Climate Justice Now!, a broad coalition of social movements that coordinated protests at the Durban summit, assailed the last-minute agreement, charging that “the richest nations have cynically created a new regime of climate apartheid.”
Peru’s Prime Minister Salomón Lerner resigned after failed attempts to negotiate an end to the Cajamarca protests—to be replaced by Oscar Valdés, a former army officer who as interior minister has overseen the police repression in Cajamarca.
El Salvador's government held a ceremony at El Mozote village to ask survivors' forgiveness—just as an ex-military commander takes over as Public Security Minister in a move apparently prompted by the US embassy.
Rights groups in El Salvador noted the anniversary of the massacre of 966 villagers at El Mozote by a US-trained battalion, decrying continued impunity after 30 years. The authors of the massacre are known, but protected by an amnesty law.
The Dutch government on Dec. 9 formally apologized for a massacre of at least 150 non-combatants in the village of Rawagede, in West Java, 64 years ago that day. The apology comes after a long legal battle by survivors and widows.
At least four Palestinians are dead in new Israeli air-strikes on the Gaza Strip—including a home-owner and his 12-year-old son, whose house was destroyed in apparent “collateral damage” from a raid on a nearby Hamas safe-house.
Some 2,000 protesters filled Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square to demand withdrawal of the militia forces that have been in the capital since the fall of Qaddafi. Jurists and police were among the march leaders, accusing the militias of terrorizing residents.
As Egypt’s military rulers say they will appoint a council to oversee the drafting of a new constitution to balance the influence of Islamists, pro-secular protesters demand a broad-based, all-civilian “national salvation” government.
Reports from Homs suggest an outbreak of sectarian killings, with numerous bodies—many tortured or mutilated—left on the streets. A pro-government militia called the Shabiha is apparently arming Alawite militants and attacking Sunni protesters.
Ashura celebrations saw multiple bomb attacks on Shi’ite pilgrims in Iraq, leaving at least 20 dead. Attacks on public Ashura celebrations in the Afghan cities of Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar meanwhile left 58 dead.
Norma Andrade, a critical voice demanding justice in the long string of “femicides” in Ciudad Juárez is stable condition after being shot twice Dec. 2, as she drove home from her job as a teacher in the violent Mexican border city.
Honduran radio journalist Luz Marina Paz Villalobos and her driver were killed in a hail of bullets fired by men on two motorbikes in Tegucigalpa. Her morning news program had frequently taken on drug trafficking and corruption.
