FSRN Weekly Edition – January 23, 2015
- President and Prime Minister of Yemen resign in apparent coup by Houthi rebels
- Austerity measures take center stage in Greek elections
- Boko Haram claims responsibility for major attack in Nigeria
- CIA whistle-blower case goes to jury
- Pennsylvania governor’s inauguration draws opponents of fracking
- U.S. Supreme Court hears state judicial campaign financing case
- #ReclaimMLK actions vindicate King’s legacy of civil rights protests
President and Prime Minister of Yemen resign in apparent coup by Houthi rebels
Both the president and prime minister of Yemen resigned Thursday after a rapid series of events in the capital including the takeover of the presidential palace this week by Houthi rebels. FSRN’s Shannon Young discussed the fluid situation with Yemeni political and human rights activist Baraa Shiban from Sana’a.
Austerity measures take center stage in Greek elections
In Europe, all eyes are on the Greek elections where an upstart leftist party is challenging the Eurozone’s five-year policy of austerity that wielded deep cuts in public spending and caused plummeting living standards, especially in southern Europe. FSRN’s Jacob Resneck reports that Sunday’s election is about much more than who will rule Greece.
Boko Haram claims responsibility for major attack in Nigeria
The militant Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a major attack on a town in northeastern Nigeria. More than two thousand people were reportedly killed earlier this month in the attack in Baga town, the worst in the six years since Boko Haram began its violent campaign to instill strict Islamic rule in Nigeria. This comes as the Boko Haram-fueled crisis is threatening to spread to three of Nigeria’s regional neighbors. Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.
CIA whistle-blower case goes to jury
Arguments is the long-awaited trial of a CIA whistle-blower ended this week in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. FSRN’s Nell Abram talked with Norman Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction.org and a journalist covering the Jeffrey Sterling trial for ExposeFacts. Solomon observed the trial, and talked with us from the Courthouse steps.
Listen to our full length interview with Solomon here.
Pennsylvania governor’s inauguration draws opponents of fracking
Democrat Tom Wolf was inaugurated this week as the new governor of Pennsylvania, after defeating the Republican incumbent, Tom Corbett. Both are big supporters of fracking for natural gas, an industrial process that is turning many of the state’s rural areas into industrial zones, and some say, sacrifice zones. Protesters both inside and outside the ceremony at the state capital, Harrisburg, called loudly for a ban on fracking, even while many of the Big Green groups have vowed to work with the new governor on the issue. Melinda Tuhus reports.
U.S. Supreme Court hears state judicial campaign financing case
The US Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a case that could have broad implications for judicial candidates. The case is Williams-Yulee v. the Florida Bar, and it tackles the issue of who can solicit funds for judicial campaigns, and how they can do it. FSRN’s Nell Abram has more.
#ReclaimMLK actions vindicate King’s legacy of civil rights protests
The 2015 observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and death took on a level of intensity unseen in many years. Under the banner of Black Lives Matter protesters around the country are engaging in activism that goes far beyond floats, marching bands and dignitaries in cars. Their tactics range from die-ins to demonstrating at Sunday brunches to shutting down traffic. These activists say they are reclaiming the legacy of what Dr. King started 50 years ago. FSRN’s Lena Nozizwe caught them in action in Santa Monica, California and files this report.
