Mexico
Mexican cartel wars winding down?
Mexican authorities claimed another coup against the cartels with the arrest of Héctor Beltran Leyva, last remaining kingpin of the Beltran Leyva Organization.
Author: Bill Weinberg
Greater Middle East
Kobani in the balance; Kurdish protests escalate
With desperate street-to-street fighting underway in Kobani between ISIS and Kurdish militia, nearly 30 have been killed in Kurdish protests across Turkey.
Iraq
Will world betray Kobani?
As the PKK continues its desperate resistance against ISIS at Kobani, Turkish troops gather on the nearby border—to prevent Kurdish fighters from coming to the town's aid.
Mexico
Fortune magazine ranks top five global cartels
Fortune magazine issued a list of the biggest organized crime groups in the world: elements of Japan's Yakuza, Russian mafia, two Italian syndicates and Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexico
ISIS to attack US through Mexico …Not!
John McCain prompted testimony from a Homeland Security official that ISIS could seek to infiltrate the US through Mexico. The media jumped on it, but there's nothing there.
The Andes
Peru: record coke bust points to Mexican cartels
A record-breaking cocaine bust on Peru's Pacific coast points not only to booming production, but the increasing role of the Mexican cartels in the Andean narco economy.
Afghanistan
Warlords cut deal on Afghan electoral dispute
The deal that ended Afghanistan's electoral deadlock was brokered by the country's leading war criminals—and the US hopes to follow up with a "status of forces" agreement.
South Asia
Coup for Delhi in Sino-Indian space race
India's Mars orbiter arrives at the red planet just days after NASA's latest probe. These missions are less about "science" than geopolitics on Earth—the New Cold War with China.
Mexico
Mexico: a new Pax Mafiosa?
Reports of a summit of cartel "capos" in Piedras Negras fuel speculation that President Enrique Peña Nieto seeks to rebuild the "Pax Mafiosa" of Mexico's old one-party state.
The Amazon
Carbon obfuscation in New York Times
Amid the current UN climate talks, the New York Times runs an op-ed entitled "To Save the Planet, Don't Plant Trees"—filled with bogus science and dishonest claims.
The Andes
Anti-Semitic attacks in Bolivia: usual confusion
A blast at a Jewish cemetery in Bolivia follows attacks on a synagogue. Jewish commentary on the attacks emphasizes Evo Morales' protests of the Gaza bombardment.
Iraq
ISIS blows up birthplace of Saladin
ISIS militants destroyed the Citadel of Tikrit, birthplace of Saladin and one of Iraq's most important archeological sites. The jihadists meanwhile seized several Syrian towns.