Southern Cone
Labor split on Argentine transit strike
A transport strike to oppose a wage cap in Argentina brought Buenos Aires to a standstill, but pro-government labor unions called the walk-out politically motivated.
Author: CounterVortex
Iraq
Iraq: US sends more troops —amid reprisals
A new force of 450 US military advisors in Iraq will be training Sunni and Shi'ite militias to fight ISIS—amid mounting reports of bloody sectarian reprisals.
North Africa
Libya: ISIS abducts Eritrean Christians
As Libyan peace talks open in Morocco, ISIS militants abduced 86 Eritrean Christian migrants—including 12 women and several children—at a roadblock outisde Tripoli.
Greater Middle East
Gains for Kurds, Armenians in Turkish elections
The pro-Kurdish opposition enters parliament for the first time in an upset for Turkey's ruling AK Party—despite a wave of terror attacks on Kurdish party rallies and offices.
Southern Cone
Argentina: indigenous summit in Buenos Aires
Indigenous leaders from across Argentina's 17 provinces met in Buenos Aires to coordinate resistance to dispossession from their ancestral lands by development interests.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC break off ceasefire after air-strike
The FARC called off their unilateral ceasefire after some 20 fighters were killed in an air-strike on a guerilla camp in Colombia's southwest region of Cauca.
Greater Middle East
Turkey: mine disaster survivors face prison
Nine Turkish miners demanding justice in last year's Soma mining disaster that killed over 300 face six years in prison for violating the law restricting demonstrations.
The Andes
Peru: Sendero links to Colombian cartel claimed
Peru's authorities claim to have evidence that the neo-Senderistas are in league with a re-organized Colombian cocaine cartel, ironically known as the "Cafeteros" (coffee-producers).
Central America
Narco angle in Guatemala political crisis
Protesters are demanding that Guatemala's President Otto Pérez step down following corruption revelations—including claims linking his administration to narco-traffickers.
Mexico
Mexico: cartels declare open season on candidates
Mexico's drug cartels appear to have declared open season on any candidate for public office who will not toe their line in the run-up to June's midterm elections.
Palestine
Hamas battles ISIS in Gaza Strip
The self-proclaimed "Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem" issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the Hamas administration to halt its crackdown on the group in the Gaza Strip.
Greater Middle East
ISIS insurgency escalates in Sinai Peninsula
Several were killed and a mosque reportedly destroyed as Egyptian security forces battled militants of the ISIS-aligned Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in the Sinai Peninsula.