Iran
Global executions surge —yet again
Amnesty International's annual report on the death penalty again notes an alarming surge in the number of executions worldwide—now reaching the highest total since 1989.
Author: CounterVortex
Peru: peasant mine opponent wins Goldman Prize
Maxima Acuña, a campesina grandmother from Peru's northern Cajamarca region, has been named the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize winner for South and Central America for her struggle to defend her family's lands from Newmont Mining. "A subsistence farmer in Peru's… Read morePeru: peasant mine opponent wins Goldman Prize
The Andes
Peru: peasant mine opponent wins Goldman Prize
Maxima Acuña, a campesina from Peru's Cajamarca region, was awarded a 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize for her struggle to defend her family lands from Newmont Mining.
The Andes
Anti-fracking protests in Colombia
Residents of the town of San Martín in Colombia's northern Cesar department held protests over government moves to open the area to fracking by ConocoPhillips.
The Andes
Paramilitary threat holds up Colombia peace talks
Havana peace talks between Colombia's government and the FARC are stalled as the government refuses to acknowledge the existence of far-right paramilitaries.
The Andes
El Niño impacts deepen Ecuador quake disaster
Rescue efforts in Ecuador's quake-ravaged Manabí province are hindered by damaged roads—repeatedly hit by flooding linked to this year's severe El Niño phenomenon.
Southeast Asia
Mindanao: deadly clash with ISIS forces
At least 18 Philippine soldiers and five militants were killed in a 10-hour fire-fight with the ISIS-loyal Abu Sayyaf group on the conflicted southern island of Mindanao.
Africa
Mining fuels renewed Darfur conflict
Russia is blocking release of an internal UN report that apparently shows how pro-government militias in Darfur are making some $54 million per year in gold mining.
South Asia
Bangladesh: deadly repression of anti-coal protest
Police opened fire on peasant protestors at the site of a coal-fired power plant project in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh, killing at least four.
Central America
Honduras: most dangerous country for ecologists
Human rights group Global Witness ranked Honduras as the world's most dangerous country for environmental defenders, with 109 slain over the past five years.
The Andes
Panama Papers pummel Peru politicians
Four of Peru’s presidential candidates, including far-right front-runner Keiko Fujimori, have been implicated in the “Panama Papers” revelations.
Southeast Asia
Bloody repression of peasant protests in Mindanao
Three were killed when security forces opened fire on farmers and lumad (indigenous people) who were blockading a highway in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.