Newscast for Friday, Febuary 3, 2012

After public outcry, Komen Foundation forced to respond to Planned Parenthood funding cut

The Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to end its long-standing partnership with Planned Parenthood sparked a widespread outcry this week. Many groups and individuals vowed to pull funding from the foundation and send their donations directly to Planned Parenthood. This forced the Komen Foundation to respond with a statement today and apologize to the American public. FSRN’s Alice Ollstein has the details, in Washington, D.C.

Harsh sanctions on Iran could hit middle and working class the hardest

Today Iran’s supreme leader vowed to retaliate in the event of an attack and condemned Western-backed oil sanctions on his country. According to Reuters, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke on state TV to mark the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Thursday, the US Senate Banking Committee approved sanctions on Iran that could cut billions of dollars of revenue from abroad. The legislation, called the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act, would stop transfers through the telecommunications network called Swift, and add to already strict sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank. The bill now moves to the full Senate.

Rhetoric from the US and Israel has risen this week as UN said a team of nuclear inspectors will return to Iran later this month.

For more we’re joined by Arang Keshavarzian, Associate Professor at NYU’s Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies.

Anti-war protests scheduled for US cities as war rhetoric on Iran grows

The call for military action in the region has galvanized the anti-war movement and on Saturday, actions are planned in cities across Europe, and the US.

One of the cities taking part is Minnesota and we go there now to speak with Marie Braun. She’s with Women Against Military Madness, part of the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.

New evidence shows NYPD targeted Shia and Iranian Muslims for surveillance

Muslims and civil rights advocates are rallying today outside New York City police headquarters, following the latest in a series of abuses by the department. Yesterday, the AP disclosed new information about the NYPD illegally targeting Shia and Iranian Muslims for profiling and surveillance. This follows an earlier AP investigation into spying and revelations that the NYPD screened an anti-Muslim film. Muslims are redoubling their demand that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly resign. FSRN’s Salim Rizvi reports.

EU move to strengthen online privacy protection draws criticism from marketing companies who bemoan loss of lucrative data

Europe has strict rules for protecting personal data, often going further than the US to make sure private consumers aren’t taken advantage of. Now, as companies are increasing their use of data-mining and social networks are becoming troves of personal information, the European Commission is proposing to overhaul its landmark data protection law. Privacy advocates applaud the move while businesses say the new rules could affect their bottom line. From France, FSRN’s Liam Moriarty reports.