South Asia
Bangladesh political strike follows labor unrest
A general strike called by the Islamist opposition has shut down much of Bangladesh—weeks after garment workers walked off the job and burned factories.
Author: CounterVortex
Iran
Iran hangs 16 after Baluch border clash
Sixteen accused militants were hanged in Iran’s Baluchistan province—in apparent retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush just the night before.
Mexico
Gulf Cartel’s Guatemalan jefe busted in Chiapas
Mexican federal police announced the apprehension of a fugitive Gulf Cartel kingpin, Eduardo Francisco Villatoro Cano AKA “Guayo”—wanted in Guatemala for a bloody attack on police.
Planet Watch
RCMP attack Mi’kmaq anti-frack protesters
RCMP troops used tear-gas and rubber bullets to break up an anti-fracking protest roadblock by the Elsipogtog Mi’kmaq First Nation.
Mexico
Mexico busts more Sinaloa Cartel biggies —but still not El Chapo
Three accused Sinaloa Cartel operatives go on trial in the US, while Guatemala denies rumors that the cartel’s fugitive kingpin was killed in a jungle shoot-out with police.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: clashes in Cairo, insurgency in Sinai
While the new deadly street clashes in Cairo made international news, near-daily insurgent attacks on Eyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula continue with little notice.
North Africa
Qaeda commander claimed captured in Libya
Al-Qaeda operative Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Ruqai AKA Abu Anas al-Libi, wanted for his role in the 1998 African embassy bombings, was reportedly captured by US forces in Tripoli.
Africa
US sea raid on Somali rebel stronghold
US forces launched a night raid on a rebel-held town in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region from the sea—apparently an effort to kill the leader of the Shabaab.
Greater Middle East
Syria: thousands of detainees lost in ‘black hole’
Human Rights Watch finds that tens of thousands who peacefully demonstrated against President Bashar Assad are languishing in Syrian prisons, subjected to an policy of torture.
Afghanistan
Pakistan stock market soars on terror wave
Over the past year of growing violence and chaos in Pakistan, the Karachi Stock Exchange surged more than 44%, placing it among the world’s top-performing stock markets.
The Andes
Justice catches up to Chile, Ecuador war criminals
An ex-general in Chile killed himself rather than face transfer to a general-population prison, as trial opened in Quito for three former officers accused in extrajudicial killings.
The Andes
Bolivia, Venezuela reject US drug criticism
For a fifth year running, the White House "blacklisted" Bolivia and Venezuela for perceived insufficient anti-drug efforts—and both governments reacted with anger.