The Amazon
Brazil: violence halts work at Belo Monte dam
Work on Brazil’s controversial $13 billion Belo Monte hydro-dam has been at a halt since workers torched buildings at three work sites in a wage dispute.
Author: CounterVortex
The Andes
Bolivia: dissent over indigenous identity in census
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales sparked controvery by exlcuding the word mestizo, or mixed-race, as a choice for ethnic identification in the national census now underway.
The Amazon
Peru: Amazonian leaders press land demarcation
Amazonian leaders issued an open letter to President Ollanta Humala demanding that funds for the continued demarcation of indigenous lands be included in Peru's 2013 budget.
The Andes
Peru: campesino alliance with ‘illegal’ miners
At a summit in Peru's southern Puno region, artisanal miners leader Tankar Rau Rau Amaru and Aymara campesino leader Walter Aduviri pledged unity against corporate designs.
The Andes
Colombia: indigenous peace proposal advanced
An “Indigenous and Popular Peace Proposal” has been issued to bring demands for territorial autonomy to the talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels.
Mali: countdown to military intervention
Refugees who have fled the fighting and harsh Islamist rule in northern Mali wait in neighboring Niger. Military experts from Africa, the United Nations and Europe have drafted plans to retake control of northern Mali, as West African nations prepare a… Read moreMali: countdown to military intervention
Afghanistan
Pakistan to Lebanon: Shi’ites under attack
Bomb attacks on Shi’ite processions marking Ashura claimed lives in Pakistan, while Sunnis and Shi’ites clashed in Kabul and a planned attack on Shi’ites was thwarted in Lebanon.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: cries for revolution against ‘pharaoh’ Morsi
Clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi swept Egypt, as protesters filled the streets to decry Morsi's decree granting himself sweeping powers.
Iraq
Iraq: army, Peshmerga in stand-off at Kirkuk
An ongoing stand-off between an elite force of Iraq's national army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces around the contested northern city of Kirkuk led to skirmishes that left two dead.
Palestine
Gaza truce announced; bombing continues
Israel launched new air-strikes across the Gaza Strip, even as Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced a ceasefire to end eight days of violence.
Africa
Pressure on Rwanda over role in Congo war
Anti-Rwanda protests were held across the Democratic Republic of Congo after Rwanda-backed rebels took the eastern city of Goma. UN “peacekeepers” failed to defend the city.
Palestine
More West Bank clashes as Gaza assault goes on
Mourners clashed with Israeli troops at funerals in Hebron and Ramallah as Palestinians across the West Bank continue to protest the Israeli assault on Gaza.