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.
Author: CounterVortex
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.
Mexico
Michoacán mayor murdered by Knights Templar?
Mexico is shocked by the murder of Mayor Ygnacio López Mendoza of Santa Ana Maya, Michoacán, who was found dead after a public hunger strike to protest cartel extortion.
Planet Watch
Native resistance to North American pipeline plans
The Keystone XL pipeline from Canada's oilfields to Texas is now matched by alternate routes to British Columbia and the Maritimes—all meeting opposition from Native peoples.
Inner Asia
Tibetan monk imprisoned for ‘splittism’: report
A Tibetan monk in China’s Sichuan province was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after he led a public prayer session for self-immolation martyrs.
The Andes
Bolivia: repression against dictatorship survivors
Bolivia’s elite anti-riot force used tear-gas against survivors of the country’s military dictatorship who protested in La Paz to demand indemnification for torture they suffered.