NPR 2008-05-05

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is making another journey to Israel. She’s already met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and urged him to lift more blockades on the West Bank. Palestinians complain this badly affects daily life, but Israelis say it is one of the few ways to limit Palestinian militants 1 who want to attack Israelis.

 Bolivia’s wealthiest state, Santa Cruz, is holding a vote on increasing government autonomy. President Evo Morales calls the vote “illegal”. Proponents 2 of the referendum say they want greater control over security, oil and gas reserves and land management. From Santa Cruz, NPR’s Julie McCarthy reports.

 The political and business leaders at the oil and agriculture-rich Santa Cruz are proposing a sweeping 3 new statute 4 that would effectively set up a state in parallel to the central government, accruing 5 to its powers to tax the oil and gas industry, police the borders and manage all important land issues. The move has deeply irritated the government in La Pas that has nationalized oil and gas and sought to redistribute land. President Morales’ national project has been to try to upend centuries of discrimination against Bolivia’s poor, mostly indigenous 6. And he says the autonomy referendum is a bid to further entrench 7 the ruling elite 8 in this province. The danger for Morales is containing autonomy fever. Three other provinces want their own referendum. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Santa Cruz.

 Each year, the organization, Reporters Without Borders, releases a review of threats faced by journalists around the world and ranks countries according to the degree of free speech allowed by governments. This year, the report features how journalists fare in the European Union. Teri Schultz has more from Brussels.

 EU governments get only mild reprimands from media watchdog Reporters Without Borders for allowing too much concentration of media ownership and too little legal support for journalists protecting sources. What the investigation 9 highlights is that reporters in Europe also suffer intimidation 10, beatings and even murder attempts, more commonly expected in countries like Iran and Uzbekistan at the bottom of the press freedom list. French journalists, for example, report being brutally 11 attacked while covering demonstrations 12. A Northern Ireland newspaper editor was recently threatened by paramilitaries with a package containing a bullet, his home address and license 13 plate number. And the Danish cartoonist, who drew the Prophet Muhammed caricature that started a huge uproar 14 in 2006, lives under constant police protection and moves every two weeks, trying to stay ahead of a death plot uncovered earlier this year. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz, in Brussels.

 A powerful cyclone 15 has devastated 16 parts of Myanmar, formerly 17 known as Burma. Initial reports said four people were killed. But an unconfirmed report says at least 243 people perished. Top winds measured 120 miles per hour and it’s believed that at least two Burmese towns have been destroyed. Diplomats 18 say there is little drinking water, no power and roads are impassable.

 This is NPR News in Washington.

 Software maker 19 Microsoft has decided 20 to pull its offer to buy Internet search engine Yahoo. Microsoft and Yahoo could never agree on what the sale price should be. Microsoft had offered at least 42 billion dollars for the company. Yahoo says Microsoft has always underestimated its value.

 The Northern California City of Vallejo appears headed for bankruptcy 21 because it can’t pay its bills. Bob Hensley of member station KXJZ reports.

 Vallejo administrators 22 are recommending that the City Council vote at its meeting next week to file for bankruptcy. If the council follows through on the recommendation, the city of 120,000 will be the largest in the state who ever file for Chapter 9 protection. The city is facing at least a nine-million-dollar shortfall for the coming year. Vallejo’s financial woes 23 stem from obligations to contract for public safety personnel and a drop in tax revenues due to the housing crisis. Representatives of the city and the unions have been meeting for a couple of months in an effort to reach an agreement that would allow the local government to erase 24 the deficit 25. The city manager says the efforts have been futile 26, so that’s why he’s recommending the council seek bankruptcy. It’s not clear if filing for bankruptcy would void the union contracts. For NPR News, I’m Bob Hensley, in Modesto, California.

 There is no word on whether the political opposition 27 in Zimbabwe will participate in a presidential run-off election. Opposition leaders say they won the March election outright 28. Election officials have finally released results from the vote. They acknowledge the opposition won, but not by enough to avoid the run-off. The Zimbabwean opposition has hinted it could participate in the run-off election, but wants independent voting verification.