Gillian Gibbons, the British school-teacher sentenced to 15 days in prison in Sudan for naming a class teddy bear “Mohammed,” has been transfered to a secret location after thousands of Sudanese—many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums—marched in… Read moreNext: Teddy Bear War?
Rebels in Chad have declared war on the former colonial power France. Mahamat Hassane Boulmaye, spokesman for the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD), said in a statement: “The UFDD considers itself to be in a state of… Read moreChad: rebels declare war on France
Turkey attacked PKK rebel targets in northern Iraq Dec. 1, saying it inflicted “heavy losses.” The Turkish General Staff said it ordered artillery and air-strikes against a group of “50 to 60 terrorists…inside Iraq’s borders” southeast of the Turkish town… Read moreTurkey attacks Iraq —again
For more than four months 1,200 workers have been on strike at the Cananea copper mine in Sonora—the largest copper mine in Mexico and one of the largest mines in the world. Mexico’s Mining and Metal Workers Union is demanding… Read moreMexico: Cananea copper strike enters fifth month
Opposition leaders in Bolivia pledge further protests against a new draft constitution, after a one-day strike Nov. 28 closed banks, schools and public transportation in six of Bolivia’s nine departments. The strike was most successful in Santa Cruz, where opposition… Read moreBolivia: right-wing strikers pledge more protests
Just days ahead of the referendum on President Hugo Chávez’s proposed constitutional reforms, Venezuela has threatened to expel a US diplomat if a document outlining supposed CIA plans to foment unrest proves to be real. The document, entitled “Final Stage… Read moreVenezuela destabilization document emerges: real?
We wish we were joking. From Canada’s The Tyee, Nov. 21: Earth’s Eighth Continent It swirls. It grows. It’s a massive, floating “garbage patch.” Located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii and measuring in at roughly twice the… Read moreContinent of garbage grows in North Pacific
From Newsday, Nov. 29: Truck spills 3,000 gallons of diesel in Queens A tanker-truck cartwheeled Thursday afternoon in Queens just after exiting the Whitestone Expressway, injuring the driver and sending at least 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel streaming across the… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Continuing to demonstrate hyper-priapism, oil inches unsteadily but seemingly inexorably towards the symbolic watershed of $100 per barrel despite high output. Prices briefly rose to over $95 a barrel before dropping back to just over $92 Nov. 29 as an… Read moreHyper-priapic OPEC still can’t get it down
With all eyes on the Israeli-Palestinian “breakthrough” at the Annapolis talks, the West Bank is under siege—this time by Palestinian security forces. Hisham Baradi, 36, an anti-Annapolis protester with the Hizb al-Tahrir (Party of Liberation), was killed when Palestinian Authority… Read moreMilitant Jews, Palestinians united —against Annapolis
Pervez Musharraf, who resigned Nov. 28 as Pakistan’s army chief, will be sworn in today as civilian president, resisting calls from opposition leaders to step down as head of state. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, former ISI chief, now takes over as… Read moreMusharraf becomes civil president; Taliban insurgency spreads
Masked gunmen reportedly stormed the family home of a journalist associated with Saddam Hussein’s party and critical of the Iraqi government, killing 11 relatives as they ate breakfast in a Baghdad neighborhood known as a Shi’ite militia stronghold Nov. 26…. Read moreIraq: journalist’s family reported slain
