FSRN Weekly Edition – March 20, 2015
- Netanyahu back peddles; U.S. still to reevaluate backing Israel at UN
- Netanyahu reelection raises concerns in Gaza and renews calls for unity among Palestinans
- Regional elections in Spain will be first test for anti-austerity Podemos
- House Oversight Committee grills FCC regarding internet rule change
- Wrongful arrest leads TV producer to become law enforcement reform advocate
- Top Mexican journalist fired on heels of whistleblower platform’s launch
Netanyahu back peddles; U.S. still to reevaluate backing Israel at UN
Voters in Israel handed incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a decisive victory at the polls this week, but not until he pulled out the hard-line rhetoric. FSRN’s Nell Abram has more.
Netanyahu reelection raises concerns in Gaza and renews calls for unity among Palestinians
Residents of the Gaza Strip closely associate Netanyahu with the war waged against the blockaded Palestinian territory last summer. FSRN’s Rami Almeghari got reaction to the election results in Gaza City.
Regional elections in Spain will be first test for anti-austerity Podemos
In just a year, Spain’s anti-austerity Podemos party has grown from nothing to become the most popular party in opinion polls. Its rapid rise – and the recent victory of an anti-austerity party in Greece – has the political establishment worried ahead of national elections later in the year. In the last few weeks, the party has come under increased scrutiny with critics testing its ‘populist’ rhetoric. And this weekend, Podemos faces its first domestic electoral test during a regional vote in the province of Andalucia. Nik Martin reports.
House Oversight Committee grills FCC regarding internet rule change
House Republicans got their chance to grill Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler this week, after the agency voted in favor of regulating the Internet like a utility. Internet freedom advocates celebrated the FCC’s move, calling it the best way to codify net neutrality.
The House Oversight Committee headed by Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz aimed to show that the White House improperly pushed the FCC to make the decision. But Democratic members shot back with their own accusations of impropriety inside the commission. Anthony J. Rivera has the story from Capitol Hill.
Wrongful arrest leads TV producer to become law enforcement reform advocate
The detention of black TV and film producer Charles Belk in Beverly Hills last summer led him to a second career: advocacy for law enforcement reform. Now Belk is educating police on how to avoid profiling mistakes and urging lawmakers to make it easier to erase arrest records when mistakes happen. He says he wants to make sure that what happened to him doesn’t happen to others. FSRN’s Larry Buhl has more from Los Angeles.
Top Mexican journalist fired on heels of whistleblower platform’s launch
The sudden firing of a top Mexican broadcast journalist who broke a string of major corruption stories has become a national scandal… with many suspecting the order may have come from the highest levels of government. Shannon Young reports.
