A Sri Lankan probe into rights abuses blamed on both security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels fails to meet international standards, foreign observers say. Experts appointed by the international community to observe the presidential commission’s investigation charge the most serious… Read moreSri Lanka: abuse probe inadequate
The Philippine military has deployed helicopters and spy drones with the help of US intelligence to search for Muslim rebels who kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Carlo Bossi of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in the Zamboanga peninsula. Bossi… Read moreMindanao: drones scan jungle for kidnapped priest
From Reuters, June 10: TEHRAN – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who wants more aid from the United States, called on Sunday for a new world order to replace “capitalism and imperialism”, at the start of a trip to arch U.S…. Read moreDaniel Ortega schmoozes ayatollahs
For those who remember when Albania was a hermetically sealed communist dictatorship under Enver Hoxha, the spectacle of George Bush receiving a hero’s welcome in Tirana was a surreal one. An easy appeal to ethnic nationalism on the issue of… Read moreBush does Albania; exploits Kosovars, Uighurs for cheap propaganda
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publisher of the journal Science, has teamed up with Amnesty International for a project to monitor the Darfur conflict by satellite. From Medical News Today, June 10: A pioneering AAAS program… Read moreRights groups monitor Darfur villages by satellite
The Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) in Chiapas reports that it has received a document prepared by the Mexican government for the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH) concerning the November 13, 2006 slaying of four peasants… Read moreGovernment link to Viejo Velasco massacre; Chiapas violence continues
The government of Mexican President Felipe Calderón has issued a formal request to the US Congress for a huge increase in military aid to combat narco-gangs. The request came in a recent US-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Meeting held in Austin, TX, and… Read moreCalderón seeks “Plan Colombia” for Mexico
From Long Island Press, June 8: Teen Drives Into Sunrise Mall On June 7, an Amityville teen was arrested for reportedly driving a car into the main entrance of Sunrise Mall at around 7 p.m. According to police, Dwight Thomas,… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
The headquarters of the Iraq Freedom Congress, a civil anti-occupation coalition, were raided by US troops June 7. The premises were damaged when the soldiers forced down the door, and five of the office’s guards were arrested and their weapons… Read moreUS forces raid Iraq Freedom Congress offices in Baghdad
Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution has a piece in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, “Al-Qaeda Strikes Back,” which finds, “By rushing into Iraq instead of finishing off the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Washington has unwittingly helped its… Read moreAl-Qaeda to Bush: Nuke Iran!
Iraqi legislators passed a resolution June 5 requiring the government to seek parliamentary approval before asking the UN to extend the mandate for US-led forces in Iraq. The Sadrist-drafted resolution passed by a vote of 85 to 59. The members… Read moreIraq: parliament demands approval to extend occupation
Mansour Dadullah, new Taliban military commander since the death of his brother Mullah Dadullah in combat last month, told AlJazeera in an exclusive interview: “Sheikh Osama bin Laden is alive and active. He’s carrying out his duties. The latest proof… Read moreTaliban commander: Osama calls the shots
