Greater Middle East
Lebanon: army seizes strife-torn Tripoli
Lebanon's government has ordered the coastal city of Tripoli placed under army control amid growing sectarian clashes pitting Sunni residents against Alawites.
Author: CounterVortex
Mexico
Mexico: new massacre strikes terror in Juárez
A new massacre is reported from Ciudad Juárez, again raising fears of a return to the wave of deadly violence that convulsed the Mexican border city for much of the past decade.
Africa
French troops to Central African Republic
France is escalating its military mission in the Central African Republic, airlifting troops and equipment to the capital Bangui ahead of an anticipated UN-backed intervention.
Mexico
Mexico: protesters pledge to resist energy ‘reform’
In a 40,000-strong Mexico City demonstration, union members and opposition activists pledged civil disobedience to halt President Enrique Peña Nieto’s energy sector reform.
Afghanistan
Afghan opium production hits new record high
The UN’s latest Afghanistan Opium Survey finds that the country produced record levels of poppy in 2013—despite $7 billion in US eradication efforts.
The Andes
Colombia: violent eviction at Cúcuta squatter camp
The feared Colombian National Police anti-riot force was mobilized to evict an encampment of campesinos who had been displaced from their homes by political violence.
The Andes
Colombia: threatened indigenous group leader slain
Two gunmen assassinated Juan Álvaro Pai, traditional governor of the endangered Awá indigenous people, in an incursion into their reserve in Colombia’s Nariño department.
The Amazon
Ecuador: deadly clash in anti-mining operation
Indigenous leaders in Ecuador's rainforest accuse the army of forging evidence in the death of a Shuar man during an operation against outlaw gold-miners.
North Africa
Mali: Tuareg rebels declare end to ceasefire
Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) announced that they are ending their ceasefire with the Malian government following new clashes.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: blogger arrested in protest crackdown
Alaa Abdul Fattah, a prominent blogger who opposed Mubarak and Morsi alike, was arrested by Egypt's military authorities on charges of organizing an unsanctioned rally.
Mexico
Citizens challenge media silence on Matamoros war
Local activists and bloggers risk their lives to get out the word on the ongoing urban warfare in Tamaulipas, with Mexico's establishment press terrorized into silence.
Afghanistan
Karzai punts on US ‘security agreement’
Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected the Loya Jirga's recommendation that he sign an agreement extending the US troop presence, citing continued civilian casualties.