The Andes
Colombia to resume glyphosate spraying
Colombia's Defense Ministry announced that it will resume use of glyphosate to eradicate coca crops—less than a year after suspending the program on cancer concerns.
Author: CounterVortex
Central America
Honduras: arrests in slaying of Berta Cáceres
Four arrested in the murder of environmentalist Berta Cáceres include two members of the armed forces and two employees of the company building the dam she opposed.
Southeast Asia
Mass arrests in West Papua independence protests
Nearly 2,000 were arrested by security forces in Indonesia's Papua province for "illegal" pro-independence demonstrations marking the end of Dutch colonial rule in 1963.
The Amazon
Peru: Amazon leaders broach separatism
Authorities in Peru's northern rainforest region of Loreto announced plans for a referendum on seceding from the country, saying Lima treats the region as an internal colony.
Central America
Guatemalans march on capital for water rights
Thousands converged on Guatemala City on Earth Day, the culmination of a cross-country march by peasants and popular organizations to demand local rights over access to water.
Europe
Tatar autonomy suppressed in Crimea
The Supreme Court of Russia-annexed Crimea officially designated the Tatar Majlis an "extremist entity" and banned its activities—effectively ending Crimean Tatar autonomy.
Iran
Syrian and Iranian socialists oppose dictatorships
A newly formed Alliance of Syrian and Iranian Socialists issues a call for civil struggle against the ayatollahs, regional strongmen like Assad and Erdogan, and the jihadists alike.
Planet Watch
De Beers pressured in First Nation suicide crisis
De Beers operates a diamond mine on lands of northern Ontario's suicide-striken Cree community of Attawapiskat—where it pays a pittance in royalties despite record profits.
The Andes
Colombia: thousands displaced in new fighting
More than 3,000 members of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have been displaced as Colombia's Chocó department is convulsed by conflict with the ELN guerillas.
Africa
Darfur: Sudan planning ‘Final Solution’?
Amid a referendum portrayed by Khartoum as a step toward peace, regime-backed militias unleash a new scorched-earth campaign in Darfur—reviving calls for US intervention.
The Amazon
Brazil: mega-dam suspended in win for indigenous
The planned São Luiz do Tapajós mega-dam in Brazil's Amazon received a significant setback when its license was suspended on grounds of its impacts on indigenous peoples.
Africa
Ethiopian troops to South Sudan after border raid
A force of Ethiopian troops crossed into South Sudan to launch a joint offensive with the Juba government against ethnic Murle militia fighters who staged a bloody cross-border raid.