On this last day weekday of 2005, we take a listen to an audio composite of stories selected from the hundreds produced this year by Free Speech Radio News correspondents - reporters who brought corporate free news to the airwaves from across 6 continents. Please stay with us for FSRN’s Year in Review, produced by Geoff Brady.

Headlines (6:11)
TROOPS DEPLOYED TO NIGER DELTA
Troops are now being deployed in Nigeria's Niger Delta region to protect oil installations following a spate of attacks on oil pipelines in the area. Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.

Headlines (4:05)
PRISON UPRISING IN BRAZIL

Headlines (5:02)
PROTESTS IN BAGHDAD
Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad today, calling for a review of the recent parliamentary elections. Unrest has increased in Iraq after a period of relative calm surrounding the December 15th vote. A number of groups are unhappy with the elections, saying they were plauged by irregularities. Preliminary results favor Shiite religious parties.

COALITION SHRINKS

The impacts of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf South were many and varied. Lesser known than the large number of refugees and the stories of rooftop rescues, is that the hurricane affected many public services that were already in danger, such as schools and hospitals. Chief among these is New Orleans’ Charity Hospital, part of a system of free medical care for the poor in Louisiana that was unique in the United States. FSRN’s Christian Roselund brings us The End of Charity.

More than two-and-a-half years after the invasion of Iraq, Iraqis are increasingly organizing non-violently against the US military presence, as guerillas continue to carry out attacks against US troops, the Iraqi military and civilian targets. Today, FSRN Correspondent David Enders take a look at some of Iraq’s most important developments in the last year.

Headlines (5:09)
PATRIOT ACT EXTENDED
The Senate agreed last night to extend the expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act for another 6 months. From Capitol Hill, Mitch Jeserich reports.