The Amazon
Brazil: 60 dead in narco-fueled prison massacre
A New Year's Day prison riot in Brazil's Amazon riverport city of Manaus left up to 60 dead—with many of the bodies decapitated, mutilated and burned.
Author: CounterVortex
North America
Human Rights Watch: Trump portends ‘tyranny’
In its yearly report, Human Rights Watch warns that the rise of populist leaders "poses a dangerous threat to basic rights"—particularly naming Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
North Africa
Russia’s next intervention: Libya?
Khalifa Haftar, the warlord who controls eastern Libya, was feted on board the Russian aircraft carrier that just left Syrian waters, sparking fear of Moscow's regional designs.
Southern Cone
Argentina: Mapuche land struggle terrorist-baited
Authorities in Argentina's Chubut province accused Mapuche indigenous activists of being "terrorists" after a clash with police at a protest encampment on usurped lands.
Greater Middle East
Turkey: life term for Kurdish opposition leader?
Turkish prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Figen Yüksekdağ, co-chair of the Kurdish-led Peoples’ Democratic Party, on charges of “terrorism” for her alleged ties to PKK.
The Amazon
Bolivia plans Amazon ‘mega-dams’ amid opposition
Indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon are joining with ecologists to oppose a "mega-dam" complex the government has announced for the Río Beni.
Mexico
Mexico: protest caravan for missing students
A "Caravan for Memory and Hope" departed from Guerrero state toward Mexico City to demand justice in the case of the 43 "disappeared" college students.
Watching the Shadows
Obama’s final year: a CounterVortex scorecard
With a Trump despotism looming, CounterVortex offers its final assessment of Barack Obama's record in addressing the oppressive legacy of the Global War on Terrorism.
Watching the Shadows
Amnesty: ‘final plea’ to Obama to close Gitmo
Ahead of the 15th anniversary of the first detainees arriving at Guantánamo Bay, Amnesty International issued a "final plea" to President Obama to close the facility.
The Andes
Mass prisoner pardon in Bolivia
President Evo Morales on Christmas Eve pardoned and released 1,800 prisoners—part of his ongoing effort to curtail dangerous overcrowding in Bolivia's penal system.
North America
New pipeline showdown brews in New Jersey
The Ramapough Lunaape tribe in Mahwah, NJ, is protesting the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline that would carry shale oil down the Hudson Valley through their lands.
Central America
Climate change and Bolivia’s crisis drought
A local campesino looks out on what remains of the Desaguadero River. Lake Poopó was once Bolivia's second largest lake, after Titicaca—the two connected by the Desaguadero. Now climate change has melted the Andean glaciers that fed Poopó. Water from its tributaries… Read moreClimate change and Bolivia’s crisis drought