Iraq
Iraq: Yazidi women take up arms against ISIS
Hundreds of Yazidi women who escaped from ISIS sex slavery have formed an all-female battalion to join an assault against their former abusers in northern Iraq.
Author: CounterVortex
North Africa
Libya: ISIS downing regime warplanes?
ISIS claimed responsibility for downing a MiG-23 from Libya's internationally recognized government as it carried out air-strikes in Benghazi—the third warplane lost in a week.
The Andes
Peru: populist pursues presidency from prison
Left-populist presidential candidate Gregorio Santos Guerrero insists he will run in Peru's April election—despite remaining behind bars at Ancón I prison outside Lima.
The Amazon
Peru: oil spill fouls major Amazon tributary
Crude from an oil pipeline spill in northern Peru has spread due to rainfall and reached the Río Marañon, a major tributary of the Amazon, local indigenous leaders warned.
Mexico
Mexico: body of abducted Veracruz journalist found
The body of Anabel Flores Salazar, a crime reporter abducted from her home in Mexico's Veracruz state, was found the following day in the neighboring state of Puebla.
The Andes
Colombia: court protects highlands from mining
Colombia's Constitutional Court overturned provisions of the government's new National Development Plan that allowed mining in the ecologically critical high alpine zones.
The Andes
Colombia: war crimes at issue in FARC talks
Amid concerns over impunity for past atrocities in Colombia's peace process, cases are pending against fighters from the FARC, national army and paramilitaries alike.
The Andes
Colombia: renewed war with ELN guerillas
ELN rebels attacked an army barracks in Arauca and President Manuel Santos pledged to strike back hard—dashing hopes for a peace dialogue with Colombia's second guerilla group.
Greater Middle East
Ecuadorans mobilize in solidarity with Kurds
Scuffles broke out between pro-Kurdish protesters and police outside the National Higher Studies Institute in Quito where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking.
North Africa
Libya: mysterious air-strikes on Derna
Unidentified warplanes carried out air-strikes on Libya's Islamist-controlled eastern city of Derna—reportedly claiming civilian lives when a hospital was struck.
Forgotten history: Muslims who sheltered Jews
The group "I Am Your Protector" marked Holocaust Memorial Day Jan. 27 by celebrating the often forgotten stories of Muslims who helped Jews to survive during the genocide. With interfaith ceremonies in several European and American cities, IAYP commemorated figures… Read moreForgotten history: Muslims who sheltered Jews
The Andes
Colombia: peasants sue over mining contamination
Indigenous and Black communities in Colombia’s Chocó department filed a lawsuit, claiming 37 of their children died after drinking water contaminated by nearby mining operations.