May 03, 2002
Still No UN Mission to Jenin
The UN Security Council remains deadlocked today over Israel’s rejection of a fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp, as Palestinians reject a U.S.-backed proposal for an international peace conference on the Middle East. Susan Wood reports from the United Nations.
What Now for the United Nations?
We go now to Phyliss Bennis who is a fellow for the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. She has been studying the relationship between Israel and the United Nations.
Less Pollution Legal From Power Plants in Connecticut
Connecticut Governor John Rowland has signed into law a measure that gives the state the toughest clean air standards in the country. The law follows five years of intensive lobbying by environmentalists and community activists. Ebong Udoma reports from Hartford.
ACORN Sues Over Predatory Lending
Predatory lending — the imposition of unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers — has drawn increasing fire from community activists and legislators in recent years. Consumer advocates charge that predatory lenders like Household Finance use aggressive sales tactics and deception to trap borrowers, who most commonly live in poor or minority communities, into complex financing schemes that price gouge clients, undercut their credit ratings, ratchet up home foreclosures and threaten the financial stability of whole communities. Chris Geovanis of Chicago Indymedia reports.
Less Financial Aid for US Students
The Bush Administration says it is committed to funding higher education. But Congressional Democrats counter that new plan would leave hundreds of thousands of college students with less federal aid. At the state level, public colleges and universities are always hit hard during recessions, and at least 10 states are considering double-digit cuts in funding for higher education this year. For students, all of this means more debt at the end of college, or maybe not continuing their education beyond high school at all. From Boulder, Colorado, Nell Geiser reports
Jews and Arabs View on Rise of Le Pen
In France, far-right Presidential Candidate Jean Marie Le Pen told reporters he would not be surprised if he won Sunday’s election. Le Pen also said he looked forward to next month’s parliamentary elections, predicting that his showing this weekend would serve as a springboard for National Front candidates across France. Reporter Khaled Sid Mohand spoke to Jewish and Muslim community leaders in France about Le Pen’s surprising popularity. He files this
report.
