Author
amoshaun
i thought that it might be helpfull to look at what the finnished headlines writing looked like last week. Maybe get a feal for appropriat length # of stories etc. sorry i cant help more.
For Live Wire radio news, this Amoshaun Toft with the independent media center network at the studios of WGDR in Plainfield, Vermont.
A group of 7 activists calling themselves the “Democracy Seven” stood trial on Tuesday for charges relating to a protest they were involved in last summer in the District of Columbia. The activists were arrested on June 26th last year after they disrupted a congressional vote on a District of Columbia Appropriations bill in the U. S. house of representatives by chanting “DC Votes No! No DC!.”
The D.C. Appropriations Bill enables Congress to control the city's budget and
includes riders that overturn locally passed legislation.
Ellenor Holms Norton, the District of Columbia's delegate to congress, testified on behalf of the defense on Tuesday.
Tanya Snyder and Debby Hanrahan are defendants in the trial.
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Both sides presented closing arguments and a decision is expected today.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $500 fine.
5 died in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday when Islamic religious leaders and right-wing opposition party members blocked a rally by NGOs, feminists and secular groups. Both the rally and the counter-strike were responses to the Bangladeshi High Court ruling to restrict fatwas, or mandatory religious orders. This adds to the previous 5 deaths and 100 injuries in recent violent clashes.
US Secretary of State Colin Powel was scheduled to meet with Colombian Foreign Minister Guillermo Rermandez de Soto on Tuesday to discuss Plan Colombia. The $1.3 billion United States aid package is aimed at reducing coca production and drug trafficking and focuses largely on military aid. However, critics of the plan, including the European Union, believe the Plan ignores the social, environmental and economic implications of increased militarization.
On Monday demonstrators protesting Plan Columbia blocked the gates of Sikorski in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Black Hawk helicopters are manufactured. 42 Huey and 18 Black Hawk helicopters are a part of the aid package.
Talks are scheduled to resume today between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Columbian government. Both sides seem to be making concessions, seemingly ending a three-month freeze in peace talks. A FARC leader, Jorge Briceno, made an unprecedented apology for civilian killings by FARC.
On Monday, a Columbian General was convicted of failing to prevent a paramilitary massacre. Retired General Jaime Uscategui was sentenced to 40 months in jail in Columbia's first ever conviction of an army general for paramilitary violence. One of the reasons for the recently stalled talks had been the FARC's demand of more government action against the paramilitaries.
The Food and Drug Administration has released a study which indicates that American consumers want mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, already prevalent in many supermarket products.
Brian Tokar, author of the forthcoming book Redesigning Life, believes the report reasonably reflects public sentiment.
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The FDA's internal report said that consumers are concerned about possible long-term environmental and health effects of genetically modified foods and are “outraged that such a change in the food supply could happen without them knowing about it."
It was announced on Monday, that a 17-year-old Suffolk County high school student will plead guilty to charges stemming from a series of arson fires that ELF, the Earth Liberation Front, may take responsibility for. The youth is the son of a New York City police sergeant and agreed to cooperate with authorities investigating the ELF. The court records from the case have been sealed, but the ABCNEWS affiliate, WABC, claims three other suspects were in negotiations for plea bargains. The youth is said to have agreed to be charged as an adult and could receive up to 20 years in prison.
On Tuesday in Hong Kong, truck drivers ended a five-day blockade of the island's port after making cargo-handling conglomerates temporarily back down from charging new handling fees. The action was started on Friday by the truckers who claim the fee would have cost them one third of their income and said the shipping agents should pay instead. The latest blockade reportedly cost the Hong Kong economy 200 million dollars a day.
For live wire radio news, this is Amoshaun Toft with the independent media center network at the studio of WDGR, in Plainfield, Vermont.