With all the paranoia about al-Qaeda and ETA, it seems the latest bomb scare in Spain may be the work of radical urban preservationists. Police say they deactivated an explosive device May 15 found outside an industrial warehouse in Lugo,… Read moreSpain: preservationist terror in Galicia?
From the Times of India, May 16: NEW DELHI — The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that naxalites were working in close coordination with some terrorist outfits operating in J&K and were also in touch with the Liberation Tigers of… Read moreIndia: Naxalite-Tamil Tiger convergence?
Turkey’s Supreme Court May 16 overturned a 40-year prison term imposed on two paramilitary officers for overseeing the bombing of a bookstore in the eastern town of Semdinli two years ago. The blast, which killed one person, sparked angry protests… Read moreTurkey: impunity for anti-Kurdish paramilitaries?
Thousands of Afghans protested outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul May 16, chanting “Death to Pakistan, Death to Musharraf!” The rally comes days after the bloodiest clash in decades on the disputed border between the two countries. Pakistani forces crossed… Read moreAfghans rally against Pakistan
When Adm. William Fallon was named to replace Gen. John Abizaid as chief of Central Command in January, we recognized it as part of a tilt to the “pragmatists” and away from the hubristic neocons in Washington. Now comes word… Read moreCentCom chief blocking Iran attack?
A new blue-and-green-throated hummingbird species, dubbed the gorgeted puffleg, has been discovered in a threatened cloud forest of southwest Colombia. The name comes from the iridescent emerald green and electric blue patch on the throat—or gorge—of the males, and from… Read moreColombia: coca economy threatens new species
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer threw his support behind a proposal to curtail the president’s recently expanded powers to take charge of the National Guard in domestic crises. “Given the Guard’s growing importance in local emergencies, we are concerned about… Read moreSpitzer: No to National Guard “federalization”
The “Islamic State of Iraq,” having claimed responsibility for an ambush on a US patrol south of Baghdad May 12, has warned the US military to stop searching for three soldiers missing after the incident, if they want them to… Read moreIraq: civil war in the insurgency
Excerpts from an April 22 editorial in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: A community debate over religious freedom surfaced in Western Pennsylvania last week when Dutch feminist author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who has lived under the threat of death… Read moreAyaan Hirsi Ali faces death threats —in Pennsylvania
The First Summit of Latin Americans Migrant Communities concluded May 14 with a “Declaration of Morelia,” named for the city where the meeting was held in Michoacan, Mexico. The declaration called for modifying national and international laws on immigration, calling… Read moreMexico: migrants summit demands greater rights
Gunmen fatally shot a high-ranking Mexican intelligence official as he drove to work at the federal Prosecutor General’s office in Mexico City May 14. Jose Nemesio Lugo, who investigated drug trafficking and illegal migration, was shot several times. The assailants… Read moreMexico: hitmen take out federal police, army jefes
On May 14 at 7 AM, Francisco Puerta, a leader of the Colombian “peace community” of San José de Apartadó, was assassinated by paramilitaries outside the bus terminal in the town of Apartadó, the municipal seat. Two para gunmen approached… Read moreColombia: another killing at “peace community”
