
Balance in an Unjust World," has drawn some criticism from conservative
commentators as 'indoctrination'. Planning for the math conference
began with a group called "Radical Math Teachers," which was founded by
a teacher in a Brooklyn high school last year. The conference's
organizers aren't the only public school teachers in the city that have
come under fire in recent weeks. Neoconservatives and parents in one
Brooklyn neighborhood have recently questioned whether a high school
focused on teaching Arabic set to open next year might be a security
risk or be a vehicle for what they call “Islamist" ideology. Also
drawing fire is a Manhattan history teacher who for the past three
years has taken students on spring break trips to visit and learn about
Cuba. Teachers, however, insist that they're just trying to bring more
of the real world into their classrooms. David Enders has this report.