September 14, 2007
HEADLINES (5:45)
Bhutto Will Return to Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto, the ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, announced that she’ll return to Pakistan next month after self-imposed exile. Bismillah Syed reports.
Gonzales Last Day As A.G.
Today is the last day that Alberto Gonzales will serve as the country’s Attorney General. His resignation was announced on August 28th. Controversy marred Gonzales’s three years as the top law enforcement official. He was heavily criticized for defending the legality of interrogation techniques that many international legal experts said violated human rights and international laws. He also came under fire for allegedly pressuring former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was in the hospital, to approve the expansion of the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program. And just months ago Gonzales appeared to have lost credibility with Congress after the firing of several US Federal Attorneys. It was alleged the dismissals were politically motivated. President George Bush has yet to nominate a successor. The White House says Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting Attorney General until a nominee is confirmed by the Senate.
US Opens to Canadian Beef
The US Department of Agriculture is expanding cattle and beef imports from Canada, despite several new cases of mad cow disease there. Washington correspondent Matt Kaye report.
UN Recognizes Indigenous Rights
After 22 years of negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution recognizing the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and control over their lands. Haider Rizvi reports.
Leftists Look Towards Greek Elections
This Sunday Greece heads for a very close election that may give smaller leftists parties more clout. Aris Oikonomou has more from Athens.
FEATURES
Bush Touts Iraq Progress Despite Contradictory White House Report (4:01)
President Bush outlined US involvement in Iraq as a long term engagement that will he says will last past the end of his term in 2009. In his address to the nation last night, he ignored Iraq’s bleak political situation. That dire assessment was outlined in a White House written progress report sent to Congress today – which says that satisfactory progress has been made on 9 of the 18 benchmarks measuring security, economics, and the political situation. That’s improvement in only one area since July. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell has more from Washington.
FSRN Exclusive: Jackson Allers Speaks with Robert Fisk (3:29)
Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre of some 2,000 Palestinian civilians by the right-wing Christian Phalange militia in Lebanon – allied with Israel during their invasion and occupation of Beirut in 1982. This massacre, in which no one was ever convicted of a wrong doing, is symptomatic of the injustices that go unpunished in many of the violent episodes in the region. Among those reporters that have written about it nearly every year since it occurred is Beirut-based correspondent for the UK’s Independent newspaper, Robert Fisk. Fisk, author of “The Great War for Civilization” speaks with FSRN Beirut correspondent Jackson Allers about Iraq and its legacy in the region, the failure of the Western press to accurately report the consequences of Western intervention in the Arab world, and about the 25th anniversary of the Sabra Chatilla massacre.
Proposed Free Trade Agreement Causing Debate in Canada (3:38)
A national free trade and investment agreement is at the center of a growing controversy in Canada. The country’s conservative government and Provincial counter parts are pushing for the NAFTA-like agreement that labor unions and citizens groups across the country stand in opposition to. FSRN’s Stefan Christoff reports from Montreal.
Weekly Political Round Up (2:45)
Presidential hopefuls concentrated on Iraq this week, Hilary dismissed criticism about lobbyist contributions, and one key Republican announces he’s leaving the Senate for good. FSRN’s Karen Miller fills us in, on this week’s Political Round Up.
Uganda-DRC Border Tensions (4:01)
The Ugandan Army is defending its deployment to the DR Congo border, saying the move is protecting the civilian population – not a preparation for war. President Joseph Kabila of Congo and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda signed agreements in Tanzania over the weekend to ease tensions caused by a border dispute between their countries – despite continuing to amass troops at the common border. FSRN’s Joshua Kyalimpa has been to the disputed border areas and files this report.
