Iraq
Iraq: sectarian war escalating fast
Sectarian violence has killed at least 200 in Iraq since the start of Ramadan, and Hezbollah has launched an Iraqi wing to fight al-Qaeda’s networks in the country.
Author: CounterVortex
Greater Middle East
Syria: sectarian, ethnic fighting spreads
A rocket strike near an important Shi’ite shrine in Damascus sparked protests throughout the Shia world, while Kurdish militias fight jihadist forces in northern Syria.
The Amazon
Brazil sends tanks to protect threatened tribe
Brazil’s military has launched a major ground operation against illegal logging around the remote Amazon lands of the Awá, said the be the “Earth’s most threatened tribe.”
The Andes
Colombia: FARC claim taking US soldier prisoner
Colombia’s FARC rebels announced that their fighters have captured a supposedly retired US Navy seaman and Afghanistan war veteran in the south of the country.
South Asia
Protests rock Jammu and Kashmir
Srinagar and other towns in India-administrated Jammu and Kashmir are under curfew following unrest over the killing of four protesters by the Border Security Forces.
Mexico
Chiapas cancels carbon deal with California
The government of Chiapas cancelled a controversial forest protection plan that critics said failed to address root causes of deforestation and endangered indigenous peoples.
The Andes
Peru: deadline for payment on expropriated lands
Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal issued a decision ordering the government to honor debt owed for land confiscated under the agrarian reform that began in the 1960s.
Mexico
Mexico: Zetas boss busted; kid brother ascends?
Mexican naval forces captured Miguel Angel Treviño Morales AKA “Z-40,” head of the notorious Zetas cartel—but his younger brother, “Z-42,” is poised to be the new boss.
South Asia
Bangladesh Islamist sentenced for war crimes
Street clashes erupted as Islamist leader Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity in the 1971 war.
Southeast Asia
US troops to Philippines amid Mindanao fighting
The White House is finalizing a deal with the Philippines that will allow the US to deploy more troops—as new fighting is reported from Mindanao despite talks with Islamist rebels.
Palestine
Occupy Tel Aviv —again
Thousands marched in Tel Aviv, blocking traffic on the city’s main thoroughfares, for a rally marking the two-year anniversary of Israel’s mass movement against inequality.
North America
California threatens prisoners over hunger strike
California authorities are threatening disciplinary measures as more than 30,000 inmates in the state's prisons have joined a hunger strike against solitary confinement.