Archive - Nov 26, 2007

• Terms for Middle East Conference In Annapolis Hits Snag
• African American Women in DC Disproportionately Affected by HIV
• Lebanon's De Facto State of Emergency
• Australian Labor Party's Kevin Rudd Elected New Prime Minister
• Commonwealth Summit Wraps Up in Uganda
• Italians Organize to Stop Domestic Violence

• TRENT LOTT ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION
• SRI LANKANS FLEE IN DROVES
• US JOINS BANGLADESH AID EFFORT
• THOUSANDS OF YOUNG KENYAN MEN DEAD OR MISSING
• PROTEST IN BOLIVIA TURN VIOLENT

That's the sound of wild cheers from thousands of supporters of
Australian Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd – who has just been elected
the nation's new Prime Minister in Australia's first change of
government in 11 years. In his victory speech, Rudd said he believed
that the country is turning a new page in history.

Violence against women by their partners and family members is the
leading cause of death for women in Italy. A national rally in Rome
this weekend marked the beginning of a campaign to pressure the
government to adopt a law that better protects women from violence.
FSRN's Diletta Varlese reports.

Lebanon sent its acting Foreign Minister Tarek Miti to the
US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis today,
despite the fact that Lebanon is currently under a de facto state of
emergency. Emile Lahoud, Lebanon's president for the last 10-years
stepped down at midnight on Friday, when his term expired, putting the
Lebanese Army in charge of security. Since the end of the 34-day
Israeli-Lebanon war in 2006, supporters of the current US-backed
government have been facing off against Lebanon's political opposition,
led by the Hizbullah party. The two political camps have postponed five
presidential votes in parliament over the last two months unable to
reach a consensus and leaving the country without a president. The next

A newly released report indicates that HIV cases are at epidemic
levels in the nation's capital. DC has long been the nation's leader in
HIV cases, but the new report highlights the growing infection rates in
the African American community –especially among women. FSRN
Correspondent Matt Laslo reports from Washington.

President Bush held separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the peace
process ahead of tomorrow's Middle East Conference in Annapolis,
Maryland. Both sides say they hope this meeting will mark the beginning
of a new round of negotiations, but in the hours before the conference
is to start the two sides are unable to agree on the specific terms and
issues of the meeting. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.