Afghanistan
Pakistan: Who was behind Lahore blast?
A building of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore was targeted in a suicide blast, killing 13—but officials say it was beyond the Taliban’s capability.
Author: CounterVortex
Afghanistan
Sectarian war rocks north Afghanistan
Fierce clashes left some 50 fighters dead in northeast Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, pitting Taliban forces against their erstwhile allies in Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e-Islami.
Iraq
Sectarian terror rocks Baghdad, Najaf —again
The death toll from bomb attacks in Baghdad reached 37 as Iraqis voted in the country’s parliamentary election, while a car bomb again targeted Shi’ite pilgrims in Najaf.
Africa
Riots rock West Africa
Angry protests over an electoral dispute in Togo, with police using tear gas against opposition supporters, follow similar scenes two weeks earlier in Ivory Coast.
Europe
Riots rock Athens —again
Striking Greek workers shut down transport and tried to storm the parliament building in Athens as lawmakers passed 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in budget cuts.
Palestine
Riots rock Jerusalem —again
Ultra-orthodox Jews rioted in Jerusalem two days after dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces again stormed the Old City’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Mexico
Mexico: police stage protest after deadly ambush outside Monterrey
Municipal police in a suburb of Mexico’s northern industrial hub of Monterrey staged protests outside their precinct stations after three were killed in an ambush.
Central America
Clinton presses leaders to recognize Honduras at drug war summit
In Guatemala for a Drug War summit, Hillary Clinton called for recognition of the new Honduran government—and was accused by Hugo Chávez of “planting seeds of discord.”
North America
“Patriot” groups, militias surge: report
The number of militias and other extremist groups in the US exploded in 2009, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Iraq
Birth defects soar in Fallujah: local doctors
Doctors in the Iraq city of Fallujah report a huge boost in birth defects, with many saying the weapons used by US forces in the intense 2004 fighting are to blame.
Central America
Suit charges Coca-Cola complicity in Guatemala rights abuses
Guatemalan union leaders and their families filed a lawsuit in New York, accusing the world’s biggest beverage company of complicity in violence against labor leaders.
Central America
Guatemalan police destroy opium, cannabis crops
Guatemalan troops and DEA agents destroyed 319 million opium plants and 250,000 marijuana plants in San Marcos department, considered a “sanctuary” of drug cultivation.