North Africa
Attack on Coptic church in Libya
Two Egyptians were killed and two injured in an explosion at a Coptic church at Dafniya, near the Libyan city of Misrata. The blast came just as mass was ending.
Author: CounterVortex
India: Tibetans march for human rights
Tibetans across the globe celebrated the 64th World Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 with a new spirit. What was hailed as a Global Solidarity Day for Tibet was most widely observed by Tibetan exiles in India. Hundreds of Tibetans… Read moreIndia: Tibetans march for human rights
The Andes
Peru: Conga project to advance in 2013?
Peru’s Minister of Mines Jorge Merino assured investors that his government will make every effort to see the controversial Conga gold mining project move forward in 2013.
The Andes
Peru: protest over mine’s water diversion
Thousands of campesinos filled the streets of Chiclayo in northern Peru to protest La Zanja mining company’s plan to dump waste water in high Andean canyons.
The Andes
Bolivia: progress seen in coca policy
Total area planted with coca in Bolivia dropped by up to 13% last year, as both eradication efforts and the areas where coca can be legally cultivated were expanded.
The Andes
Bolivia: Aymara declare mine personnel ‘fugitives’
Aymara authorities at Mallku Khota in Bolivia’s PotosĂ department declared two technicians from Canadian mining company South American Silver to be fugitives from justice.
The Andes
Bolivia: prison corruption scandal widens
A Brooklyn businessman was freed from prison in Bolivia on money-laundering charges after he accused authorities of extorting him and illegally seizing his goods.
Mexico
Campesinos block gold mine in Zacatecas
Campesinos in Zacatecas are blocking the gates of a gold mine owned by magnate Carlos Slim to protest ecological impacts on their communal lands.
Mexico
Mexico: bloody Christmas in Michoacán, Sinaloa
A spate of shootouts between rival cartels and police forces left over 20 dead around the Christmas holiday in the Mexican states of Michoacán, Jalisco and Sinaloa.
Africa
Central African Republic rebels advance
Rebels who have taken up arms again in the Central African Republic’s south, accusing the regime of not honoring peace accords, have seized several towns in the south.
North Africa
Mali: shrines destroyed; intervention approved
Islamist militants in Timbuktu destroyed more Sufi shrines days after the UN Security Council approved an intervention force to retake Mali’s breakaway north.
Palestine
General strike on West Bank
Palestinian Authority employees, who held a general strike last week, will shut down the West Bank again this week to protest non-payment of their salaries due to Israeli sanctions.