Monday, May 12, 2008

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Beirut's Tense Calm

There is a relative calm in west Beirut today – after clashes between pro- and anti-government forces claimed the lives of at least 58 people, wounding 189. Government troops are now controlling checkpoints that Hizbullah took over Friday, although fresh conflicts between Hizbullah and US-backed pro-government forces broke out Monday. FSRN Anchor Aura Bogado spoke with Beirut correspondent Jackson Allers, who has been following the conflict.

Serbian Election Results

Results from yesterday's elections in Serbia show a close-call victory for President Boris Tadic's pro-European Union bloc. As FSRN's Amy Miller reports from Belgarde, if Tadic's acceptance speech is any indication, the new government will have to struggle to create a coalition government – which will likely hinge on the question of Kosovo's independence.

Racial Disparities in US Health Care

A new report says that health disparities in the US are growing. Here are some examples: nearly half of Latinos are uninsured, and seven out of ten African Americans are overweight. Authors of the findings say that universal health care must be central to addressing the disparities. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Immigrant Rights March in Phoenix

Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa county Arizona, made a name for himself in the 1990s with his tent city prisons in the desert. Inmates there wore pink underwear and were provided with only the bare necessities. Over the last few years, the so-called "toughest sheriff in America" has focused on arresting undocumented immigrants; with law enforcement style that many believe violates basic civil and human rights of the area's large Latino community. As FSRN's Andrew Stelzer reports, racial tension may be on the rise in the Phoenix area, but so is resistance and organization in the community.

India's Political Prisoners

Critics say that India's growing proportion of prisoners are political prisoners, arrested for their involvement in various ongoing people's movements for self-determination and socio-economic reforms. A group of intellectuals and activists in India have launched a campaign for the rights of these prisoners, arguing that the government is quick to label any challenge on socio-economic or political issues as a "law and order" problem.