North Africa
Tunisia: feminist, rapper icons for left opposition
Amid growing protests, Femen activist Amina Sboui and rapper "Weld El 15"—both facing criminal charges—have become heroes for Tunisia's secular opposition.
Author: Bill Weinberg
South Asia
Uttarakhand disaster portends ‘Himalayan tsunamis’
The devastating floods in India's Uttarakhand state are being called a "Himalayan tsunami"—and a grim omen for millions living downstream from the world's highest range.
Greater Middle East
Yemeni pro-democracy leader barred from Egypt
Egypt banned Yemeni activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman from entering the country for “security reasons”—to protest from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Afghanistan
ISI behind Taliban attack on Indian consulate?
Delhi had apparently warned its ambassador in Kabul of an impending attack plotted in Pakistan—immediately before the assault on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad.
The Andes
Venezuela gets a ‘birther’ conspiracy theory
Venezuela’s opposition is distributing a supposed copy of President Maduro’s birth certificate, showing that he was born in Colombia. But Colombia dismisses it as a crude forgery.
Europe
Monastic donnybrook rocks Greek abbey —again
In the latest irruption of the stand-off at Greece’s Esphigmenou Monastery, ultra-Orthodox rebel monks reportedly hurled petrol bombs at police who came to evict them.
Planet Watch
Gulf of Mexico: maybe you missed the bad news…
The gas rig fire off Louisiana is portrayed as a near-miss at worst—while researchers predict a record “dead zone” the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico this year.
Europe
France: whither the hijab intifada?
The on-again/off-again Parisian intifada has exploded once more—this time over the arrest of a man whose wife was ticketed for wearing a face veil in the suburb of Trappes.
South Asia
Anti-nuclear protesters lose in India, win in China
The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India went online despite years of angry protests—while a single, rare protest halted the Longwan nuclear power project in China.
Greater Middle East
Why I am renouncing my Project Censored award
World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg officially renounces his Project Censored award over the group's endorsement of an "anti-war" (sic) statement that betrays the Syrian opposition.
Europe
Srebrenica: 18 years later, quest for justice goes on
A jurist at The Hague warns that the acquittal of Bosnia war crimes defendants sets a precedent for the "military elite of prominent countries"—including the US and Israel.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: revolution redux or military rule?
A new dictatorship could position the Muslim Brotherhood to recoup its losses—allowing it to pose once again as champion of the oppressed rather than oppressor.