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 Potosí, Mexico, was attacked without warning and borken up by the state police. The vigil, organized by the San Luis Potosí State… Read moreMine protesters attacked in San Luis Potosí
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
The US Justice Deparment April 12 obtained an emergency order from Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans barring the imminent release of Cuban right-wing militant Luis Posada Carriles. The move came after Posada’s family in Miami posted the… Read moreJustice Department blocks Posada Carriles release
The problem is a lot bigger than a dangerous intersection in Brooklyn, folks. From Newsday, April 12: DOT under fire about its pedestrian safety plans The Brooklyn intersection where 3-year-old James Jacaricce was struck and killed by a car last… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
From The Guardian, April 9: Five Turkish punk rockers and their agent face up to 18 months in jail for insult after a bureaucrat took offence at their song criticising the country’s unpopular university entrance exam. The head of Turkey’s… Read moreTurkish punks jailed for social satire
India successfully tested an Agni III missile April 12, capable of launching a 300-kiloton nuclear warhead across 3,000 kilometers—a dramatic increase on prior missile systems principally designed to strike at Pakistan. The missile was launched from Wheeler Island in the… Read moreIndia test-fires nuclear-capable Agni III missile
One of Iraq’s main insurgent groups has confirmed a split with al-Qaeda, according to a spokesman for the dissenting organization. Ibrahim al-Shammari told AlJazeera TV that the Islamic Army in Iraq decided to break from al-Qaeda in Iraq after its… Read moreIraq: Islamic Army breaks from al-Qaeda
