Friday, May 30, 2008

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DNC Meets – Will Michigan and Florida Count?

The Democratic Party meets tomorrow to decide the fate of Michigan and Florida's delegates. It's a meeting that's supposed to be about the rules, but with most of the committee members supporting one candidate or the other, and a highly charged protest expected outside, the Washington DC hotel conference room housing the meeting is likely to be one very political place. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Protesters Sentenced

Members of the group Witness against Torture, arrested for protesting outside of the Supreme Court building, faced sentencing today in DC. The protesters, who largely represented themselves, faced probation or jail if they did not agree to stay away from the court building in the future. Katharine Jarmul reports from DC.



International Food Crisis – A Look at India

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – or FAO -- says that agricultural commodity prices should ease from their recent record peaks. But, over the next decade prices are expected to average well above mean levels of the past decade. High food prices will hit the poor and hungry the hardest. Record high food prices and the danger of hunger in poor countries will dominate the FAO summit to be held in Rome next week. As in rest of the world, food prices have been on the constant rise in India. While India has not yet experienced riots over food prices, the outlook is critical there – India is home to the largest number of the world's poor. The Indian government attributes the situation to the global market. But experts blame economic policies which, they say, have led to the erosion India’s agricultural base – a safety net that provides subsistence to more than half of the nation’s population. FSRN's Bismillah Geelani has the details.

Pakistani Band Rocks Kashmir

Indian president Patil visited the state of Kashmir last weekend to inaugurate the Institute of Kashmir Studies at the University of Kashmir. The President was met by violent protests and a shutdown on Saturday called by separatist groups who oppose Indian rule in Kashmir. As part of the inauguration ceremony, a popular Pakistani rock band mesmerized a large audience. The event was organized by the South Asia Foundation, a group working on regional cooperation between South Asian countries. Shahnawaz Khan reports.

Chile – Police Repression

In early April, Amnesty International's chapter in Chile wrote the Interior Minister demanding an end to what the human rights organization calls violent repression of peaceful demonstrations at the hands of police. As FSRN's Jorge Garretón explains from Santiago, heavy handed tactics by police began to re-emerge in 2006 when students seized schools and marched on the streets for more than a month.