As a part of the Republican tax overhaul bill, Congress voted to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas drilling, after more than four decades of contestation on the matter. Drilling is still years away… Read moreArctic oil scramble in offing after GOP tax bill
As a part of the Republican tax overhaul bill, Congress voted to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas drilling, after more than four decades of contestation on the matter. Drilling is still years away at best, due to depressed oil prices, a lengthy review process, and likely legal challenges. But oil companies are already arguing over who will have rights to the reserve—while Native Alaskan communities that depend on its critical caribou habitat see impending cultural extermination. (Photo: FWS)
Thousands took to the streets across Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to protest budget cuts and the lack of basic services. At least six were killed as security forces fired on protesting civil servants in Raniya, who have gone without pay for weeks. Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) administration. Protesters armed with assault rifles attacked the local office of the KRG's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Raniya, where a curfew has now been imposed. (Photo: Rudaw)
UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein raised the possibility that Burma's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi could face international genocide charges over the military campaign targeting the Rohingya Muslim people. "For obvious reasons, if you're planning to commit genocide you don't commit it to paper and you don't provide instructions," he told BBC News. "The thresholds for proof are high. But it wouldn't surprise me in the future if a court were to make such a finding on the basis of what we see." (Photo: IRIN)
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer issued a statement calling on the US to end impunity for "perpetrators and policymakers responsible for years of gruesome abuse" at Guantánamo Bay and other detention facilities. He added that that he has information that Guantánamo detainee Ammar al-Baluchi, awaiting trial in the 9-11 case before a military tribunal, is still being tortured despite the banning of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques."
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women march in Nicaragua's capital was shut down by the riot police, who blocked the streets off shortly after demonstrators gathered. The Managua march was emotionally charged, as it was led by Elea Valle—a campesina woman whose husband, son and daughter were killed two weeks earlier in a raid by army troops on their home in the country's eastern rainforest.
The 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization was held in Buenos Aires, marked by discord within the venue and angry protests in the streets. Inside, talks collapsed, while outside demonstrators clashed with police. The conference came amid ongoing protests against President Mauricio Macri's proposed legislation to take money from workers' pensions to close Argentina's fiscal deficit.
After marching from the eastern rainforest to Quito, thousands of indigenous Ecuadorans claimed a victory as their leaders met with President Lenin Moreno, who pledged to respect their demands on cultural and territorial rights. Among key victories, the government agreed… Read moreEcuador: indigenous march yields key victories
After marching from the eastern rainforest to Quito, thousands of indigenous Ecuadorans claimed a victory as their leaders met with President Lenin Moreno, who pledged to respect their demands on cultural and territorial rights. Among key victories, the government agreed to suspend new mining concessions in indigenous territories pending a review to assure they are in compliance with constitutional provisions on prior consultation.
In a setback to Chevron's campaign to evade a $9.5 billion liability owed to rainforest communities, Canada's Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Ecuadoran indigenous leaders signed a protocol to hold the corporation accountable for dumping billions of gallons of… Read moreCanada First Nations back Ecuador against Chevron
In a setback to Chevron's effort to evade a $9.5 billion liability owed to rainforest communities, Canada's Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Ecuadoran indigenous leaders signed a protocol to hold the corporation accountable for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste and for ongoing violations of indigenous rights. The agreement was signed by AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde and Jamie Vargas, president of Ecuador's indigenous federation, CONAIE.
European governments are knowingly "complicit" in the torture, abuse and exploitation of tens of thousands of refugees and migrants detained by the Libyan immigration authorities or criminal gangs in appalling conditions, Amnesty International charges in a new report. Dozens of migrants and refugees told Amnesty about collusion between detention center guards, the Libyan Coast Guard and smugglers. European countries and especially Italy have been aiding Libyan authorities in migrant interception, as well as striking deal with local militias.
