The latest news on Housing foreclosures, Immigration, Interrogation & intelligence, Turner & churches partner against malaria, Job dangers, Iraq, Zimbabwe, NATO, Darfur, Tibet, and Opinion.
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Housing foreclosures. Senate ready to help stem tide of foreclosures "Under pressure to help Main Street after the government saved a Wall Street firm from bankruptcy, senators ended weeks of partisan stalemate and agreed to try to quickly pass legislation that could help some homeowners avoid foreclosure." Congress Fast-Tracks Work on Homeowner Relief "Casting aside partisan differences, Senate Democratic and Republican leaders said that they would work urgently on a package of legislation to help millions of homeowners at risk of foreclosure," Distressed Owners Are Frustrated by Aid Group "Every day more than 4,500 people call Hope Now, the White House-backed group formed to help struggling homeowners. But few of them appear to be getting the relief they are hoping for." In Denver, foreclosures and a dramatic exodus "Foreclosures are ripping through the rows of new homes in the flatlands where Denver turns to prairie. Every week, 10 more families here need to find someplace else to live." Foreclosure help on way "An army of lawyers has mobilized to offer free legal help to lower-income Ohioans facing foreclosure. The goal is to keep them in their homes."
Immigration. Border fence will skirt laws "In an aggressive move to finish 370 miles of barriers on the U.S. border with Mexico by the end of the year, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will waive federal and state environmental laws to meet that goal." Environmental rules waived for border fence "The two waivers, which were approved by Congress, will allow Homeland Security to slash through a thicket of more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to speed construction."
Interrogation & intelligence. '03 U.S. Memo Approved Harsh Interrogations "The Justice Department in 2003 gave military interrogators broad authority to use extreme methods in questioning detainees and argued that wartime powers largely exempted interrogators from laws banning harsh treatment," Pentagon Is Expected to Close Intelligence Unit "The Pentagon is expected to shut a controversial intelligence office that has drawn fire from lawmakers and civil liberties groups who charge that it was part of an effort by the Defense Department to expand into domestic spying."
Turner & churches partner against malaria. Turner joins churches in malaria fight "Ted Turner, who once called Christianity a "religion for losers," launched a $200 million partnership with Lutherans and Methodists to fight malaria in Africa. Turner apologized for his past criticism of religion and called faith a "bright spot" in the world."
Job dangers. Senators hear of poor work conditions in poultry plants "Witnesses told Kennedy and other senators on the panel that in poultry plants and other factories nationwide, grueling job conditions and preventable deaths have illustrated the need for more robust safety laws and enforcement."
Iraq. Heavy Troop Deployments Are Called Major Risk "Senior Army and Marine Corps leaders said that the increase of more than 30,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has put unsustainable levels of stress on U.S. ground forces and has put their readiness to fight other conflicts at the lowest level in years." Attacks on U.S. Forces Soared at End of March "Attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces soared across Baghdad in the last week of March to the highest levels since the deployment of additional U.S. troops here reached full strength last June," Basra battle raises questions about U.S. strategy in Iraq 'Last week's inconclusive battle for Basra is raising new questions about the viability of U.S. military strategy in Iraq as Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker head to Capitol Hill next week to give their assessment of the U.S. troop surge.'" Paltry results of Iraqi offensive silence U.S. withdrawal talk "The Bush administration was caught off-guard by the first Iraqi-led military offensive since the fall of Saddam Hussein, a weeklong thrust in southern Iraq whose paltry results have silenced talk at the Pentagon of further U.S. troop withdrawals any time soon."
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe opposition claim victory "Zimbabwe's opposition party says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai has won the presidential election, releasing its own results to back up the claim." Zimbabwe: 'Defeated' Mugabe Looks at His Options "Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe lost the weekend's closely contested presidential election and is desperately looking for a "safe exit", say sources close to the election process." Mugabe Losing Support of Elites "Some members of Zimbabwe's jittery ruling elite have concluded that President Robert Mugabe must step down after apparently losing an election last weekend and have begun reaching out to opposition leaders to resolve the four-day-old political standoff," Churches call for calm as Zimbabwe awaits election results "With tensions rising, as Zimbabweans await the slow release of results from Saturday's national elections, church leaders are appealing for peace and restraint."
NATO. Bush Supports Ukraine's Bid to Join NATO "President Bush expressed strong support for Ukraine's attempt to join the NATO alliance. His stand risked a diplomatic confrontation with Russia even as the administration sought an agreement with President Vladimir V. Putin over American missile defenses in Europe." Bush-Putin row grows as pact meets "George Bush and Vladimir Putin appeared to be on a collision course ahead of today's critical Nato summit in Bucharest, which could determine the future of the alliance and its relationship with Russia." Bush calls for more Afghan troops "US President George W Bush has urged Nato allies to send more troops to Afghanistan ahead of the alliance's biggest-ever summit in Romania."
Darfur. Darfur peace talks in 'serious trouble' "Darfur's long-hobbled peace process has all but collapsed, principals here say, raising questions about the viability of a new U.N. peacekeeping force and the future of an international aid campaign approaching its sixth year."
Tibet. China Alleges Tibetan 'Suicide Squads' "China has branded the Dalai Lama a "wolf in monk's robes" and his followers the "scum of Buddhism." China accuses the Dalai Lama and his supporters of plotting suicide attacks "China accused the Dalai Lama and his supporters of plotting suicide attacks in the wake of last month's violent protests in Lhasa. The allegation, which was denied by the Tibetan spiritual leader, came as security chiefs in Beijing claimed monks have been building up arsenals of weapons that could be used to escalate the conflict,"
Opinion.
Promised land: Are we there? (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) "Words do matter. Forty years ago Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ended a rally speech in Memphis on a note that was eerily prophetic, since it would turn out to be his final speech.
Babies' hunger reflects inflation (Mariana Chilton and John Cook, Philadelphia Inquirer) "As pediatric researchers, we don't need the morning paper to tell us about rising food and fuel prices. We see the evidence every day on the bodies of babies in the emergency room at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Young children arrive anemic and underweight; some even require hospitalization to treat the health effects of inadequate nutrition."
Restoring U.S. nuclear-free leadership (Thomas Graham Jr. and Max Kampelman, Washington Times) "After a long dry spell, the seeds planted by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in 1985 and Reykjavik in 1986, appear to be bearing fruit.