On March 7, some 250 Arab (Janjaweed) militiamen in West Darfur surrounded the Ardamata camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) after abducting two civilians from the camp, forcing the temporary suspension of humanitarian work there, the UN Mission in Sudan… Read moreDarfur: Janjaweed attack refugees —again
Voters in three dozen Vermont towns voted March 6 to call upon Congress to open an impeachment probe of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Two towns, Clarendon and Dover, voted the measure down. Nearly a half dozen… Read moreVermont: 36 towns call for impeachment probe
In an obvious move to undercut the International Criminal Court, Sudan has announced that it will put three men on trial for atrocities in Darfur—including Ali Mohammed Abd-al-Rahman AKA Ali Kushayb, officially named as a suspect by the ICC. Sudanese… Read moreSudan: Darfur trial opens, guerillas attack AU troops, Qadaffi to mediate?
A disturbing consensus seems to be emerging in Europe that the best reaction to genocide denial is to ban it. In addition to the many European laws against denying the Nazi Holocaust, Bosnia is now considering such a law for… Read moreArmenian genocide denial on trial —in Switzerland
Labor struggles are fast spreading in Iran at this critical moment—but it sure isn’t winning much news coverage in the West. From the Italian news agency AKI, March 6: Thousands of teachers staged a rally on Tuesday in front of… Read moreIran: striking teachers rally at Majlis
On March 6, a suicide bomber killed more than 30 and wounded dozens in a cafe north-east of Baghdad, while a car bomb in the suburb of Saidiya killed seven Shi’ite pilgrims headed for the holy city of Najaf. Elsewhere… Read moreIraq: bloody Arbaein
Here we go again. We noted two years ago that the annual State Department human rights report for the Americas displayed a blatant double standard concerning US client Colombia and Axis of Evil junior affiliate Venezuela. The new report goes… Read moreState Department rights report reveals double standard on Venezuela, Colombia —again
Democrats are urging President Bush not to pardon Lewis “Scooter” Libby following his conviction on perjury charges in the Valerie Plame case. His lawyers pledge to seek a retrial, or appeal. Significantly, Libby was never charged with leaking Plame’s identity—whoever… Read moreScooter takes hit for Dick: juror
Before dawn on Feb. 8, near Silverbell, Arizona, two men fired high-powered assault rifles at a pickup truck carrying migrants who had just crossed the border on their way to Phoenix. Three migrants—one Mexican man, one Guatemalan man and one… Read moreMore deaths on Mexican border
China’s Premier Wen Jiabao opened the annual session of the country’s parliament March 5 with a call for economic growth to be balanced with environmental protection and efforts to tackle a growing urban-rural wealth gap. “Protect social equity and justice,… Read moreChina moves to appease peasant unrest
As his trial opened at The Hague March 5, Former Kosova prime minister Ramush Haradinaj pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes stemming from his time as a regional commander of the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA). Standing trial with… Read moreKosova: more protests as UN trial opens for ex-prime minister
For the second time in less than 24 hours, the US military March 5 acknowledged involvement in an incident that caused multiple civilian deaths in Afghanistan—this time, an air strike that killed nine people from the same family. Afghan authorities… Read moreAfghanistan: NATO opens offensive amid protests over civilian deaths
