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.
Author: CounterVortex
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.
Central America
Guatemala: 3,000 campesinos evicted by agribusiness firm
In a series of raids, some 1,000 soldiers and national police troops evicted more than 3,000 Q’eqchi Maya campesinos from lands claimed by an agribusiness firm in the Polochic Valley of Alta Verapaz department, Guatemala.
The Andes
Colombia agrees to FTA labor conditions; opponents don’t buy it
Barack Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos agreed to a deal on the Andean country’s labor conditions, clearing the way for the pending Free Trade Agreement.
The Andes
Colombia: San José de Apartadó peace community faces para terror —again
The San José de Apartadó peace community in the Colombian region of Uraba has received an ultimatum from local paramilitary groups to leave the area or face extermination.
The Andes
WikiLeaks Ecuador: US ambassador expelled over cable
Ecuador’s government declared US ambassador Heather Hodges “persona non grata” and expelled her from the country in response to a cable released by the Wikileaks whistle-blower web site.