Headlines for Friday, November 13, 2009

Napolitano indicates immigration reform to come soon
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today cleared the way for movement on Immigration reform, announcing that the US has met many benchmarks involving border security.  At a speech given Friday morning at a Center for American Progress event, she said what she has seen “makes reform far more attainable this time around."

“Over the past year, as this Administration has pursued more effective strategies within the current laws, the picture of how exactly those laws need to be changed has become clearer than ever before.”

Napolitano indicated work would begin early next year.

DOJ begins seizure proceedings against Muslim-owned buildings in US
The US Department of Justice has initiated seizures on four Mosques in the US and a skyscraper owned by a Muslim nonprofit in New York. Federal prosecutors say the owners, the Alavi Foundation, is funneling its profits to the Iranian government – which violates a US trade ban with the country.  The DOJ says there are seeking to take control of building ownership, but that there are no complaints against the tenants themselves.

Obama stops in Japan on first leg of Asia trip
President Obama is on a diplomatic trip through Asia, stopping today in Japan to try to smooth over an increasingly strained relationship with the island nation.  One long-standing issue is the controversial presence of a US military base on Okinawa.  Obama will continue his travels over the next week with stops in China, Singapore, and South Korea.

Militant attacks escalate in Pakistan
In last five days, militants have attacked five different places in Pakistan’s North West Province.  Today, a suicide bomber attacked an intelligence agency office in Peshawar, killing at least ten.  Nathan Moore reads for Gabe Matthews in Pakistan.

The suicide bomb in Peshawar exploded as intelligence employees arrived at the office.  Black smoke filled the sky and debris littered the area surrounding the building.  Residents report hearing the blast from miles away.  It was so large, it shattered the windows of nearby schools and offices.

After the explosion, Sajad Khan rushed to a local hospital where the injured were taken.

“I’m searching for my relatives and brother who left early to go to the office.  My mother is more worried than any one else.  I tried to look for them at the blast site, but I was not allowed.  I can’t find them here in hospital, and I’m afraid.  I pray for their safety.”

Local residents and witnesses are thankful for one thing:  The Intelligence office is on a road used by dozens of children on their morning commute to school.  If the bomb had exploded just a few minutes later, they would have been caught by the blast.  Nathan Moore reading for Gabe Matthews in Pakistan.

Another suicide attack in Afghan capital as Obama considers troop numbers
As President Barack Obama continues to weigh whether to send 40,000 more US troops to Afghanistan, US and NATO forces in the country continue to be the target of suicide bomb attacks.  Today a car bomb detonated near a main US military base on the edge of the capital, injuring more than a dozen people including some NATO soldiers.   FSRN’s Kabul based reporter Mujahid Jawad reports.

The bomb targeted a NATO convoy, and while no US or NATO troops were killed in the blast, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry says five Afghan civilians died.

Nawab, who lives in a town outside Kabul, witnessed the attack.   

“The blast was very strong and I saw human remains everywhere.   Both Afghan and foreigners were among the injured.  I myself held pieces of human flesh in my hands.  It was very bad.”

Taliban have claimed responsibility and identified the suicide bomber.  This was the second attack in Kabul in the past month.  Mujahid Jawad, FSRN, Kabul.

Protesters in Scotland descend on NATO Assembly
Today Germany announced it would send extra troops to Afghanistan to join NATO forces there.  And in London Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain would send more troops if NATO allies did the same.

For more on the NATO position on Afghanistan, we go to Edinburgh, where the 55th NATO Parliamentary Assembly began today.  Hundreds of member-country delegates attended, as well as representatives from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan – which are high on the political agenda.  The assembly is billed as an annual opportunity for democratically elected representatives to have input into NATO's broad strategic goals.  But not everyone is welcoming them to the Scottish capital.  FSRN’s Tom Allan reports.

Protesters shout abuse at NATO Parliamentary delegates leaving the Edinburgh International Conference center.  Earlier, masked protesters clashed with police, as they tried to make their way here to disrupt the conference using direct action.   These protesters didn't want to reveal their names.

“I believe that NATO is bad.  They're sending troops into Afghanistan, they're responsible for the killing of innocent people, and here they are having a conference right behind us in Edinburgh.  And I'm not very happy that they're in my city, and I'd like them out.”

Inside the conference, Assembly president John Tanner defended the military action, saying that "evil" had to be defeated.

Although public displays of dissent in the UK – including the protest today in Edinburgh - have been limited, the war in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly unpopular, as British forces suffer a steady increase in casualties.  Tom Allan, FSRN, Edinburgh.

NASA confirms the presence of water on the moon
“The very last seconds of the shepherding spacecraft trajectory….”

That’s a transmission last month from NASA as they crashed a missile and research craft into the surface of the moon.   Their hope was to send a plume of material into the air and then analyze its composition.  Today they announced their findings – there is water on the moon.  The impact revealed water vapor mixed in among the dust.