Southern Cone
Protests paralyze southern Chile
Protesters in the southern Chile region of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena have erected road blockades, halting traffic in response to a government hike in fuel prices.
Author: CounterVortex
The Amazon
Inter-American rights commission to rule on Bazilian Amazon land claim
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has agreed to hear the land rights case of indigenous peoples in the Raposa-Serra do Sol region of the Brazil’s Roraima state.
The Amazon
Peru: evidence mounts of “uncontacted peoples” in Amazon oil zones
As oil companies with pending contracts in the Peruvian Amazon continue to deny the existence of indigenous “peoples in isolation” in remote forest areas, new video evidence has emerged.
The Andes
Peru: army rewrites history of “dirty war”
Peru’s army has released a report contradicting the findings of the official truth commission on the 1980-2000 dirty war, absolving the armed forces of systematic atrocities.
Southern Cone
Argentina: “national hero” recast as mass murderer of indigenous people
Indigenous groups in Argentina are lobbying for Julio Argentino Roca, the army general who conquered Patagonia, to be recognized as a political criminal who exterminated indigenous peoples.
Oceania
Easter Island: Chilean forces suppress indigenous protests
Chilean police evicted indigenous Rapa Nui protesters who had occupied the central plaza and a luxury hotel in Hanga Roa, capital of Easter Island, over the new year.
The Andes
WikiLeaks Peru: cable alleges military ties to narco-traffic
A 2009 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks reports that Peru’s new military head Paul da Silva was involved in narco-corruption, a charge that the general adamantly denies.
The Andes
Bolivia seeks Southern Cone energy integration —despite corruption scandals
Bolivia‘s state energy company YPFB last month awarded Argentina‘s Astra Evangelista SA a $160 million contract to build a natural gas processing plant at in Rio Grande in the eastern province of Santa Cruz. The plant, due to come online… Read moreBolivia seeks Southern Cone energy integration —despite corruption scandals
Africa
Nigeria holds oil execs on criminal charges—but not Dick Cheney
Nigerian authorities are holding 12 foreign oil executives in a $100 million bribery case—but last month settled with Halliburton, dropping charges against Dick Cheney.
Iraq
Baghdad blasts bedevil Biden
Three bombings near mosques in central and northern Baghdad on Nov. 13 killed two people—hours after US Vice President Joe Biden arrived for meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
Palestine
Israel destroys West Bank village
Israeli military forces with bolldozers demolished the “unrecognized” Palestinian village of Dkaika in the Jordan Valley, leaving some 60 residents homeless.
Greater Middle East
Angry protests spread in Jordan
Thousands took to the streets across Jordan in “a day of rage” to protest escalating food prices and unemployment—the same day that Tunisia’s president was toppled by protesters.