The Andes
Chiquita banana terrorism case can proceed: judge
A federal judge in Florida ruled that victims of illegal right-wing paramilitary networks in Colombia may sue banana giant Chiquita Brands under US jurisdiction.
Author: CounterVortex
The Andes
UN: ‘major challenges’ for FARC demobilization
The United Nations warned that Colombia's peace process faces "major challenges," urging the government and FARC rebels to "act swiftly" to demobilize and disarm the guerillas.
Mexico
Mexico: more ‘narco-fosas’ found in Guerrero
Army troops discovered over 30 bodies buried in mass graves in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero, where the back-country is effectively run by murderous narco-gangs.
Electoral College must dump Trump!
Protesters in front of the Trump International Hotel at 1 Central Park West on Nov. 13. It's an irony that the Electoral College—the very institution that got us into this mess—now holds the only hope of getting us out. Writing in The… Read moreElectoral College must dump Trump!
Greater Middle East
Turkey: thousands of Kurds displaced in crackdown
Tens of thousands of residents of Diyarbakır's historic Sur district are among a half million Kurds forced from their homes as a result of a brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities.
North Africa
Mass round-up of migrants in Algeria
Some 1,400 African migrants—including whole families and asylum-seekers—were rounded up by riot police in a series of raids in Algiers, and apparently face summary deportation.
North America
Dakota Access pipeline blocked —for now
After weeks of protest, the Army Corps of Engineers denied approval for the last remaining easement needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline—but the company pledges completion.
Greater Middle East
Are Kurds aiding Assad in Aleppo offensive?
As thousands of civilians flee the Assad regime's advance on Aleppo, rebel groups are charging that the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units are collaborating in the offensive.
Southeast Asia
Indonesian court rejects bid to save Aceh forest
An Indonesian court dismissed a class-action suit seeking to force the Aceh provincial government to protect the threatened Leuser Ecosystem in its land-use plan.
The Amazon
Peru: dramatic rainforest loss from mining
Illegal gold mining in Peru has razed almost 62,500 hectares of rainforest—an area over ten times the size of Manhattan—over the past four years.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC peace agreement takes effect
With Colombia's Congress voting to approve the revised peace accord with the FARC rebels, the country is on a countdown to the full demobilization of the guerilla army.
Mexico
Mexico: ‘community police’ co-opted by cartels?
Bloody internecine fighting in Guerrero state fuels fears that Mexico's anti-narco "community police" groups could themselves be co-opted by the warring cartels.