Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

Although the House continues to move on the latest Iraq War supplemental, it could be blocked by an unlikely coalition of conservative blue dogs Democrats and liberal Democrats. As FSRN's Karen Miller reports from Capital Hill, the two groups oppose the measure for very different reasons.

Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

When the state of Israel was created 60 years ago, its founders were socialists as well as Zionists, and one of the most famous experiments was the kibbutz: a commune, usually a collective farm where no one owned property or earned money, and everyone worked for the good of the group. Yet many Kibbutzim have abandoned communal ideals and moved towards individualism, some are even being privatized – like the very first Kibbutz, Degania. Irris Makler traveled there and spoke to the daughter of one of the founders about this new reality.

Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

It's been a decade since the end of the ethnic conflicts that raged across the former Yugoslavia, which claimed the lives of thousands of people. Since that time, war crime tribunals and courts have been operating with varying success. FSRN's Amy Miller brings us this story on the state of the war crimes prosecutions within Serbia.

Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

In the wake of the post-election violence that enmeshed Kenya into unprecedented turmoil, Kenyans are now experiencing a different sort of crisis. In a seeming reflection of other food crises elsewhere in Africa and the world, more and more Kenyans are now faced with possible starvation. John Bwakali reports from Nairobi.

Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

A bill to extend tax credits for wind energy production is currently wrangled in a political debate. Industry experts say investment in the young industry will be damaged, unless Congress extends the tax credit soon. FSRN Correspondent Matt Laslo reports from Washington.

Back to the Newscast for Thursday, May 8, 2008

Pro-government and anti-government militias squared off in gun battles around Lebanon's capital Beirut today. The violence occurred after the country's largest union called for a demonstration today over a wage hike they contend wasn't high enough for the country's poor. Lebanon is experiencing its worst internal crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, and as FSRN's Jackson Allers reports from Beirut, the situation is predicted to worsen between the pro-government and anti-government camps as the two sides vie for power in a country that has been without a president half a year.

New, unconfirmed, figures put the number of dead from Burma's Cyclone Nargis this weekend as high as 100,000 – with at least one million people displaced, in need to water, food, and shelter. Aid has been slow to trickle in, due to the military-controlled government's delays in issuing visas and easing customs restrictions on much-needed supplies. Meanwhile, as aid agencies and western governments critique Burma's junta, it's the country's people that are paying the price. Anchor Aura Bogado spoke with Paul Donowitz, Campaign Coordinator for Earth Rights, about the situations on the ground, and the need for international leaders and organizations to shift the focus from critiquing Burma's brutal regime to helping those devastated by the cyclone.