Iraq
Turkish special forces intervene in Iraq
The Turkish military carried out a ground operation against PKK guerillas in northern Iraq, followed by airstrikes in the Kandil Mountains along the border.
Author: CounterVortex
Watching the Shadows
Haiti: Hidden costs of the industrial zone
Workers’ rally outside the Port-au-Prince industrial park, Oct. 8. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton, US special envoy to Haiti, were both on hand for the opening of the new Caracol Industrial Park, a 617-acre tax-exempt… Read moreHaiti: Hidden costs of the industrial zone
North America
Montana voters: corporations are not people
In a landslide victory, Montana voters approved an initiative stating “that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights because they are not human beings.”
Greater Middle East
Turkey: 700 Kurdish prisoners on hunger strike
Thousands held demonstrations in Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakir to show solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners who have been on hunger strike in Turkey.
Iran
Iran: women prisoners on hunger strike
Nine female political prisoners in Iran—including some deemed “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International—have started a hunger strike in response to abuse by prison guards.
Guardians of the Lagunas
Organized as “Guardians of the Lagunas,” campesinos in Cajamarca, Peru, have established an encampment to maintain round-the-clock vigilance at the proposed site of US-backed Yanacocha company’s Conga gold mine. The effort was launched in response to reports of construction work… Read moreGuardians of the Lagunas
The Andes
Peru: threats against Cajamarca movement
Campesinos who support the proposed Conga mine are threatening to evict the encampment estabished at the concession bloc by the "Guardians of the Lagunas."
Southeast Asia
Mindanao: fighting despite new autonomy deal
New fighting was reported from the southern Philippines island group of Mindanao, despite a recent deal on regional autonomy aimed at ending the decades-long insurgency.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia indigenous peoples: We exist!
Indonesia responded to UN recommendations to recognize the rights of its indigenous peoples by claiming that none live in the country—as massacres of tribal peoples continue.
The Andes
Peru: land, water conflicts grow in Cajamarca
A campesino family in Cajamarca may face a four-year prison term for defending their lands in an ownership dispute with the US-backed Yanacocha mining company.
Mexico
Mexico: lives claimed in Chihuahua water wars
Hundreds of campeisnos occupied the governor’s office in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua to demand justice following the murder of two water rights activists.
The Amazon
Brazil: Guarani threaten mass suicide?
A Guarani-Kaiowa tribe in Mato Grosso do Sul say their eviction from ancestral lands following a court order obtained by a rancher will mean their “collective death.”