Archive - Jan 30, 2008

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy Photo courtesy of http://leahy.senate.gov
• Senate Judiciary Committee Challenges Mukasey on Definition of Torture
• Italy Names New Prime Minister
• Edwards Drops Out
• Florida Presidential Primary
• Military Encroaches on Rebel Ethnic Groups in Burma
• "De-Baathification" Law Unlikely to Bring Reconciliation, Iraqis Say

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• US Troops May Remain at Above Pre-Surge Levels Through 2008
• FBI Probes Subprime Mortgage Companies
• Palestinian Political Factions Meet With Egyptian Authorities Over the Rafah Crossing
• Mapuche Activist Ends 113 Day Hunger Strike

To the dismay of some lawmakers and human rights advocates, Attorney General Michael Mukasey will not define waterboarding as torture. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee challenged Mukasey to clarify his position at a hearing earlier today. Tanya Snyder has more.

Italy is now beginning the process of creating an inteim government after Center-Left Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned from his post last week - a consequence of his coalition losing a majority in Parliament. Diletta Varlese files this story:

John Edwards has dropped out of the Presidential race. Pledging to stay through Super Tuesday, Edwards' sudden departure came as a surprise to many. As FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports, he ended his campaign just how he started it - talking about poverty - with still—hurricane-ravaged portions of New Orleans as his back drop.

The 2008 Presidential campaign advanced last night, with John McCain and Hillary Clinton winning in Florida. For the GOP, it could mean that they now have a solid front runner for the first time this year. But for Democrats, the meaning is a little less clear. Mitch Perry reports from St. Petersburg, Florida

The military government of Burma has positioned 83 additional battalions in the eastern state of Karen late last year for its yearly dry season offensive against rebel ethnic groups. The Karen Human Rights Group reports that one immediate effect of increased military presence is stepped-up demands for forced labor from villagers. This means clearing roads, repairing military buildings, transporting goods and serving as security watches. From rebel-controlled Burma, Zack Baddorf reports.

Earlier this month, the Bush Administration and many American lawmakers hailed a revised law on "De-Bathification" as a positive step toward reconciliation between Iraq's warring factions. The new law is, euphemistically renamed the "Accountability and Justice Law" is intended to reverse some of the damage done by former U-S proconsul Paul Bremer's "De-Baathification law," a wholesale dissolution of the Iraqi government in 2003. But as Hiba Dawood reports, Iraqis think reconciliation between those who supported Saddam Hussein's government and those who support the US-backed government is less likely now than ever.