Iran
Iraq expels Mujahedeen Khalq
Baghdad has ordered the expulsion of Mujahedeen Khalq, armed wing of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), following a raid on Camp Ashraf, the group’s stronghold.
Author: CounterVortex
Greater Middle East
More clashes in Jordan, Syria
Dozens were injured as Salafist Muslims clashed with government supporters in Jordan’s northern city of Zarqa, while in neighboring Syria, police fired tear gas to disperse some 2,000 demonstrators at Jobar, north of Damascus.
Palestine
Palestinians call for release of Italian activist kidnapped in Gaza
From the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), April 14: Today, our friend and colleague, Vittorio Arrigoni, a journalist and human rights defender working in the Gaza Strip, was kidnapped by Salafists, members of a very small extremist group in Gaza. Vittorio… Read morePalestinians call for release of Italian activist kidnapped in Gaza
Greater Middle East
Syria declares amnesty in bid to quell growing unrest
Following days of deadly unrest, the Syrian regime announced the formation of a new government and pledged to free scores of people who have been detained in the recent wave of protests.
Africa
Protests rock Swaziland
Inspired by the Arab Spring, protesters in Swaziland are calling for King Mswati III—Africa’s last absolute monarch—to allow multi-party democracy and rescind salary cuts to public employees.
Greater Middle East
Yemen tipping into civil war?
At least seven were killed, including four police officers who clashed with a dissident army unit, as hundreds of thousands of anti-regime protesters again rallied across Yemen to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Iran
Iran: labor strife, pipeline blast as tension grows in Persian Gulf
A wave of wildcat strikes has broken out in factories across Iran, as the regime blamed Western-backed “terrorists” for an explosion on a gas pipeline near Qom and military tensions rise in the Gulf region.
East Asia
Fukushima nuclear alert goes to level seven —on par with Chernobyl
Japan raised the severity level of its nuclear crisis to seven—putting it on par with the Chernobyl disaster—as stricken reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex continue to release large amounts of radioactive substances.
North Africa
Libya: Berber refugees report atrocities in remote Western Mountains
Berber refugees from Libya’s remote Western Mountains report atrocities by Moammar Qaddafi’s forces, including the shelling of homes, poisoning wells with petrol, and threatening women with rape.
Greater Middle East
More deadly repression in Syria; Egyptians confront military
Security forces and pro-government gunmen killed four protesters in Syria’s port city of Banias, as Egyptian protesters defied a military crackdown to again occupy Tahrir Square.
Mexico
Thousands march across Mexico to end narco violence
Thousands marched across Mexico to call for an end to drug-related violence after the slaying of the son of poet Javier Sicilia. The elder Sicilia issued a statement blasting both “politicians” and “criminals” for the atrocities.
Mexico
Chiapas: international campaign for “Bachajón Five”
Activists occupied the Mexican consulate in New York City to demand freedom for five indigenous Zapatista supporters in Chiapas they say were framed for defending their lands from “eco-tourism” developers.