Now that Iran has a nuclear program, other Middle East countries want nuclear power—potentially resulting in a nuclear arms race in the region, the New York Times reported April 15. “Two years ago, the leaders of Saudi Arabia told international… Read moreNYT: Mideast nuclear arms race seen
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Casablanca close to the city’s American Cultural Centre April 14—apparently causing no casualties other than themselves. (AlJazeera, April 14) After the blasts, the US consulate in Casablanca was ordered closed until further notice…. Read moreMorocco: police raid slum after suicide blasts
Hungary’s Finance Minister János Kóka has presented a bill in Parliament to make the country an attractive route for transnational gas transport. The intended beneficiaries of the tax exemptions on gas transported across Hungary are the interests behind the planned… Read moreHungary woos rival pipeline routes
Moqtada al-Sadr has pulled his faction out of the Iraqi government in protest of the continuing US presence in the country. Said Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the bloc: “Al-Sadr’s ministers will withdraw immediately and give the six cabinet seats to… Read moreIraq: Sadrists pull out of government
Unregistered Afghan refugees face an uncertain future after the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced it will discontinue the repatriation program April 15, the same day that the Pakistani government had set as the deadline for all unregistered refugees… Read moreAfghan refugees in Pakistan: out of time?
A new Human Rights Watch report, “The Human Cost,” accuses the Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami and other insurgent groups of war crimes in Afghanistan. Joanne Mariner, HRW’s terrorism and counter-terrorism director, said in a statement: “Suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks have… Read moreHuman Rights Watch slams Afghan insurgents
Late at night on April 5, a permenant protest vigil (plantón) outside the government palace in San Luis PotosÃ, Mexico, was attacked without warning and borken up by the state police. The vigil, organized by the San Luis Potosà State… Read moreMine protesters attacked in San Luis PotosÃ
On April 14, a group of gunmen opened fire with small arms on Rufino Juarez Hernandez, director of the Triqui Region Social Welfare Union (UBISORT) in Putla de Guerrero, Oaxaca. Hospitalized with a leg wound, Juarez named as intellectual author… Read moreMore political violence in Oaxaca
Hussein Aideed, a veteran Somali warlord who is now deputy prime minister of the transitional government, accused Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu of committing “genocide” since arriving in December. Ethiopia dismissed the comments as an absolute fabrication. Hundreds of residents have… Read moreSomalia: Ethiopia accused of “genocide”
Scott Ritter has been wrong before, but The Nation is still enamored of him. Robert Scheer has also been wrong before. Now they team up for a little collaborative error. In an April 13 piece on Scheer’s TruthDig, “The Final… Read moreRitter blames the Jews —again
For the first time since his tour stop in Matamoros in December, Subcommander Marcos of the Zapatista rebels arrived back on Mexico’s US border April 11. Traveling with 10 Zapatista comandantes from Chiapas, Marcos stopped at the desert village of… Read moreZapatistas back on US border
Florentin Melendez, president of the Interamerican Human Rights Commission (CIDH), in Mexico on an official visit, registered protest on the Mexican government’s policy for indigenous peoples. He said the pre-NAFTA reform of the Mexican constitution’s Article 27, allowing privatization of… Read moreOAS rights chief blasts Mexico indigenous policy
