CounterVortex

Watching the Shadows

Podcast: Verizon delenda est III

In Episode 351 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg, facing imminent cut-off of his landline and home internet access as Verizon finally abandons the century-old copper wire service, exposes this as an illegal betrayal of the public trust designed as part of a transition to counter-democratic corporate rule. Far from being driven by public demand, the ubiquity of wireless has been imposed on the populace as an artifice to finally extinguish the public entitlement of telephone service. Verizon is the most recent inheritor of this public trust responsibility that goes back to the establishment of the New York Telephone Company as a state utility in 1896. But the trust responsibilities go with the old copper wires—once they are gone, Verizon no longer has legal obligations as a “carrier of last resort.” Weinberg calls for a public expropriation of Verizon, its dissolution as a corporate entity, and seizure of its assets to provide net access and phone service as a public entitlement. (Photo: IBEW)

Greater Middle East

Contestation over Jordanian air-strike on Syria

Jordan’s air force bombed what it called “dens of terrorist organizations in southern Syria,” in an attack Syrian state media said killed five. Jordan said it was retaliation for a mass shootingat a Greek Orthodox Christian funeral in Hamoud, Karak governorate, that left nine dead and was claimed by the so-called Islamic State. Amman said that it had coordinated the strike with the Syrian government; Syrian officials said they had not been notified and closed a border crossing with Jordan. (Image: Pixabay)

The Caribbean

Salvadoran troops to Haiti

El Salvador has sent at least 1,000 soldiers to Haiti as part of a mission to rescue four Salvadoran members of the UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) who went missing after being ambushed by gunmen. Days after the attack, El Salvador’s strongman President Nayib Bukele posted a message to social media in Haitian Creole, demanding their release and announcing a military operation; he also threatened the gangs with further escalation, vowing that “today’s attack is nothing compared to what is coming” if the hostages are not released alive. (Map: CIA World Factbook via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa

Southern front opens in Ethiopia conflict

A new conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s south, compounding a nationwide crisis that has seen federal forces capture and occupy the northern Tigrayan capital of Mekelle. Sparked by an internal border dispute, the fighting in the south has forced up to 50,000 to flee across the border into Kenya. The clashes were triggered when a Somali regional flag was raised in Moyale, a town on the Kenyan border that is jointly administered by Somali and Oromia regions. Amid fighting between Somali and Oromia security forces, more than 60 people were killed in attacks on Orthodox Christians in Oromia. These were blamed by the central government on the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). (Map: Political Geography Now)

Southern Cone

Argentina challenges UK oil exploitation in Malvinas

Argentina submitted a request to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, seeking provisional measures against the United Kingdom to halt British exploitation of hydrocarbon resources on the continental shelf to the north of the disputed archipelago known to the UK as the Falkland Islands and to Argentina as the Malvinas. The request also seeks to bar the UK from using information obtained during any such exploration to the detriment of Argentina’s rights, and to prohibit actions that might aggravate the pending arbitral disputeover the waters initiated by Argentina. (Map: CIA World Factbook via Wikimedia Commons)

The Andes

Colombia: state oil company named in war crimes

UN experts welcomed a ruling by Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) relating to Macro-Case 08, recognizing the responsibility of a director of parastatal oil company Ecopetrol and several state agents for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious human rights violations. The ruling concerns abuses committed during the armed conflict in and around the refinery city of Barrancabermeja in the late 1990s that saw several people abducted and presumably killed by right-wing paramilitaries. “The JEP’s decision represents a significant step forward for truth, justice and accountability regarding the impacts of corporate activities in conflict-affected contexts,” the experts stated. (Photo: Crystalarts via Wikimedia Commons)

The Andes

US troops to Colombia

More than 300 US troops arrived in Colombia to take part in a series of joint military operations known as “Southern Vanguard.” The exercises, to focus on tackling drug trafficking and illegal mining, have stirred controversy in the country given the possibility that US troops could conduct joint strikes on Colombian soil, after the new right-wing government of President Abelardo de la Espriella agreed to such an arrangement. The left opposition argues that the presence of foreign troops needs congressional approval. (Map: PCL)

Planet Watch

Centuries of impacts seen from greenhouse emissions

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases reached record highs in 2025—another portent of global warming, which increases the frequency of extreme weather events and associated risks to societies and economies. WMO deputy secretary-general Ko Barrett stated: “The past 11 years have been the warmest on record and this trend is set to continue. CO2 has a very long lifetime and so will affect the global climate not just for years but for decades and even centuries.” (Photo: Janak Bhatta via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

Israel’s election and the Gaza genocide

A new report from the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories finds that Israel has continued to commit “genocidal acts” in the Gaza Strip since the signing of a ceasefire with Hamas last October, and continues to carry out war crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the occupied territories. The situation, alas, seems unlikely to fundamentally change regardless of the eventual outcome of the Israeli elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party received the most seats, but does not have enough support to form a government with its far-right allies. The anti-Netanyahu bloc led by former IDF commander Gadi Eisenkot also fell short of a majority. This puts Palestinian citizens of Israel—who constitute some 20% of the population, and who voted in record numbers—in the position of potential kingmakers. However, most parties in Eisenkot’s bloc are refusing to enter a coalition with the Arab parties. Pro-coexistence activists have marched in Tel Aviv to demand such a coalition, including in a mobilization outside Eisenkot’s home in the suburb of Herzliya, chanting “There is no change without partnership.” (Photo: Shane Burley via Facebook. Banner reads: “Israel is not a democracy. It’s apartheid”)

Iran

Iran executes five convicted in January protests

Amnesty International stated that Iran’s execution of five individuals in one week was based on unfair trials, and called on the international community to respond. Iranian authorities brought charges including armed rebellion (baghi), waging war against God (moharebeh), and corruption on earth (efsad-e fel arz)—all in connection with this year’s anti-government protests. Several other convicted protesters still await the death penalty. Amnesty reported that Iran accounted for 64% of recorded executions worldwide in 2024, based on its annual global review. Executions increased in 2025, reaching a record 2,159. (Photo: ICHRI)

North Africa

Protest wave of executions in Libya

Human Rights Watch reported that at least 31 people have been executed in Libya after unjust military trials overseen by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) since late August. The LAAF, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, has been the de facto power in eastern Libya since 2014, taking on many governmental roles. The non-state armed group has sought to rival the internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli. Most of those executed appear to have been charged with offenses related to armed resistance against the LAAF. These are seemingly the first executions in Libya since Qaddafi was overthrown. At least 50 more people in the LAAF’s Gernada military prison have been sentenced to death and are “at imminent risk of execution.” (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

The Andes

Colombia: protests greet new far-right president

Thousands of Colombians peacefully rallied across the country against the far-right policies of President Abelardo de la Espriella, little more than two months after he took office. They criticized his proposed social spending cuts, his alignment with Trump, and his hardline military approach to decades of armed-group violence. Earlier this month, de la Espriella announced a “counterterrorism statute” that many fear could restrict democratic rights. (Photo: AlexaRochi via AnalisisUrbano)